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[cohp] Digest Number 5371
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County High Pointing in all 50 states
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County High Pointing in all 50 states Group
1 Message
Digest #5371
1
Southern Cascades TRs by cuber86

Message
1
Southern Cascades TRs
Mon Aug 22, 2016 6:05 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
cuber86
Hey all, I'm back for one last hurrah until probably next summer. Took a week of annual leave from residency and tried to make the most of it! See below...Chris


Lassen Peak--8/15/16
Shasta CA COHP, Lassen Volcanic National Park HP, Ultra

This one was surprisingly enjoyable as well as easy. Paid my $20, parked at the trailhead, and hoofed it up the trail, summitting in an hour and twenty minutes. The final bit involves approaching the summit pinnacle from the south, then the west, where an official trail ends after crossing a snowfield, and steep scree and talus is ascended on faint trails to get you to the two class 2-3 summit pinnacle candidates. This is remarkably almost exactly how the summit of Shasta would appear a day later! Met a fellow Dartmouth grad and family practice doctor on the summit, which was pretty cool. Views were hazy on account of wildfires, but I could barely make out Shasta in the distance. Descent went quickly--without the lengthy break on top, probably a little over 2 hours roundtrip.


Mt. Shasta--8/15-16/16
Siskyou CA COHP, Ultra, California 2nd lap peak

As those who know me well are aware, I hate steep snow. And Avalanche Gulch is steep enough to count for me. Thus, I climbed this behemoth of a mountain from the entirely nontechnical Clear Creek route.

The approach road in is 8 miles of dirt, and the last 4 miles have several annoying sections that will make a passenger car driver nervous--a few rocks, but also some dreadful rutted and sandy sections where the car was drifting a bit. At least the route is straightforward if you follow the signs. I was glad to make it to the trailhead, where I chanced upon another solo climber, and we decided to team up. We hiked up the trail to Clear Creek, filtered water, and continued another 1000' up to just past a horrid steep section of sandy climber's trail to set up camp on a few bivy spots in a rocky area at 9450'. If you have a small 1- or 2-person tent, these are pretty nice spots. We'd note several bivy sites a few hundred feet above here the following day, these with rock walls.

We awoke before first light the next morning, continuing uphill with lighter packs. Soon, we reached a broad, moderate-angle snowfield, which we saw a climber slowly ascending ahead of us. Neither of us had crampons (I'd gotten beta they weren't necessary) and so we skirted this to the right, ascending up a steep but tolerable scree gully through some rocky outcroppings, soon topping out on the ramp the Clear Creek route follows. It was a slow plod uphill to the Red Rock at 12800', though the good climber's trail on ascender's right eased the task somewhat.

The next section--surmounting the rocky headwall of the false summit--looked intimidating from afar, but was actually nothing worse than class 2 scree/sandy trails/talus/rock outcroppings. Simply follow the line that looks the most gradually and consistently uphill, and you'll have no issues. Helmets would be borderline advised for this section, though most other climbers didn't have one. Above this, the trail snakes up a ridge, finally topping out on a small, gentle summit, overlooking the craggy true summit ahead.

The last bit to the top seemed to stymie most of the other climbers, but luckily I had done my research and knew to go past it on the left. This took us over two very low-angle snowfields (any traction beyond trekking poles absolutely unnecessary) and then a scree trail that led 200' up to the small summit area. I tagged both candidates, signed the register, and took pictures of the unfortunately-hazy views. Noting the darkish clouds overhead, I suggested we head down soon in case they turned into anything dangerous, and so we did.

The descent is much quicker, though still tiring. Best option is to stay to descender's right on a looser, junkier scree trail, which you can scree-surf much of the way down. We did make use of our ice axes for once, making a fun 500' glissade down the aforementioned snowfield.

