Tuesday, September 5, 2017

W6/NE-295

This unnamed peak looks over Blue Lake in Modoc National Forest. The drive in to Blue Lake is easy, the roads are all paved to the campground. My original plan was to park at the campground, on the south-east side of the lake, then hike up, but there were no parking spots there. Instead I parked in the day use area on the north end of the lake.
Trail around the lake. Edge of the summit ridge on the right.
There is a paved trail that runs around the lake, and I took this to the campground. From the south end of the campground I went cross-country. I crossed the first fire road, and continued bushwhacking to the second. I followed this road, 38N60, up the hill to the pass. Here I crossed over and continued up to the summit along fire road T60AD. All of the roads, up to the last one, were in good condition, and a bike or ATV could easily drive up them.
Blue Lake.
The last road was overgrown, but easy to follow. It eventually petered out near the top, but it was easy to continue ascending through the open forest. There are a few knobs on top that could have been the high points. The summit area is large and fairly flat, with a very large AZ. I setup near a downed tree, using it to support my pole.
Setup at the summit.
I had a strong 4G signal on top, but none down at the lake. This was the pattern all weekend I was up in the area. It was late in the afternoon, so I got on 30 meters and quickly got five contacts. I then went down to 40, and got a few more. I wanted to get down well before dark, so I could drive over to my campsite and setup in the light, so I called it quits. Finding the road I had taken up was easy, and then a quick walk back to the lake. I saw a number of deer, and cows, but the deer were too quick for me to get a picture.

Trailhead: Blue Lake. Either the campground or day use area. Both have pit toilets.
Website: SOTA SiteBlue Lake Site
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Trail along lake shore, then cross country to 38N60. At pass, take T60AD, then bushwhack to summit. I did not see road numbers while hiking, so take a map.
Red Tape: None.
Near the summit. That's Eagle Peak on the right.

No comments:

Post a Comment