I just wanted to add a few things to K7ATN's great write up about Hogback Mountain.
This hike is initially quite steep with about 1800 feet of elevation gained
in a short distance (<2mi?). There are dozens of informal trails up the ridge
that I saw. As such, there are an abundance of loose rock and eroding soil.
Its a shame that nobody has taken the initiative to put up a proper trail as
this area gets lots of visitors.
I went up directly from the spot K7ATN shows in the church parking lot. I
didn't see any road going up, at most, a faint a 4x4 road. There are several
posts painted red that generally indicate one "correct" route up the ridge.
I went straight up the ridge to about 100ft shy of ridge crest where the trail
bears left and followed it. Once you get to this point, all the trails pretty
much merge into one heading towards the summit.
On this early September day, I was beset by lots of small flies. DEET helped but
was not super effective. Saw lots of lizards too. There is no shade to speak of,
just a few juniper trees. It was about 85 degrees at 3:30pm when I started the
climb. The west facing slope had me feeling like a baked potato.
It took me 1:15 minutes of hard hiking to reach the summit from the church parking
lot. The summit has some scrub trees to which I attached the EFHW to. Its a really
ugly summit with all sorts of RF equipment and a porta-potty. There was no
interference to either 20 meters or 2m rig. Nobody was heard on 2m but 20 worked
well to the east coast.
Views on the way up and down are quite nice. I could clearly see Mt. Shasta in the
distance and also Chase and Hamaker mountains. Saw a dozen locals climbing the
summit for exercise. One lady had a Corgi and another tiny little dog busting it
up the steep slope all covered in dust.
If you are in K-Falls, this is an easily accessible summit. Its not an easy climb
however. Try it on a a cooler day. Hopefully, somebody will put a trail up there
as this area has so much potential to be a nice recreation area.
~