Overall, this route is not in the least technical, if you go late in the season and avoid the few obstacles--there&#39;s no challenges you can't find on a hundred other western county highpoints. Some might argue it could be kept class 2 all the way to the summit. It's simply a long, exhausting slog. That said, I'd consider there to be four "crux" sections:
-the sandy ascent of the climber's trail to gain the ramp, at around 9200'
-the snowfield at 10000', if present--can be bypassed on either side in late season
-the false summit headwall at 13000'
-the last 200' to the true summit

P.S. McCloud is a useless town--there&#39;s supposedly a good burger place there, but it was already closed when I got there. And the gas station lacked any warm food. Had to drive all the way to Alturas for any kind of grub


Crane Mountain--8/17/16
Lake OR COHP, P2K

Drove here, probably unwisely, immediately after descending Mt. Shasta. The road is perfectly driveable for passenger cars up to a wide turnaround area at about 6950'--you can't miss it, as the road quality abruptly degrades past this. I walked from here, but as it would turn out, the road was not quite as fearsome as it had looked. I suspect a skilled passenger car driver might be able to coax a car all the way to the trailhead, and a high-clearance 2WD almost certainly could. Being alone, I just walked it. The 8200' trailhead was obvious, and after a short distance following it, I left the trail and bushwhacked through extremely easy open woods up to the unmistakeable true summit--a treeless, rocky ridge on the western edge of the mountain. Views were expansive, and the haze had abated enough that I could barely make out the white cone of Shasta some 110 miles distant. Roundtrip was about 2:45, and the descent was uneventful except for suddenly encountering a hundred or so cattle being herded down the forest road by a couple of legit cowboys!


Mt. Scott--8/17/16
Crater Lake National Park HP, P2K

After refueling (in several senses of the word!) in Klamath Falls, I drove up to Crater Lake NP. Events led to me getting a later start than I'd hoped for, and so I didn't set off on the hike until almost 5 PM. The trail was smooth and climbed at a moderate pace all the way to the summit, with only the last 50' being steeper and rockier. Views on this afternoon hike were magnificent, if not the clearest--McLoughlin, the Sisters, and of course, the freakishly-dramatic Thielsen looming just to the north. I'd advise a hike earlier in the day for the best views of Crater Lake itself, though. Ascent took 1 hour; descent was half that.


Mt. Thielsen--8/18/16
Douglas and Klamath OR COHP, P2K

This is one I'd been dreading, ever since I decided last minute to not attempt it two summers prior. Instead, it will go down as one of my favorite climbs.

I'd planned to camp right next to the trailhead, but it turns out that campsite doesn't exist. However, there's a map there of nearby Diamond Lake showing several camping options, and I of course had to go with Thielsen View. Once there, I wandered out to the dock, staring up at the intimidating, Tim Burton-esque spire of Thielsen, and watching it glow red as the sun set and a perfect full moon rose over its shoulder. I got to bed later than anticipated, and pushed my start time back to 4:30 AM; I would not actually start up the trail until 5.

I made less than ideal time up the Mt. Thielsen trail initially, even though it was broad and smooth and gradual. Aside from being spooked by some animal or other gronkling off in the moonlit woods, this part of the ascent was uneventful. I reached the junction with the PCT a bit before dawn, trying not to freak out too much at the insanity staring me blatantly in the face. The trail, unmarked but obvious, continued up the ridge, where it became steeper and looser, but still reasonable. As I neared treeline, I heard voices ahead, which turned out to be a group of teenaged girls led by an older woman. They would not be attempting the pinnacle, but would climb as high as they felt comfortable. I passed them, and soon noticed a guy below quickly gaining on me. We stopped and chatted, and he turned out to be from Boulder, CO, and a prolific rock climber! He passed me, but we were already only several hundred feet below the summit, so I did my best to keep up. The braided use trails continued up, reaching an area of exposed sedimentary rock, which required some class 2 to get up. Above this, the slope abated somewhat, and as I made my way up the talus field toward the ever-looming pinnacle, I was amazed at how unexposed the entire route had felt thus far! The last few hundred feet of the route swings over to the south side of the peak, and the face of the pinnacle the route ascends finally comes into view. Once at the notch below the final pitch, I made the quick class 2 jaunt over to the bump south of the pinnacle (a possible Douglas County contender), from which I could see the other climber already on the summit. He graciously offered to stick around to help me navigate up the route.

