I'll admit to being inspired by Sean and Cecelia's trip to Glendora Peak just for the snow-capped mountain views. I wanted some of that without the crowds that would be going up Baldy Road so I headed a little west to the Big Dalton area. I had never been on the Monroe Truck Trail part of this route so I drove up the road and scouted the trailhead before parking nearby. This made for some road walking to begin, which I would have done anyway since the gate was still closed. It's supposed to open at 7am but I think it is usually closer to 7:15 by the time anyone gets here to release the crowds.
The Mystic Canyon trail gets the heart pumping right away as it's pretty steep, this also has the advantage of getting good views early in the walk. At this sunrise time the early morning glow is a special experience once reaching the canyon area. From there I went up the last section of Poop-Out trail to the flag and continued onward. I took the little trail along the ridge rather than the old road, although I did have to retreat after a while due to the heavy brush. I went up at the marked Punkout trail, joining the road once again near Peak 2760. I briefly stopped up there long enough to straighten out some of the rocks on the summit and also placed a pirate flag. Quickly descending, I went up the old roadway towards Peak 3390, although this time I turned left at the junction and headed toward GRR. Not wanting to walk all that way just to visit a paved road, I went up to the highest point along that ridge and took a nice long breakfast break. Yum, Clif Bar and hot chocolate. After a good long time up there soaking in some nice views and listening to The Shins I cairned and flagged this little spot I'll call Point 3310. It was an entertaining walk down the 'new' trail to me, the grade was rather gentle as would be expected for motor vehicles of 100-plus years ago. Along the way I heard water running below and went off trail to a tiny stream where I managed to refill a bottle - I had enough to finish the hike but since there was free water coming right out of the mountain I wanted to get me some. Turned out I could have waited, as I had 11 wet feet crossings of the creek down below, plus a 100-yard section of trail that was running about three inches deep. Once I got back to the truck I sat on the tailgate for a while letting my feet dry out before a quick visit to McDonalds to replace some of the calories burned.
AllTrails clocked this at nearly 12 miles with 2800 feet of gain, just another great day in the Gabes.
