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On the way down about 15min. past the hut I heard a growl, well kinda like a growl. I stopped looked up the hill towards R/R and it made a sound I never heard before almost like a dog wanting to bark but what came out was a raspy sound, with goose bumps all over me I looked up the hill with my lamp for about 2min.no eyes,the animal made this sound 3x then I started walking down again and in about 2min. later it made the raspy growl type sound once more kinda like if the animal had a cold and couldn't growl right, I stopped again goose bumps going on to look up but nothing...Does anybody have any idea what it might have been... I didn't want to tell you Mark but it was me, I kept waiting for you to break out the famous "Chocolate Chip Cookies" and when you didn't my stomach was growling from tracking you all night 
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Mark,
Sorry I missed you, I got your text while I was at the ranger station on my way home. We passed on the freeway, me going down, you going up. Conditions in the afternoon were ...slushy.
I think you heard a fox, a fox that was farther away than it sounded, but I know there is a mountain lion that likes to hunt on RR.
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Mark, I think there are programs out there with recordings of animal "growls"/raspy sounds on the internet if you search This season has been utterly dismal. Despite the lack of snow, one young man felt the need to ascend yesterday with crampons! He was walking around the summit with crampons on.  I don't know which trail he took, he said something about a meadow, but it wasn't Bear Flat because I went that way.
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Mark,
These discussions about nocturnal hiking and mysterious animal sounds are very interesting. Have you considered life insurance?
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So my next night hike I will bring chocolate chip cookies to flush either Patrick or a mountain lion out and if its Patrick I wont need life insurance, but if it's the....
Thanks Tracie I listened to 4 different web sites but to no avail..
mark
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So my husband's suggestion is to walk backwards with a chocolate chip cookie in hand - covers both bases
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 I saw mountain lion tracks up the West Fork of Bear Canyon back in '06. Would have enjoyed seeing it even more. (Just not too close.) Hey Mark, don't forget there are bears up there too... I'm sure they'd love some of those cookies.
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Yes, twice I've seen a lion just across the creek from the ski hut. Both times in the gloaming, too dark for a photo and too fleeting for the sluggish digicam anyway. There know where to find cougar chow.   
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Night is also the best time to see these little fellows. These photos were taken on the Ski Hut Trail. Scorpions are found in most of the popular SoCal hiking areas; I've encountered them up to 10,700 ft. on San Gorgonio. The nocturnal mountain milieu is vastly different than that which is experienced by most daytime group hikers, best enjoyed in natural light of moon and sky. When headlamp use is needed, the most memorable sounds on Baldy and such are those generated when a moth spirals in, drawn to the light, then is snatched a foot from your partner's eyes by a toothsome darting bat. They *always* scream when that happens. Which is another reason why most nighttime hikes are solo...   
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Hello everyone! I am going to be in the lovely state of California in late April on business. I have always wanted to climb Baldy, and was hoping that conditions would allow me to climb Baldy while I am in the area. Based on current conditions and your experience, what are the chances that I will be able to climb Baldy this April? Any and all opinions are welcome!
Dave C.
Raleigh, NC
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Hey Dave, it has been very dry...the mountain has been nearly bare all winter. Unless we have successive, big, late storms I would guess it will be a clear walkup as it is now.
My two cents
Reason has seldom worked because it has seldom been tried.
-Edward Abbey
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Thanks GreenMountainBoy! I will plan accordingly. Baldy looks like a great hike.
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Docdiamond, I would suggest packing microspikes. You will appreciate them between 8400 and 9000 feet.
Brent N
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Scorpions are found in most of the popular SoCal hiking areas; I've encountered them up to 10,700 ft. on San Gorgonio. Scorpions??? When I'm trying to acclimatize for Whitney, I usually bivy a couple of weekends up on Baldy first. Didn't realize I was turning myself into scorpion bait. Brent
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Scorpions are found in most of the popular SoCal hiking areas; I've encountered them up to 10,700 ft. on San Gorgonio. Scorpions??? When I'm trying to acclimatize for Whitney, I usually bivy a couple of weekends up on Baldy first. Didn't realize I was turning myself into scorpion bait. Brent
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Brent N,
Are you saying that I will encounter ice at those levels? Please elaborate. Also, will the chair lift be operating in late April? It would be on a Friday that I plan to do this hike.
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Dave Check here Baldy Ski Lift and Weather Info The lifts have been periodically closed depending on the weather...especially when it's windy. Good luck, Stacy
Moved to Bishop in 2012 and haven't looked back since...
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DocDiamond: Since Brent hasn't answered I will chime in. 8400' - 9000' is the stretch through the trees between the bowl and the ridge. It's shady and always holds ice longer than any other part of the Ski Hut route.
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TR for 3-10 Sat. Went up early via the ski hut. Area in the trees below the west ridge had a little snow. Walk up without
any micros... on the way down stayed to the right (going down) of the route up... almost all in sun and no snow.. until the very bottom... It was 41degrees at 6:30 so pretty soft by 9 on the way down. Never hurts to have the "micros" in the pack though. About 3/4 mile below the skihut came across a "herd" of Goats. Ram, 3 ewes and a little one.
Nice to some wildlife other than scorpions.... hahaha
Happy Hiking to All
Rick
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Doc,
It hard to say what condition will be in late April but this year it is safe to assume the will not be much snow around. This week's heat melted everything that fell the previous week. It would take a monstrous series of storms between now and late April for there to be appreciable snow on the south face trails.
Generally, the chair lift operates on weekends once the ski season is over and Mt. Baldy Ski Area is closed, based on a sign I saw in REI last week. If your plan is to use the lift going up, there is a spot on the Backbone trail that gathers and keeps snow late that can get a bit dicey, if you do not have the right gear. If your plan is to use it for exiting and it stops you in your tracks, you can take the Register Trail down rather than retracing your steps over the summit. The Register Trail is hard to find because it is not an official trail with junction signage. Its junction with the Backbone Trail is about mid-Mt. Harwood.
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