In the words of the late Adam Helman, this one really is just class 3, folks. While the other climber and I were both glad to have brought and used climbing shoes for a little added peace of mind, and I wore my helmet for the summit pitch, I do not think it necessary for any seasoned scrambler to need a rope on the easiest route. The rock is solid, the holds bomber and always there when you really need one, and the climbing is far from relentless--there are numerous ledges and pockets where one can rest. The route is really three or four 15-foot pitches of class 3, with a class 2 finish up to the airy summit. From the top, I let out a victory whoop, waved to the girls several hundred feet below, and admired the gorgeous views over to Crater Lake (the waters of which cannot be seen from any other peak outside the park). On the descent, while a fall would have been fatal in most places, I downclimbed the entire thing facing out with no issue, and never felt terribly nervous. To elucidate the final route: aim for a black metal piton visible from the notch, then go either right or left around a block to the next shelf. There was an anchor loop around a rock above here, and once at this point (and after squeezing through a narrow notch), I trended climber's left and found easier ground to the top. At no point was my butt hanging out over the massive drop to my right. For you Colorado folks, I'd describe the summit pinnacle as comparable to (but a step or two easier than) Mt. Wilson's summit block, and considerably easier than the final pitch of the Crestones traverse.

Once safely back at the notch, the other climber and I shot the breeze for nearly an hour. The descent went quickly, consuming a little over two hours, during which I passed a surprising number of folks heading up (but my impression being that few to none of them would be attempting the pinnacle). I returned to the car, very pleasantly surprised at how much I'd ended up enjoying this one. It really is one (or rather, two) of the best county highpoints around.


Mt. Bolivar--8/18/16
Coos OR COHP, P2K

After a lengthy drive over from Thielsen, I gassed up in Glendale and followed the many miles of paved road (33 or so, by my account) to the trailhead parking area on the left. The trail seemed overgrown but was easy enough to follow, and it wasted little time in switchbacking up the mountain, intermittently diving into unburned and shadier areas. I made the summit in 50 minutes, where I was treated to 360-degree views. It was alas somewhat hazy, so all I could see were the Coast Ranges, including Brandy Peak to the south, and probably Grayback. The summit was littered with broken glass, and there was no sign of either a register or the Simon Bolivar bust. I high-tailed it down in all of 25 minutes.


Brandy Peak--8/18/16
Curry OR COHP, P2K

Driving over here from Bolivar is an exercise in patience and driving winding roads--it took two hours to make the drive, and that's with my gratuitous zooming down straighter sections of road! These roads do see at least a little traffic, in spite of the remoteness of the area. Be advised there are some dirt road sections, especially before Agness. The rental car had no issues on any of these roads, however. The pulloff for the trail was unmarked, but obvious with my waypoints. This trail too seems to be in disrepair and infrequently hiked. A few minutes after a flat area of the trail, I spotted a faint use trail splitting off to the right, and this led straight to the open summit area. Views were magnificent, and I stayed to watch the sunset, then headed down. Ascent was 30 minutes; descent maybe half that.


