"It takes 37 muscles to frown, 17 to smile,
and just 7 to twist the throttle."
~Unknown
When I created my Updated Bucket List for YEAR 77 I listed a Harley day-ride on the 7th of each month. The idea was to do a monthly ride to a place that had an interesting history and a fun route to ride on a motorcycle. The 7th doesn't always work and this month Jenny and I scheduled a ride to the Mt Baldy Lodge on the 22nd. The route is east from Monrovia along the foothills out through Claremont, then on a fun mountain road into the small Mt. Baldy Village, a 34-mile ride. Beyond the village, another 4.5 miles is the Mount Baldy Ski Area at the base of Mount San Antonio, the highest peak in the San Gabriel Mountains and in Los Angeles County, at 10,069 feet elevation. I know some people won't believe this because of my fixation with the number seven, but the round-trip from home was 77 miles (the map below shows 28 miles to the Lodge instead of 34, but we were off the freeway part of the time).
We had a nice ride into the mountains and arrived at Mt Baldy Lodge about 9:15 am. It was a beautiful morning and quite cool in the mountains, but was forecast to heat up later in the day. The people who work at the Lodge, and the customers (mostly locals early in the morning), are all so friendly, that it's a fun place to go for that reason alone. But it's also a fun ride up Mt Baldy Road. We had an good breakfast and fun conversation, and then decided to ride further up the mountain. Our first stop, just a little over a mile from the village, was the Ice House Road parking lot. There are a number of hiking trailheads at the parking lot (I hiked Ice House Canyon from there with Tracy and her friends in the summer of 2014) and the parking lot was completely full of cars and hikers.
Next we went on up the mountain to the Mt Baldy Ski area. The road is narrow, with extreme curves, rising to a 6,500 foot elevation at the base of the lower ski lift. The ski resort features traditional runs, open bowls, chutes, and tree runs; and claims to be the "largest and steepest resort in Southern California," with 26 runs spanning 800 acres on 3 mountains, and featuring a peak elevation of 8,600 ft. The lower lift was running and many people were there doing the round-trip scenic chairlift ride -- probably having breakfast or lunch at the Notch (the restaurant at the top of the lower lift).
I really enjoyed the day and I hope Jenny did. Tracy and Heather have both gone on a ride with me before, but this was Jenny's first day-ride on the Harley. Tracy and I are planning a day-ride to Crystal Lake in December. Heather's ride was 100% freeway, which is not that fun, so I'll see if she would like to do a breakfast ride in the local mountains sometime during my Year 77.
Photos below from left: Near the Lodge in Mt Baldy Village; breakfast at Mt Baldy Lodge; at the base of the lower Mt Baldy Ski Lift.
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I rode to Mt Baldy Lodge in June of this year for breakfast and to read the Sunday paper. I mentioned to Missy Ellingson, the current owner of the Lodge, that I was coming back for breakfast on Friday, July 7th for my Birthday Ride. She informed me that they were not open for breakfast on Fridays. I told her that was disappointing, and mentioned that I turned 77 on that day, and explained all the 7's on that date and in my life. She was very interested in the whole story and pointed out to me that the address of the Lodge was 6777 Mt Baldy Rd. Then she told me to pick a baseball cap from the showcase (they all had Mt Baldy Lodge logos) and that she wanted to give me one for my birthday. In fact, as shown in the photo below, she ended up giving me two presents; a Mt Baldy cap and a Mt Baldy T-shirt. What a nice lady, and it's easy to see why the employees and customers are always so happy; she runs an excellent establishment.
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A Little History: I tried to research Mt Baldy Lodge on the internet, but the only history I could find was what I got from talking with Missy Ellingson, the current owner. She said the original Lodge was constructed in 1914, and that there had been many additions and modifications since then; some in the 1930s, the 1940s and the 1950s. She (and her husband? - I didn't ask) purchased the property in 1978 and have made additional improvements since then. Despite all the changes, the building has kept it's charm with lots of impressive wood and rock work which all fit together very nicely. There are 8 rental cabins behind the restaurant, as well as a nice outside dining patio, a swimming pool, a volleyball court and horseshoe pits. An interesting part of the history that Missy showed me was a vintage 1940s fuel oil area heater. She turned it on, and with an open flame, the fan threw out a significant amount of heat. No surprise that she has a continuing discussion with the local fire department about operating this contraption. The second photo shows the Mt Baldy Visitor Center which is directly across the street from the Lodge. The Center has an abundance of exhibits and history of the Mt Baldy area and is worth a visit.
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