Click on photo to jump one third of the way up the mountain.
There is no official or marked route up Mount Baldy. As one approaches
the mountain in the morning light its western face is in shadow --
eclipsed & haloed. This evening photo shows a possible route.
To reach the green delta at the bottom of the groove running up the
western face, you journey up the East Inlet Trail for about 2½
hours from its beginning near Grand Lake. The nearest campsite
to here is called Cat's Lair. A few minutes up the trail from here,
you cross a large stream. Immediately on the other side you leave the
trail and turn right into the almost trackless Paradise Park wilderness.
The Park Service has completely hidden the trail into Paradise Park.
If you find it, fine. If you don't, just continue heading directly towards
Mount Baldy while veering a bit to your right (south). This cross country
trekking is not for the feint of heart. Once you reach the green delta or the
rock cliff that borders it, you have some very steep climbing ahead.
Just above the tip of the "delta" is some risky rock climbing. This hazard
is obscured by the tree top in the photo above. Click on photo to see
what the groove looks like a short ways above this hazard.

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