W6/NE-006 Hat Mountain

The high point of Lassen County is Hat Mountain, not Lassen Peak as one would expect. I climbed Hat Mountain the day after climbing Eagle, Cole, and Emerson Peaks. There is no trail to the summit, so I followed a route described by others on its Peakbagger page. I drove down fire road 38N18 to its junction with 38N18A. A vehicle with higher clearance than my sedan could continue down 18A.

Road junction at the start of the hike.

I followed 38N18A to its end, where it peters out in a marshy area. From here it is a steep and dense bushwhack down to Lost Lake. I made it down without too much trouble, and was able to cross the outlet stream without getting my feet wet. I then walked across the dam/road to the base of Hat Mountain.

Lost Lake in the early morning sun. Hat mountain to the photographer's left.

From the lake to the summit is a 1500 foot vertical climb, through some very steep forests. Careful study of a map will reveal sections that are a bit less steep, and they generally seem to be forested. Near the top, at the end of the forest is thigh-high scrub that is difficult to push through. On my way down I avoided this by staying higher on the ridge.

A hot and sweaty hiker has another county HP and SOTA summit!

There are a few piles of rocks  at the edge of the cliff, and the southern one is the highest. It has a register, which I signed after noting I was the first person in 2017 to sign it. I would have thought more people would have climbed up already this year. I setup my antenna, strapping the pole to a tree, and got on 20 meters. I quickly got six contacts. Since I had a good cell signal, I spent some time working other activators, getting three summit-to-summits. KX0R was really booming in on 30.

The tree that supported my pole. Thank you tree.

After having enough, I packed up for the long hike back. Going down was much faster, and the slope was not too steep, or so it seemed. I retraced my steps across the lake's dam, then began the ascent back up to the meadow and fire road. This was unpleasant, and the brush seemed much denser than on my way down. I eventually fought my way up to the road, and walked back to my car.

Tunnel of aspens on 18A.

I passed a truck driving up the road. A few minutes after I got back to my car, it returned and started down 18. I'm not sure what he was up to. I was hot, tired, and hungry, so I spent some time sitting in the shade eating and drinking. It was getting hotter and I was quite tired, so I decided not to attempt Horse Mountain. I drove into town to head over to the trailhead for tomorrow's hike.

Eagle Peak, Horse Mountain on the right.

Trailhead: Junction of forest roads 38N18 and 38N18A.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Follow 38N18A to the end, then follow stream down to Lost Lake. Bushwhack up to the peak. All routes are steep.
Red Tape: None.