Even is summer you have to respect Baldy. The Ski Hut trail is wide and easy to follow, but it’s a long, steep slog. The trail features 4000 feet in elevation gain and ends at 10K. It can be hot and sunny in the summer. All that was enough for me to get altitude sickness, it kicked in while I was near the summit, I finished anyway. Had a very rough walk back down. Drank too much ice cold water at the ski hut and barfed it all over the trail.

Most people aren’t as sensitive to altitude as I am, so for them it comes down to fitness. If you’re pretty fit then it’s a great day hike. If you’re not then turn around before you run out of water and run out of energy, you will need both on the descent. You can come back and try again it’s not far.