​A challenging hike to Big Baldy Ridge. Happy Birthday!

It was even colder this morning 38.  It was 80 yesterday in the midafternoon and I expect it to be in the 70s today.  Let's go on a hike.

The hike to Big Baldy ridge is 5 miles round trip hike to a peak of 8,209 feet.  This will the highest we have ever hiked, and I think the highest land we have every stood upon.  There are several mountains that are taller in the area but much more difficult hikes.  Several require climbing gear. The tallest is a 20-mile one-way hike which means several nights on the trek.  No thank you.

We gained 1,040 feet in elevation from the parking area for the hike.

​The views were amazing.

​ When we reached the peak, we could look in every direction and see mountains in the distance.  Looking to the west we could see the coastal mountain range peeking out from the smoke from the fires in the south. The peak was bald granite above the tree line.  We enjoyed our lunch there and relaxed to recover for the hike back.  It was almost all down hill which made it much less difficult.

We did find animals along the hike.

When we got back to the visitor center.  A mom and her fauns walked across the parking lot.

An interesting choice for a birthday activity.
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We ran the generator for 2 hours.  This charged up all our devices and the house batteries.  We also enjoyed a few of the modern conveniences we had been doing without like the microwave and watching a movie on the tv.