Bryan ended last year with a back surgery which temporarily sidelined his typical self-implied "shameless peakbagging" ways. He had been itching to get back into the mountains and I was happy to help him attain that goal. The key was that we had to find some low-impact summit goals. Despite getting rebuffed by some gated forest roads, which would have forced us into doing much longer hikes than we cared to do for his first re-introduction hiking day, we were still able to find three low-elevation peaks which were surprisingly pleasant to visit.
PEAK #1: "Bee Sting Hill" (2665' elevation, 625' clean prominence)
We found an old logging road full of downed trees & ice which apparently leads nearly to the top. An old path skirts the ridgetop, too. Some bushwhacking on the ascent. We found a sign for National Forest land.
I brought my EpiPen but it was not necessary; no bee stings on this trip. A little visitor also followed us, too, which creeped-out Bryan. Good views from the summit towards the tiny community of Plain. Someone has put a sign on a tree which states the elevation is "2671" but that might be because the sign is nearly 6' above the ground at the base of the tree?
ESTIMATED ELEVATION GAIN: 640'
National Forest land
EpiPen not used on Bee Sting Hill
Looking towards Plain
PEAK #2: "Beaver Hill" (2840'+ elevation, 560'+ clean prominence)
Surprisingly, a very good unmarked trail leads to the summit. A large pile of rocks is found near the false summit, which is still 5-10 minutes away from the true summit. Better views from the false summit, as well as along a side-trail 100' elevation below it.
The trail had several steep sections which were very icy. We each put our microspikes to use and veered into less icy side-brush when possible. A lot of hoarfrost on the trees and bushes; it was really interesting to see the thorny/barbed appearances many of them had. Once again, a little visitor had followed us.
ESTIMATED ELEVATION GAIN: 660'
Licking some hoar near a Beaver
Gollum looking for some beaver
All eyes on Bryan on Beaver Hill
PEAK #3: "Eleven Bits Hill" (2048' elevation, 688' clean prominence)
This one was a "Hail Mary Pass" on my part. Having been to Cashmere on many occasions, I had noticed this peak numerous times but never had an inclination to summit it. This peak is much more impressive as seen from the east than from the west. Its southeast slopes are very cool to see, too.
Discovering that a road led to the top, this peak seemed to fit our "low-impact" philosophy of the day. The summit road had a locked chain "gate" but no negative signage preventing non-motorized road access beyond that point. There is a communications facility at an eastern false summit, which is definitely lower so we skipped that. I was disappointed that I had only brought ten bits of coins with me.
The weirdest aspect of the road-walk was that we seemed to pass through several inversion layers from the car to the summit. The road went from completely frozen dirt to super-soft dirt to frozen ice to frosty crust at the true summit. Great views, only obstructed by low clouds. Once again, our little visitor joined us.
ESTIMATED ELEVATION GAIN: 680'
"Eleven Bits Hill"
Gollum looks for eleven bits of hobbit
Atop "Eleven Bits Hill"
Overall, it was a very successful day. Bryan did not experience any pains and we were able to share three summit hikes together. Plus, our cumulative elevation gain was nearly 2000'. There is nothing "shameless" about that.
Taking Bryan's car for a spin!
Needed a late night foody call!
-------------- Year 2022: 50 pounds lighter but not 50 points brighter.
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-------------- Year 2022: 50 pounds lighter but not 50 points brighter.
It felt great to be back in the mountains. Since late September I've had 2 back operations and my mountain time has suffered greatly! I'm thankful that Redwic was willing to shamelessly bag some low lying fruit with me.
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Freezing fog is awesome. To look at on vegetation that is.