Grayback Mtn--8/19/16
Josephine OR COHP, P2K

This would prove to be a little tougher than expected, though I was able to coax my compact Honda rental car up the road all the way to the upper trailhead. This road is doable for most cars if driven with care in a few spots, mostly ruts and berms; that said, if you're not up for abusing your car a little, you can park at the lower trailhead and walk the last rougher mile or so. The first part of the trail is STEEP, going uphill at angles generally not seen on official trails in the western US. After crossing a creek, the slope eased up. I stayed right at the first trail junction, switchbacked up several hundred feet in the woods, and then reached the second trail junction, where I went a bit further south then started up the last 900-odd feet to the summit through steep meadows. This got to be loose and class 2 in a few spots, so just take your time and be careful. The open summit yielded majestic, if slightly hazy views of the surrounding peaks, including McLoughlin, a barely-discernable Shasta, and a craggy prominent peak to the southwest that I could only assume to be the Del Norte county highpoint. Moving slowly on account of the heat (temps in Medford were in the triple digits), it took me 2 1/2 hours to ascend the peak; the descent was maybe an hour and fifteen. I ran out of water, but stayed cool by dunking my hat in the blissfully cold mountain streams; I resisted the very strong urge to just straight-up drink the cold, clear water.

This summit marked the exact halfway point--207 out of 414 counties--on my quest to climb the western contiguous COHPs.


South Yolla Bolly Mtn--8/19/16
P4K

I reached the area later than I was hoping to, and after filling up on gas in Red Bluff, I made my way to Paskenta and the M2 road (signed as Toomes Camp Rd in town), followed this 17-ish miles until the pavement ran out at a split, where I stayed right for another 6ish miles, then turned right at the signed junction for M22 at the Cold Spring Guard Station. This next nine miles of road was a little rougher, with the occasional drainage ditch. The last 2.2 miles, up 25N19, was definitely more challenging for the car with some steep and/or rutted areas, but I made it to the broad hiker's trailhead an hour and ten minutes after leaving Paskenta (definitely zooming). Several other folks were camped up there, and they turned out to be hunters awaiting the start of deer archery season. I was in a hurry though, wanting to make the summit as close to sunset as possible, and blasted up the ridge. After the first few hundred feet, the forest opened up and the way up the ridge became generally obvious, with only a handful of gendarmes to throw some confusion into the mix. While I didn't make the top by sunset, I was only about ten minutes late, and it was still light enough to snap some pictures to the west as well as what I'd taken down lower. It was extremely hazy, with visibility limited to perhaps 20 miles, but what I saw was rather pretty anyway. I made my way back down, managing to never need my headlamp, finally popping back to the trailhead at dark. Chatted with one of the hunters, and resolved to buy some orange clothing before starting the last two peaks of my trip! Time up was 45 minutes, down was 30 or so.


Anthony Peak--8/20/16
Mendocino CA COHP, P1K

This one would prove to be a drive-up, even in the Honda. The drive from Willows to the top consumed about two hours. M7 was in excellent condition the whole way, but heavily travelled this start of doe hunting season. The spur road off M7 to the summit was, like the past few roads I'd been on, uneven and rutted in spots, but possible to coax a car up. The top held lovely views of South Yolla Bolly and Black Butte, but haze again limited visibility to twenty miles or so. I chatted a while with Malcolm, the lookout caretaker, who was eccentric but fascinating as he told me of his adventures spotting and fighting fires, his knowledge of the area, and even some crazy stories of hunters rappelling off the summit! We talked for nearly an hour. He was glad to hear I was headed over to Black Butte next, and informed me the local tribes used to hold powwow on its summit.


Black Butte--8/20/16
Glenn CA COHP, P2K

My last peak of the trip, it was harder than the short distance and gain might indicate, but probably just because my body was exhausted! I made it only a tenth of a mile up the road from the turnoff from M7, the car finally stymied by a steep and uneven section I simply couldn't get up--one would need 4WD here. Parking at the base of the hill and donning orange, I continued up, reaching a much better road section immediately after. The road continued to the base of the last 500 or so feet up, growing very steep, and immediately transitioning into a trail about 300' below the top. I slogged my way up in the midday heat, finally topping out on the bare summit with its panoramic views, glad to be done with the uphill at last. I slogged back down, drove out, and made my way back to Reno with a stay in Circus Circus and a chance meetup with a childhood friend I hadn't seen in twenty years. I flew back to Tennessee the following morning, exhausted but glad to have had a very successful trip.






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