On Sunday, Steve and I headed up to Mount Baldy for a hiking adventure. Ever since our camping trip with the kids last month, we had been itching to get out to the beauty of the mountains again and away from the dreary tract home weekend world. Mount Baldy, also known as Mount San Antonio, sits at just above 10,000 feet and is the highest peak in the San Gabriel Mountains (and the highest point in Los Angeles County). We had heard that the skyline and view at the top was incredible and we were determined to get there.

Not realizing how cold it gets at the summit, we arrived wearing shorts, light jackets, backpacks and hiking shoes. While hiking briskly kept us warm enough to survive the trek, we definitely learned to be much better prepared clothing/gear-wise for the next attempt up Old Baldy. You can see in my photostream on Flickr just how chilly I got when we stopped to tie a shoe, grab a water bottle or take a photo.

This is not a scene from Twilight. Just a really rad, curly tree that I love. It looks like a Pillsbury biscuit container, huh?

The ascension on this trail was pretty challenging. It's a near 9-mile hike round-trip and a total gain of 3,900 feet from the trail start to Baldy summit. With the quick altitude rise, it hit us both hard at the beginning. We acclimated well, but it was still an endurance tester and total exhilaration upon reaching the summit.

The peak sits so high up that we were above the clouds. It was the most gorgeous view and although I tried to capture it in photos, they simply do not do justice to the majesticness. I know that much of the world sees blue skies every day (sigh, you lucky people), but when you live in Southern California and are accustomed to gray/brown tones in your skylines (aka: smog), seeing skies SO BLUE that they look indigo are absolutely breathtaking. I kept remarking to Steve, in a flabbergasted tone, "Oh my gosh, the sky looks PURPLE it is so blue." I was SO captivated by the depth of this azure atmosphere and the fluffiness of the clouds.

The entire scene as we climbed closer to the summit was completely awe-inspiring to me. Worth every little ache that climbing the mountain brought. In fact, the strenuousness was actually a rush in a weird way. I suppose that's the "thrill of victory" phenomena, eh? Such a fun day! I can't wait to do it again.

**More photos of the day here