We hiked up the Windy Gap Trail 1.2 miles to the abandoned South Mt Hawkins road, turned right and proceeded 3.7 miles to the peak. Rocks are strewn everywhere and a few downed trees block the road:
South Mt Hawkins is really just a bump on the southern terminus of Hawkins ridge:
From the ranger station parking lot to the old fire lookout is about 5.2 miles. The views from the top of South Mt Hawkins are incredible. Looking into the East Fork with Iron and San Antonio beyond:
We left the peak and went cross-country back to the saddle where the road/trail veers north. We quickly lost the trail in the meadow about a half mile north on Hawkins Ridge and stayed too far east on the steep scree slopes. Within another half mile we finally intersected the trail by heading to the high point of the ridge.
There were many downed trees en route up Hawkins Ridge but overall the trail was in decent shape. A lot of work needs to be done to put it in good repair.
.From South Mt Hawkins along the Hawkins Ridge Trail to the PCT was 2.3 miles according to the signs. We added to that by being off-trail...The trip down to Windy Gap was clear of trees and the section of trail between Windy Gap and the parking lots was in excellent shape. The Trailbuilders have fixed much of the tread since last year and all of the trees have been cleared on the entire Windy Gap trail.
Overall, our total distance was 12 miles (GPS). We started our hike at 8:00 am and were finished by 3:45 pm. We had a lot of rest stops and straying off-trail cost us plenty! Hiking this semi-loop in a clockwise direction would probably eliminate losing the trail on the ridge. We started at ~5600' and topped out at ~8400' near the PCT - Hawkins Ridge junction. This is a fun trip and would do it again in a heartbeat!
