Mt. Baldy 3: The Baldening

I wanted to take more photos of the people on this hike since it's so easy to get distracted by the scenery but Kit and I ended up bringing the rear. Like, the really far back rear. So I got a lot of faraway shots which turned out neat too (thanks to Sophie for the close-up of the kids).

We hiked up the saddle this time which was 1,000 times easier with the kids than when we went up the face. We still got all the satisfaction of reaching a summit without all the scary parts. Except one: towards the end of the hike one of the kids yelled, "Bear!" and my heart went up into my throat. I started to take off my pack to get the bear spray when I came around the corner to see them pointing to a lost stuffed animal laying on the trail. That was pretty funny.

Also towards the end of the trail there's an abandoned cabin next to a pond. The kids enjoyed cooling off in the water on the way down. We couldn't have asked for a better day!