Mt. San Antonio Devil's Backbone Ridge - Camino of Death

Mt. San Antonio Devil's Backbone Ridge - Camino of Death

A hike to Mt. Antonio (Mt. Baldy) via the Devil’s Backbone is classic for hikers on the San Gabriel Mountains where Mt. Baldy is its first peak. The Devil’s Back Bone, connecting the top of the hill where the ski cable car ends with the Harwood Mountain, is a ridge with steep slopes on both sides. It is the most dangerous zone on Mt. Baldy, claiming many lives during winter. However, the real challenging part of the Devil’s Backbone is not on the Devil’s Backbone Trail per se, which dodges the most difficult and the most perilous area of the Devil’s Backbone Ridge. Coming down the first part of the ridge, the trail veers left (if the hiker goes up from the Notch, the restaurant) and cuts through the mountainside, while the Devil’s Backbone Ridge continues upward, with narrower and more slippery foothold. If you follow the ridge up, you will find several class 4 climbs. Part of the ridge is only two inches wide (which I call the Mouse Walk, after the Cat's Walk on Casaval Ridge of Mt. Shasta), with steep slopes running down on both sides. Literally, you straddle with one leg on one side and the other leg on the other side of the ridge. Occasionally, you have to climb up big boulders with no margin of errors. Sometimes, you slide your body on the edge of a rock hanging over the swallowing precipice. In the summer, the loose and slippery scree is treacherous.  This part of the ridge is exposed, narrow, and cluttered with boulders, one of which is over 7 feet tall (in the winter with the accumulation of snow, it is much taller).  At the end, you climb to the edge of the cliff with a sigh of relief, enjoying the complete vista of the Devil’s Backbone Ridge. From there, you walk down the rest of the ridge and meet the normal Devil’s Backbone Trail on your left, continuing to traverse Mt. Harwood on your way to Mt. Baldy. I would call this segment of the Devil’s Backbone Ridge “Camino of Death,” or Camino de la muerte, because of its perils, charms, and sheer beauty. I have done it both in wintertime (December 25, 2019. Not my choice, as I was lost in a whiteout) and summertime (May 22, 2020. My choice, as I wanted to experience one more time the thrill of completing the true Devil’s Backbone Ridge). Climb with caution, as Camino of Death can be more dangerous than the Matterhorn of the Alps, because it does not have the fixed rope protection and is certainly more challenging than the last segment of Mountaineers’ Route of Mt. Whitney.

(PS: I found that my blue soft water bottle dropped out of my vest after crossing the Mouse Walk and decided not to go back to retrieve it. If you happen to find it, please email me at dr_feng@yahoo.com. Thank you.) 

In the picture below, the normal route of the Devil's Backbone Trail is visible on left and the Devil's Backbone Ridge continues upward in the middle of the picture

Looking back down the Devil's Backbone Ridge after you climb to the top 

This part of the ridge is two inches wide (at the most)

The boulder to climb on the ridge