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TH: Hoosier Pass
RT: ~11.6 mi (GPS reading)
elevation gain: ~3335 ft
began: 7:40am
end: 5:10pm
Having recently hiked Silverheels, I knew what to expect (or thought I did) from the Hoosier Ridge. When I first saw Hoosier Ridge, I wasn't that impressed--it just didn't look like a mountain to me. But there came the day that I wanted to spend a long time above treeline and this seemed like the perfect choice for a solo mid-week winter hike.
The beginning felt quite familiar. I didn't need snowshoes, as there was a trench through the trees. As I left the trees and began to hike up the slope to gain the ridge, the trench disappeared. The snow on this slope varied quite a bit: in some places I could walk on it and in others, I punched right through. For the most part, it wasn't very deep; it was just tiring given that I couldn't predict how far through the snow I'd go with each step.
Red Mtn C poking out
The forecast had called for a mostly sunny day, and when I looked west, the nearby peaks were in the sun:
Still can't believe how little snow is on Lincoln.
North Star and Quandary
However, there was a cloud over Silverheels, and I remained in the shade for much of the morning.
I see sun out there!
There was some snow on the ridge, but most of it was avoidable. Again, the snow varied in consistency: some was quite powdery while in other places you could walk on the surface.
Views along the ridge:
getting closer!
I thought the "false summit" (last bump before the summit) was pretty cool. I hadn't expected it to be so broad and flat:
summit and Red Peak A peaking out
From that point, I had a decision to make: I wanted to hike the trio, but which order would be best? I finally decided to go up Hoosier Ridge first, then head to Red Peak A and then try to contour to Red Mountain C. I definitely had to regain some elevation, but this order seemed to work fairly well.
Loved the summit views. Pacific Peak was emitting a strong siren call:
Liked the stratigraphy on Red Peak A:
Now that I've seen it from both sides, I think I need to attempt Bald Mtn A:
The most interesting snow conditions I encountered all day were on Red Mountain C. It was the one place I considered pulling out the microspikes and where I might have used an ice axe (I didn't bring an axe on this trip).
Orange arrow points to what I thought was the crux.
Close-up of the crux. The snow was deeper than it looks and quite powdery.
Summit of Red Mountain C:
Time to head back over the bumps:
Silverheels is peaking out.
The end is in sight: down the snowy ridge and then a short jaunt to the car. Hope to make it back before dark!
Last light on North Star and Quandary:
It was a leisurely day, and I didn't try to hurry. I left the trailhead at 7:40am, summited Hoosier Ridge at 11:40am, headed to Red Peak A (summited a little after noon) and then hiked to Red Mountain C (summited just before 1:40pm, which is when I headed back to the car).
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
@wooderson: Thanks for the dog compliments--I named him Leo since he also reminds me a bit of a lion (he actually got mistaken for a mountain lion once on the trail).
@Jay521: I also really liked Guyot (summited in January this year). Haven't attempted Boreas yet--thanks for the suggestion.
@Mindy: Hoosier Ridge got some snow from Wednesday's storm--it looked alot whiter today than it did on Tuesday (sorry, no picture; I thought I took one while on my hike of Bald Mountain today, but when I uploaded my photos, I couldn't find it). I'm psyched for the film fest--thanks for posting the date!
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