Blanca, mom is going out of town for work, it’s 4 o’clock morning, she just left, and we already miss her.
What should we do?
Yes, lets go back to sleep. It’s early!
Right?
Well, if your a true detective, you will see that it’s too bright through those windows to be 4am….
What gives?
Well, this picture was snapped after our little adventure. As I rehydrated with coconut water, Blanca, passed out from exhaustion.
Why you ask?
Well, we decided to stay up, see mom off to work, and then hit the road to Mt. Baldy!
My goal was: https://socalhiker.net/a-six-pack-of-peaks/
The 6 pack of peaks is a challenge hikers do to prepare for Mt. Whitney.
I started this journey with Yami and Blanca when we completed Mt. Wilson, and I thought it would be really cool to finish the quest with Blanca!
So, ready or not….
Really Dad?
My back was not feeling very well this day, so I had my reservations as well, but we decided, well, we are here, lets do this.
The first 4 miles of the hike were fairly easy but once we hit the ski lodge we realized, this is where the hiking starts.
Blanca saw where the peak was, then she looked back to see how far it would be to just go back…
Can we go back?
The choice was made. We would continue on to the peak or bust!
Blanca’s first hike was when she was about 8 months old. She trekked 14 miles to an altitude of about 5,000 feet.
Baldy would take her just about 12 miles to an altitude over 10,000 feet! So I had my concerns, especially when we got to the section called Devil’s Backbone
Blanca mentally preparing next to the Devil’s Backbone sign.
Once we both caught out breathe, we moved forward and traversed through Devil’s Peak. I was using a 50 steps then recover method. I would take 50 steps then look at my heart rate and wait for it to recover about 10 beats or so and move on. Blanca, she was seemingly fine as she led the way.
There we were, just about 1/4 mile out from the peak. Chilly winds were barreling down on us coming out of the North East.
It was go time and Blanca literally had one last push…..
Literal last push before the peak 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
The views, as they are on these hikes, were amazing.
Priceless
We started our journey together and we finished together!
The peak of Mt. Baldy!!
Great job Blanca! You deserve your own picture and your favorite tuna snack…
So, yes, that initial picture of us choosing to just go back to sleep and rest was slightly true, except the picture was after a long day in the mountains.
Oh, and I decided to have a celebratory cocktail with my coconut water. I do not drink at all often, but when I do it’s usually on a special occasion….
6 pack completed!
Enjoy your next adventure….
Love
Tom and Blanca
ROVE LIVING 