W6/NS-077 Hiram Peak

 After a chilly night at the Highland Lakes campground we got an early start. The ambitious plan was to get both Hiram and Airola Peaks in a big loop. We were confident of Hiram, but Airola reportedly had some sketchy class 3 on the way. There is a trail from the top of the campground that leads up to the ridge, and we took this to start.

Heading up the trail.

We quickly got to near the ridge, where we found a good place to step off and go cross country. There was some brush, but nothing difficult to get through. It didn't take long to get to the base of the talus and scree.

Not too far from the peak.

The climb up the scree wasn't as bad as I feared it might be. It was generally stable, and there wasn't much sliding. Some smoke started blowing in, but it stayed in the valleys. It was a beautiful fall day, you could not have asked for a nicer one.

Small ponds at the base of the talus.

There are some use trails on the slope, but it is easy to find the way up. Just stay near the ridge. At the top is a flat section, before the summit cone. From a distance it looks steep, but when you get there you can see many easy ways up to the summit.

Looking back over at Folger Peak, yesterday's hike.

We setup an antenna on the summit and took turns on the air. I briefly had cell service, but it was not reliable. Nevertheless, we had no problem making contacts. We even managed to get two French stations and one Belgian! Since we had a lot of hiking left, we didn't stay too long. After packing up we went back down to the flat area below the summit, then descended the opposite side of the ridge.

Coming down the talus.

This was steep, as we expected, but nothing too bad. Eventually we made it down to the dirt and shrubs, then into the forest. All the time we were descending we kept looking over at Airola, trying to decide if it was doable. 

In the Hiram-Airola col.

In the col we started up the other side to attempt Airola Peak.

Trailhead: Highland Lakes Campground.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Take the trail from the top of the campground to the ridge, then go cross country up the talus and scree to the summit.
Red Tape: None.