Elvo

Looking to do this, not sure if 700x35 slicks would be enough and if 2" knobbies would be too much. Any thoughts?

Thanks

Dirt starts at 6:40

Elvo

Wow that's pretty crazy that you were able to get up to Timber. There's a few videos on youtube of guys going down the Devil's Backbone on mountain bikes. I assume they hike a biked most of the way up.

diphthong

never ridden past the top of the paved road but hiked mt.baldy from multiple directions multiple times. ski hut trail prob the best overall trail quality/ridabilty but
dunno if that's legally/officially ridable. up to the top of the notch from the top of the paved road is decently packed dirt. once up to the notch, the rocks get bigger
and it's a mess. unofficial devil's backbone from the notch to the top of baldy has some difficult spots for sure but mostly at the beginning and the finish.
official devil's backbone from blue ridge south to baldy (and back) just might be the toughest hike < 15 miles in socal.
(again) unsure if it's legally/officially open to gravel/mtb. if it is...good luck. you need it to hike it. riding? haha let us know how it went.

Elvo

Hiked it a few times as well. I think Iron Mountain is the hardest < 15 miles. The last two miles you gain 3500 feet (out of the 7200 feet total)

TGT1

Quit counting the times I've been on top of Baldy when it passed 100.
Ran the "Run to the Top a couple of times. Our little gang had a rule that whoever didn't run had to carry a twelve pack to the top for those that did.

The wilderness area starts at the sign in box on the hut trail and the out of bounds marker on the Backbone trail at the end of the ski area lease.
Wheeled transportation not allowed!

I did pass a couple of kids that carried BMX bikes to the top and rode down the backbone in the late 70's so it has been done long ago.

The trail in from the Blue Ridge would be the most scenic and ridable if I was going to pirate it. It does go over Pine and Dawson so there's almost as much up on the way back. Parts are on logging roads long abandoned
.

Out of all the peaks, Rattlesnake was about the worst, but Iron is a long day and probably the most elevation gain!

Rumpled

Baldy Peak is not in Wilderness. It is on the boundary of the Sheep Mountain Wilderness.
The Backbone trail is also not in Wilderness.
I know of some who have ridden Backbone up and done on MTB. Some Hike a Bike involved.

diphthong

that is a brutal trail up to baldy. much harder than the usual southern approaches up ski hut or the notch. one of a handful of toughest socal hikes.