A good time climbing Little Bear (see video below). This TR is mostly to share my approach to the meat of the route itself from Lake Como Road/HW 150. It has a reputation of being quite a bushwhack, but I hope that my brief narrative and (more importantly GPS track) can help those get through to Tobin Creek at least, with minimal fuss.

According to Bourneman and Lampert, the South Ridge was the original, easiest route up Little Bear but access to the South Ridge is closed off now because of PP. The Southwest and South Ridge meet right when the ridge gets hard, so other than the bushwhack-y part, I think the difficulties would be similar.I have an interest in finding alts. to the Hourglass Gully and keep a post about the dangers of trusting the fixed ropes found within.

From the info sign at the very start of Lake Como Road, take the Lake Como Road northeast as you would to Lake Como. You will be on BLM.

After around a mile, another well-graded road will come in from hiker's right. Take this road SE. You can try splitting the difference and going off-road, but you'll hit a barbed wire fence.

At ~mile 1.6, a rougher road will come in on the left. Take it. There are many roads that go generally in a NE direction, along with this one. The specific road this track will follow will go pretty close to the start of the route, many others will not. Also be aware that there are many different forks the branch from this road, but those forks may not go all the way. If you're following this track and you get slightly off route onto another fork of the road, turn around, and get back onto the actual track - you may hit a dead end and frustrating bushwhacking will ensue. If you're in a 4WD capable vehicle, you'll have minimal trouble until around where you hit the trees. You may want to park at a convenient place.

At ~mile 3, you will slice into the corner of, "Twenty-Fourth" and "Polar" streets. These roads are either on private property, or on the very border of private property. The road you are traveling slices just above them, and crosses over from BLM to National Forest Land. Continue on the road you've been on NE.

At ~mile 3.9, the road you're traveling will essentially end in a dry wash. C'est le vie. Continuing will mean climbing up a steep hill out of the wash. Instead, follow the track, which follows this wash. Like the road preceding it, there are many different washes that converge, but I can't guarantee taking them is going to garner you a good route. Although you won't be on a road, the wash should be fairly clear of branches and debris and full of prints, both boot and animal. There may be a few branches you will need to duck over - trust the track! You will be generally be going generally east, slightly south, and climbing. Your goal is to join up with a rough 4WD track, which is inaccessible to you from the south, as it starts on private property.

At mile ~4.5, you will reach the 4WD road. Good camping is available right before this road in a clearing, or in the trees close by. There's some old rusting mining/ranching debris, so careful not to set up over an old can or barbed wire.

Time for the actual bushwhack - I hope the track and the narrative above got you as close as possible!

When you reach the road, take it north as it climbs, until it turns NW - this will come pretty soon. Leave it, and gain the shallow ridge. Travel generally NE up and over the ridge and towards Tobin Creek. A good crossing point is at: 37.54316, -105.53649. Vegetation at the creek is quite thick here, I won't sugar coat it!

Once across the creek, you're now at the start of the Southwest Ridge of Little Bear. Hike up a steep incline generally NE, and hug the side of the ridge you find Tobin Creek on as close as is realistic - you should still just be trudging up hill. There are shrubs here that like to grab gear, so make sure everything is securely stowed.

Generally, you'll want to stay either right on top of the ridge, or just to the left of the ridge, until treeline. If this means easy scrambling up and over a small rocky ridgeline amongst the trees, do it! Rocky travel will be easier than talus in the trees, or hiking through vegetation. It'll feel a little weird being below treeline on a rocky outcropping, but trust that it'll get you where you generally want to go.

Once out of the vegetation, dodge the evergreens on the left hand side of the ridge until you're out of treeline. Take the ridge the majority of the way towards 14,000'. The ridge will start to get a little more difficult. I suggest for the most part taking the ridge itself, rather than hunting for easier ledges below, but hike your own hike. There is a brief knife edge section, and then a small tower to overcome. If the tower seems impossible, ledges to hiker's left will give you some options (Class 4, extreme exposure). A few other scramble-y bits will take you to Mama Bear, then Little Bear - I suggest again to stay close to the ridge and take on the difficulties as directly as you can. Remember that you will start to be above the Hourglass route, so kicking rocks should be avoided. Take your time, look for hand and foot holds. Other TRs can fill you in, but prepare for Class 4 scrambling. See my video below for some preview.

I really quite enjoy this route - I've done it now on three trips - and I think it makes a worthy alternative to the Hourglass. It trades in the Hourglass Gully with an airy ridgeline, which in dry conditions, I absolutely prefer. I can't say if one is harder than the other - there are certainly objective dangers on both that are gravity related! But you will not have the problem of rocks being kicked down you from climbers above and because of that, I think it's a total win. The camping spot near Tobin Creek can help take the sting out of the mileage, making the summit only 3.4 miles away. The pack out is quite quick as it's all downhill, so consider breaking this up into a day and a half, starting your backpack in sometime late in the afternoon.

Anyways, onto the video: