EISPIRATEN

I've been getting beat up on my last couple of hikes. A rolled ankle on Baldy three weeks ago and a nasty blister combined with Poodle Dog last week. My wife told me that I better come back this week with no ailments. I decided to do a moderate hike and with cooler weather this one felt perfect. I began from Red Box and met a bunch of hiking groups on the way up. I went up the steep south face which seems to have more yucca every time I come up here. The first section still has the metal rope that you can hang on to help pull you up the steep sections. The top section is choked with yucca and you need to leave the gully and hike along the side of the ridge. The final section is also steep and has some metal rope to help you get up. The top had no register and is pretty meh. The west ridge coming up from Strawberry saddle is a lot of fun with some easy rock scrambling. The route is pretty easy to follow with a couple of buckthorn thickets to wind through.

From the saddle the trail is pretty steep in certain sections which I didn't remember but still easy and quick to the summit of Strawberry. The summit had an overflowing register with probably 25-30 people up there. One large group was getting ready to leave so I quickly went ahead so I wouldn't get caught behind them. The trail from the saddle contouring around Lawlor is in great shape and I met a group of bikers who had come around Strawberry from Josephine. There was a group of hunter sitting on the trail as well, checking out the area for deer. I had heard shots earlier in the day. I got back to Red Box with no significant injuries, mission accomplished.

I've never gone up Lawlor's south face. Looks pretty damn steep to me. The standard route is enjoyable though. The summit is nothing special as you say, but I prefer it to Strawberry which has become too crowded for my anti-social tastes.

Lawlor's south face is a beast. I descended it last year and got stabbed by a Yucca. It's up there with Hoyt Mountain in terms of steepness.

I actually enjoyed the views from the summit. I also enjoyed that nobody was up there, and probably wouldn't be up there for a while.

Here's the view of the ridge:



Click for full-res as usual. It's very direct.

dima wrote: ↑Here's the view of the ridge:



Click for full-res as usual. It's very direct.

Which ridge is that?

Cable route up Lawlor. Straight up the South ridge. Center of the photo.

dima wrote: ↑Cable route up Lawlor. Straight up the South ridge. Center of the photo.

Where was that photo taken? Mt. Disappointment Rd?

It's from this trip report. Guessing I took that from just above the road cut at Red Box, or there-ish.

One of my greatest adventures in bad judgment was descending that ridge with my dog. The poor thing gave up and sat under a bush.