I started at the hot springs. Someone has done some great work on the Dick Thomas Trail, taking out every downed log, except the 1st one that you have to crawl under. The 2nd one, “the head bonker”, has been removed. Hallelujah! One time it dropped me to my knees and I ended up crawling under it , too! The road above the Aldrich Butte Rdg. cutoff tr. had a few down scrubs and a couple small logs, but all were easy to get through or across. Coming back I did the PCT and the ridge cutoff trail back to the road. They, too, have been repaired and are in great shape. I did all these trails 2 days after the ice storm and there was significant damage to all up to 1400’. Nice work and thank you!!!
Going up Heartbreak Rdg. a dusting of snow started within sight of the trailhead. It was about 4” on the traverse to the talus. The talus slope had about 8 - 12 inches on it. On top, The fresh snow varied, depending on where the wind blew it, from 6” to 2’ deep. I noticed snow above 3300’ had ice under it and footing got a little dicey on the steeper spots with less snow. The snow depths on top may be deeper depending on how much ice is under it. Coming down the West Rdg. wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be, but I carried an ice axe on my pack just in case.
The snowline began about 1800’ just above Heartbreak Rdg. TH.
Around 2200’.
Mt. Hamilton from the knob at the top of the incline.
Sign diverting us away from the summertime lichen fields.
The trail was evident, so I traversed by the 2nd ridge…
…to the talus slope.
The talus slope had just enough snow to fill most of the voids. Whooo!
The trail from there was drifted over, but I was still able to stay on track..
The jct.
Cinderella’s Slipper.
Near the top.
Me on top, trying out a pole camera attachment.
I was planning on going down the North Ridge, but a fog bank came in and I couldn’t even see it. I had it tracked and found the trailhead, but it was drifted over worse than the other trails. Not this day!
