Climbed Kent from the McClellan Butte trail. Where the trail reaches the ridge and bends at 4700’ there is a side trail that passes a sign that says “No Trespassing. Cedar River Watershed.” Amazingly enough, no one has yet defaced it or torn it down. The trail quickly peters out but it’s easy enough to drop down to a gravel road which, in about ˝ mile, gets close to Alice Lakes (there is an uphill branch not shown on USFS map). A short shwack leads to the lake basin. I encountered many many perfectly ripe blueberries there (after passing numerous huckleberry bushes on upper MB trail). This caused some delay in my progress. Of Alice Lakes only one badly shrunken pond remains at present. Judging from a ring around the rocks on the bank it is at least 15’ below ‘normal’ water level. A further lake bed is completely dry. Across from it is a large talus slope leading to the summit ridge. As such slopes go this one is actually not too bad (dry) but tedious nonetheless (up & especially down). Summit ridge is steep and pine-needle slippery.
It took me ~an hour 15 min. each way on the MB trail-summit leg. The road alleviates bushwacking the entire distance along the Kent ridge. I climbed this in spring once, with a good snow cover, from the other side (Alice Creek basin logging road)—definitely more aesthetic and I don’t recall using the road then.
The Duck& Doochess of Kent
Not a completely tree-free view from the summit
It was a beautiful clear smoke-free (for a change) afternoon. But looking SE--this peculiar cloud formation. It may be evidence of the Schneider Ck fire s. of SR410
Thanks for the report. Once I climbed Kent the same way you did but with snow. Then I dropped down into the Alice Creek basin -- that's a wonderful glissade with good snow conditions. On that side you never have to enter the Cedar River Watershed.
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