A chilly day on Hunchback Mountain

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greenjello85
Posts: 554
Joined: July 31st, 2014, 1:31 pm

A chilly day on Hunchback Mountain

Post by greenjello85 » July 22nd, 2015, 12:42 pm

I hiked up Hunchback Mountain this morning. It's a fairly unrelenting climb! Some parts are better described as scrambles than hikes. If you are still finding your footing this hike is not for you. This is however an excellent conditioning hike to get me ready for an upcoming big backpack trip. If you really want to condition just keep going to Devil's Peak ;)

The trail starts on the south side of the parking roughly in the middle of the parking lot. I arrived at like 630 this morning and started walking down the abandoned road at the east end of the parking lot. This is not the trail :lol: I turned onto what actually looked like a good trail but as it turns out it just goes to a homeless camp. Do not go down the abandoned road!

The real trail passed by a neat old building before the climb began. Looks like an old pump house as there were a bunch of large galvanized pipes in there (the door was sitting wide open, I promise i didn't trespass). At the top of the first of many switchbacks there is a neat old cistern as well. The first section is all just switchbacks through a nice mature forest. The trail is in great shape through here. There are some nice rock formations as well.

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Cistern

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Mini-cliff

After around 2 miles, the trail becomes very steep and turns into a bit of a scramble up to a rocky steep ridge top. There are some great views from this first point looking down on the Salmon River valley, to welches, and over to the huckleberry ridge area.

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Steep ridge

The trail continues roughly for about .5 mile before opening up on a wide ridge. I continued to generally climb along this section but much more gently. There was a flat topped boulder with a devils club growing out of the top.

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The trail starts to side-hill after about another mile or so. This is fairly typical wilderness ridge trail. Not great but not too bad :) I passed the signed rock pile and helipad viewpoints before reaching the pyramid viewpoint. I made my way onto the pyramid but I was mired in an unnatural fog! Garr! It was actually pretty beautiful to watch the fog sweep up and over the pyramid. Kind of eerie. I was just about ready to leave when the fog broke and I was able to get a couple pics.

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Pano

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Interesting rock formation I'm calling the witch's nose

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The fog

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Welches

Per field guide 9 miles, 3270 e.g. That will burn off the Joe's donuts :lol: A fine day in the Salmon-Huckleberry, fog and all!
~Dan

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miah66
Posts: 2039
Joined: July 6th, 2009, 8:00 pm

Re: A chilly day on Hunchback Mountain

Post by miah66 » July 22nd, 2015, 1:20 pm

Witches nose...awesome!

I've never done this hike, but have long wanted to. I wish I had Weds off!
"The top...is not the top" - Mile...Mile & a Half

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kepPNW
Posts: 6411
Joined: June 21st, 2012, 9:55 am
Location: Salmon Creek

Re: A chilly day on Hunchback Mountain

Post by kepPNW » July 22nd, 2015, 4:55 pm

Yeah, I need to do that one, sometime, too!

Got up there once, taking Green Canyon Way, and there wasn't much (in the distance) to see at all. Very nice surroundings, the whole time, though. Looks like all the best views are closer to Zigzag, where you were.

Lots of blowdown? (Sure is, south of the GCW junction!)
Karl
Back on the trail, again...

greenjello85
Posts: 554
Joined: July 31st, 2014, 1:31 pm

Re: A chilly day on Hunchback Mountain

Post by greenjello85 » July 23rd, 2015, 9:21 pm

miah66 wrote:Witches nose...awesome!

I've never done this hike, but have long wanted to. I wish I had Weds off!
I named it in my delerium after climbing up there :lol: I don't work Weds but I babysit. I take my son on easier hikes. For any serious hiking I have to get up super early after working until midnight and make it home before noon. Limited hiking is better than no hiking though!
kepPNW wrote:Yeah, I need to do that one, sometime, too!

Got up there once, taking Green Canyon Way, and there wasn't much (in the distance) to see at all. Very nice surroundings, the whole time, though. Looks like all the best views are closer to Zigzag, where you were.

Lots of blowdown? (Sure is, south of the GCW junction!)
Surprisingly little blowdown Karl. There was only one that posed any impediment to travel. A 12" tree sitting about 3 feet in the air on a steep sidehill. I also made the loop from GCW to devils peak and salmon river in January so I was expecting to be leaping all day! I love the forest and rock formations so I enjoy the area but yeah the big volcano views are limited to devils peak. There are spectacular valley views on this northern section :D

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rainrunner
Posts: 627
Joined: June 29th, 2011, 6:55 am

Re: A chilly day on Hunchback Mountain

Post by rainrunner » July 24th, 2015, 6:43 am

"Unrelenting climb" certainly describes this hike. We did it as a backpack and stayed short of Devil's Peak by the spring, then hiked over to Kinzel Lake the next day. It was our Plan B due to so much being closed with the 2011 Dollar Lake Fire. Once was enough.
Ann
The mountains are calling and I must go.
John Muir

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