EISPIRATEN

On Sunday a few of us drove to the Crystal Lake Recreation Area. The place was packed with campers, not many hikers. Cecelia and I stopped at the Cafe for an Adventure Pass and hot chocolate. Then, around 7 AM, we joined David R, Uncle Rico and HikeUp at the Windy Gap Trailhead. It was a very pleasant and clear morning, still a little cold but we knew it would warm up once the sun finished climbing over the high Hawkins Ridge.

HikeUp stayed with us for a short stretch, then he took the Deer Flat Road while the rest of us continued up to Windy Gap.



Above the second road crossing, a trickle of water flowed across the trail. The damaged Sutter Wall section was still damaged. It had been a while since my last summertime trip through Windy Gap, but it all seemed the same as before. The new trees were maybe a little bigger, and the great views were maybe a little greater.



We took a break at the Gap to enjoy the breeze. Cecelia decided to hang back and possibly do Hawkins after a longer rest. She was feeling the elevation a bit.



Meanwhile David, Madison and I pushed ahead. Our goal was to reach Point 7296, located along a subsidiary ridge that branches off Copter Ridge on the south side of Mt. Hawkins. We raced to Hawkins and found a man and his two boys on the summit. They were on their way to Throop. Later we learned that Cecelia had made it to Hawkins too.



After resting and refueling at the peak, we started down Copter Ridge. We dropped about 500' of elevation before reaching a split in the ridge system. Continuing straight follows Copter Ridge, and turning left follows Not Copter Ridge, which leads to Point 7296. We turned left here.

Not Copter drops steeply, then very steeply, then steeply again, before mellowing out before the point. Because the ridge looks eastward, we had fine views of the Baldy region.



The terrain is mostly open with some tree cover. The ground has little vegetation, it's mostly a mix of loose soil sometimes covered in pine needles, and compacted earth with embedded rocks for decent footing--even in the steepest sections.



A few rock outcroppings dot the ridge here and there. They are small, though, and easily avoidable, unless you're the type that seeks them out, then they are photo opportunities.



After the steep descent, the flat stretch was a welcome relief for my knees.



Then we approached the point, simply a small rise in the ridge, an open spot with rocks at the top and nearby shade under the trees.



This is looking back up the ridge from the point.



We settled down in the shade and enjoyed the fresh destination. To the north was the big crestline of Throop and Burnham and Baden-Powell.



David walked down the ridge a short distance and returned with information about a good view of Ross Mountain. I went down to grab a photo.



There were a few flies out and about. They seemed to enjoy annoying Madison the most. Sometimes the breeze kept the pests away, but I still applied bug spray on my arms and neck.

We ate lunch and tried to invent a name for the ridge. I don't think we succeeded, so for now I'm just going with "Not Copter Ridge." We left a register at the point.



Then I forgot to take a group photo on the summit, so here we are slightly west of 7296, just after departure.



The steep climb out was a bit of a grind. But thankfully we found plenty of shade in which to take plenty of rest breaks. Total stats for this out-and-back are about 13 miles with 4600' of gain. Afterward we found Cecelia and stopped at the Cafe for sodas. I also wolfed down a chili cheese hot dog.

Thanks to David for suggesting this fun adventure!

Jealous!! Wow, such a different world up there compared to the Red Box front range area. Its so gloriously open, dotted with majestic pines for some shade....nearly ideal for off-trail exploration. You guys covered some impressive mileage and elevation gain.

If it stays reasonably cool enough up there I hope we can try to do another hike in the high country this summer that I'll be able to join! In the meantime will focus on the next buckthorn battle for Rose peak

That's a cool area. Easy to say from here but it looks like just about the right mix of open area and shade. The summit rockpile looks like a giant cairn.

Really great outing. Good conditioning hike trying to keep pace with DavidR and Sean.

The high country was glorious yesterday. Nice and breezy at Windy Gap. PCT in decent shape. Couple of downed trees and some residual snow to get around but nothing major.

The ridge was very open and navigable. Coming back out was a bit grueling, but the climb wasn't terribly long. David and Sean had to wait for me to catch my breath a couple of times.

We saw Bitterroot growing on the ridge so I'm calling this Bitterroot Ridge and Pt. 7296 Bitterroot Point.

Here's a few more pics.

I feel for Hikeup..nhps or die.

I don't remember this hike but I see pics of myself so I must've been there. Looks like fun!

Nice one! Looks pretty up there.

David R wrote: ↑I don't remember this hike but I see pics of myself so I must've been there. Looks like fun!

Deep fake.

I forgot to mention that now is the time to do the Crest from Crystal Lake, because the ACH closure makes it nice and peaceful up there. No traffic noise!