"This is a great hike. In the ascent to the fire Lookout, the road is paved. If you follow the descent of the trail, it gets choppy and it’s hard to distinguish sometimes. Also after the rain, the soil is soft. I would suggest go back the way you went up, unless you have a little more experience. Overall, it’s an easy hike, except on the descent, which would make into a moderate." — Coolguyizzy • Feb 8, 2025

"Heard the sign was missing so I made one and dropped it off. Wood burned sign. Ironically, there was a fire after and a lot of great trails burned. Will return once trail opens to see if sign survived." — Prone2Wander • Aug 10, 2024

"A nice hike that started on Black Friday at 10 AM. We drove the long way from Rancho Cucamonga to climb this. The hike started in the fog and then we climbed up slowly through the woods, getting views occasionally. After climbing through dense fog, a creepy forest, and a meadow of manzanita, I reached Islip Saddle. Then I climbed through the dense fog to the summit. There was amazing views into the valleys occasionally and then after passing through the trees we reached Mt Islip after turning right. The summit had amazing views, a can, and the summit shelter. Then we climbed through some fog and then passed some amazing views into the desert. Then we climbed down to Windy Gap. After descending Windy Gap, there was a dangerous section and then we descended past a benchmark and then climbed back down to the trailhead." — lc444 • Dec 15, 2023

"Before reaching the vehicle gate on Mount Disappointment Road, a single track trail leads up a gully. The trail climbs for about 1,000 feet of gain while paralleling the road at points. I climbed San Gabriel Peak first, followed by Mount Disappointment, then Mount Deception. After the third peak, I took the road back to the parking area, creating a semi-loop hike." — MikeTeeples • Oct 8, 2023

"Camped overnight at Manker Flats. Broke camp at 0800 and hit the trailhead at 0830. Plan was to take Devil's Backbone on the way up, including the detour to bag Mt Harwood, with an option to bag West Baldy as well. Given my penchant for missing turns, I purchased a smartwatch before this trip (Garmin Epix Pro) so I could navigate without needing to pull my phone out. Conditions were great -- plenty of shade at the start with pleasant temps and a cool breeze. Had the mountain pretty much to myself on the ascent; only came across one small group who were on their way down. Devil's Backbone granted great views of the desert to the north and hazy views of San Gorgonio to the east. Made it to Harwood around 1100. As I rejoined the main Backbone trail to make the final push to Baldy, my right calf threatened to cramp up and I realized my left hamstring wasn't far behind. I paused to load up on calories and electrolytes then proceeded in a relatively delicate fashion. Summited right at 1200 and all at once, doing this on a Thursday paid off -- I had the summit to myself. Two other hikers summited right after me via Baldy Bowl and we exchanged photos before they descended. Spen..." — colin • Sep 14, 2023