By When I realized I didn’t pack my camera, I was already near the trailhead. Ugh! That never happened before! I love taking photos as much as hiking so I was more shocked that I forgot than upset. …at least I had my phone.
For the 2nd time, my friends and I found Glendora Ridge Road to Sunset Peak closed when we got there. It wasn’t in the road closure report. Again! Luckily, we had other options nearby. We decided to hike to the Mt Baldy Notch instead. A new trail for us. Sure, we are game!
We drove to the Manker Campground and parked at San Antonio Falls trailhead parking lot. The trailhead is clearly marked. The fire road to the San Antonio Falls has a gradual incline but it is paved and totally exposed. A little bit of scrambling is required to get down to the falls via a narrow dirt trail but it’s not bad. With caution, you should be fine.
When you are ready, hike back up to the fire road and continued on upward. The rest of the hike is on this fire road which is well-maintained and easy to follow. Note no shade. When in doubt, go straight.
By the time we got up to the Mt Baldy Ski Lift, we were hiking on snow. That was a change welcomed by everyone because it was getting too warm in the sun even though it was only March. Once we were hiking in the snow, dogs stopped panting and everyone was happier.
We took a little detour to Miners Bowl. This area was less traveled so it was a good place to wander.
Taking a group picture of the dogs is always challenging and fun. Even though dogs are usually patient with their human 1-1 while the human is fidgeting with the camera, when you put them together, it’s a totally different ball game. There are many distractions as you can imagine. All it takes is the tiniest movement by one dog and that’s it. The group disperses as if the last class before the summer break just ended. We know we have very little time and we need to take as many pictures as we can before that happens. Ha!
Mt Baldy Notch isn’t far from there. Get back on the fire road and continue on.
When you are ready to go back, just go back the way you came up.
Good to Know:
- Hike Date: 3.12.17
- Distance: 8 miles
- Elevation Gain: 1,981 feet
- Difficulty Rating: Challenging
- Trailhead: San Antonio Falls Trailhead (34.266230, -117.627021)
- Portable toilet at the trailhead
- Top Of The Notch Restaurant is open Friday-Sunday and the patio is dog-friendly
Get Our Latest Comprehensive Dog-friendly Trail List Here. Enjoy!
Happy Hiking!
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Hiking Girl with Dog 
That first picture of Xena cracks me up. How frustrating that they wouldn’t list road closures? Arg
Haha, she is such a ham! Not on the report twice! And it takes me 1.5 hours to get there too. Oh well, luckily we had other options nearby.