It's been a rough 24 hours for Air Mapster. After battling midwestern storms and flight delays, he has traveled over 2300 miles to be here today. Already running late for the 10:00 meetup time and on less than 5 hours of sleep, he encounters yet another delay on his way up to Mount Baldy: an overheating engine. He's forced to pull over and wait for it to cool off.

But the clock mercilessly keeps on ticking. Zippy MacPhee and the Russian Rocket are known for their punctuality on hikes, and they don't always wait around. Finally, unwilling to delay any longer, Mapster slides back into the driver's seat and turns the key...

Z-Mac and the Rocket are growing impatient. What is taking so long? They try to pass the time by taking photos of all the other vehicles at the parking area (vehicles, that you might notice, have arrived on time).

Tired of waiting and learning from their mistakes on the last hike, Zippy and the Rocket hastily scribble a note and leave it at the trailhead in case that lazy Mapster finally decides to show up. It's time for a hike!

Meanwhile, just one minute before this photo is snapped, Air Mapster finally coaxes enough juice out of his battery to restart the car and continue moving up the road. He's still 5.7 miles away, but will he make up enough time to catch his compatriots?

Zippy MacPhee briefly looks back to see if that's Mapster running up the trail to catch up. But no, it's just the Russian Rocket stopping to take some photos. Z-Mac quickly turns and resumes the hike at full speed.

Back down the road, Air Mapster has covered over half the distance to the trailhead, with 2.9 miles down and 2.8 to go. It won't be long now!

Just 0.6 miles up the trail, our punctual pair stops to document their tardy and troublesome trek. Air Mapster has covered another mile on the road, but overheating has forced him to stop again, just 1.8 miles from the trailhead. Will he make it in time?

Allowing just 5 minutes for his weary engine to cool again, Air Mapster has finally arrived at the trailhead after nearly redlining toward the end. He sees the note left just 21 minutes earlier (though curiously, the rocks have been rearranged; hmmm...). If he pushes hard, maybe he can still catch up?

Our dynamic duo is in no hurry now; they've long since given up hope that Air Mapster might join them. They stop just over 2 miles into the hike for another photo-op. Looking good!

Meanwhile, at this same moment, Air Mapster has covered 2.4 miles of his hike, still pushing hard to catch up. Wait, what? How can this be? Our three heroes should have been reunited by now if that were the case. What strange cosmic anomaly could cause such a paradox?

Blissfully unaware of the gaping hole that's apparently been ripped through the space-time continuum, the Russian Rocket takes his turn posing for a photo next to this non-noteworthy tree.

Zippy MacPhee spots some snow just off the trail here and prepares to go for a sleighride.

Racing at breakneck speed to catch up, Air Mapster covers nearly another 0.2 miles, bringing his total to 2.6. Where are they?

Zippy MacPhee hurries ahead as he spots the small green ski hut in the distance. The Russian Rocket takes a page out of Air Mapster's photography book, turning the camera around for a self-portrait.

2.4 miles from the start of the hike, Zippy MacPhee reaches the small green San Antonio Ski Hut and reads its extensive regulations and bylaws.

Moments after this photo is taken, Zippy and Rocket are approached by an escaped mental patient offering Newcastle Brown Ale to anyone climbing the mountain. When they politely refuse, a drunken melee ensues, claiming the Rocket's camera as its only victim. So sadly, there will be no documentation of whether these two make it to the summit of Mount Baldy.

Meanwhile, Air Mapster reaches the large stone ski hut after a grueling hike of 3.4 miles. Where could those guys be? He's been pushing at top speed and can't believe they're still too far ahead to see in the distance. Surely he should have caught them by now.

Feeling defeated, Air Mapster stops to have some lunch and take a few photos to prove he was here. Uninterested in continuing any farther on his own, he calls it a day and heads back down.