Mt Whitney Zone Forums Trip Reports Mount Baldy after Midnight - Full Moon hike

At 10:30 last night, I called my friend and said...."hey, it's a full moon, let's do Baldy". His son convinced him and our adventure started at Manker flats around 12:35 A.M.

Really great experience. Everyone should do this. Lights on both sides of Baldy, shooting stars and a full moon.

The pic above is about the only thing you could see......thought it was pretty neat though.

Awesome. I've never done Baldy that close to midnight, but I've started up in the dark plenty of times before. It is a nice walk in the dark.

Very nice pic too.

Did you need a headlamp?
What headlamp can you recommend for a night hike on a trail under full moon?

The moon was pretty bright on Friday night/Saturday morning, so a headlamp wasn't needed for the fire road. It was needed from time to time after the restaurant. Once I hit the backbone though, I used the headlamp most of the time. The trail is really clear of rocks, but it's a bit tough to see the rocks that are sticking out of the trail a few inches or so. So, yes, a headlamp is needed as there are a couple of dangerous spots (everybody knows which spots) and you need to keep an eye on the trail.
As far as which brand......I have a Black Diamond, but I think any good headlamp should do well.
Also, when I do this again, I will be going the Bowl and going past the ski hut. You definitely need a headlamp there. The problem with the backbone is it's really long, but I wasn't sure how well I could see the Bowl Trail, so I chose the longer route.
BTW: It was extremely warm up until near the top. I was sweating up a storm and I only had one light shirt on. I started with two shirts, brought a jacket and an extra shirt, but they ended up being extra weight. BUT, you should always be prepared for extremely cold temps on the top of Baldy. I've been there at noon in the middle of Summer and froze my butt off. Starting temp for this hike was 64 degrees and it didn't get much cooler and there was basically no wind, just a light breeze from time to time.

As a note, there was a barbecue up at the restaurant that coincided with a moonlight hike. At 1:00 in the morning we ran into several people coming down the trail, including two very DRUNK women. They had been up at the barbecue. There are also hiking groups that arrange full moon hikes up Baldy, so you may want to look into them.

Awesome! Last year I went up Cuyamaca Peak to watch the Perseid meteor shower. Went by myself and scared s**tless though. I kept imagining a mountain lion would jump out any second and bite my head off. I had forgotten my bear mace at home, otherwise, it would have a been a much more comfortable hike.

Great idea, you motivated me to do a Baldy night hike. I've come down several times in the dark, but never started a trip so late. You can't beat the cool weather.

A fair number of hikers do this hike at night. Unfortunately, many of them are loud and celebretory when they get to the top, even when they see that everyone up there is asleep in their bags very late at night or in the wee hours of the morning. My favorite was when the three of us who were up there were asleep in our bags on a pretty cold night. I wear ear plugs up there, but I could hear someone calling out, "Hello? Hello? Hello! Helllllloooooo????" He didn't sound like he was distressed, but just in case he was, I responded. As soon as I did, he yelled, "Awesome. Can someone take my picture?" Call me grumpy, sleepy and freezing, but I did not oblige.

Brent N