Hiked: 5/20/2022
Distance: 9.8 miles round trip on dirt road and cross country
Summit Elevation: 7920' (Grays), 7854' (Hanna)
Elevation Gain: 2250'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.8
Round trip time: 5 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 64 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at 2N13 gate (unsure if Adventure Pass needed)
Difficulty: Moderate
Drove out to Big Bear Lake for Grays Peak (HPS #74), the closest remaining star emblem peak on the list. It was a bizarre weather day, with a strong marine layer extending deep into San Bernardino County. It rained the entire drive until I rose above 6000' on highway 38, then blue skies and sunny sunshine. The forest around Big Bear is mostly large evergreens making an idyllic impression. The official trailhead for Grays Peak was near Fawnskin, but was closed for eagle nesting. I had to use the back door. I took Rim of the World (eventually a dirt road) to 2N13, which was gated. There was ample parking at the gate so that was my starting point.
I walked up 2N13 until I spotted a line on the north ridge that looked good enough, then left the road. Grouse Creek was gurgling, but low, and easy to cross. My intuition was that the slopes around Big Bear were mostly open and that would cost me later. I wound around large patches of buckthorn and some deadfall. About 30 minutes later, I intersected the trail. It eventually circled the peak to ascend from the south. There was a witness post at an overlook 50' below the high point. I found a geocache below the summit block. Views of the lake and the San Bernardino Mountains were better at the overlook.
I planned to get Hanna Rocks next. The Garmin showed a road/trail nearby that turned out to be non-existent. That, plus my underestimation of the brushy slopes led me to waste an hour attempting a cross country shortcut. It ended in a mess of buckthorn with one thorn too deep in my thigh to remove with tweezers. It's still there as I write this. The only good that came from it was I retrieved a mylar balloon. I backed off and descended generally the way I came up, before following roads to the base of Hanna Rocks.
There were only a few ascents of Hanna Rocks in Peakbagger (always a motivation!), and no GPS tracks. It looked like a fun cross country scramble. I started up the south ridge, dodging brush and climbing rocks. There were several class 3 sections before a false summit. When I reached the summit area, I thought the nearest two boulder piles were the main candidates for the high point. I picked the higher of the two, realizing at the top that an even higher pile was on the north side of the summit. I climbed down and approached the highest point, discovering a register underneath. The register had been placed by Dave Comerzan and George Christiansan on 8/10/2018. I signed in as the 6th entry, then continued up the final 15' to the true summit. Big, fat holds all the way. Views were awesome and airy. On the drive back, I descended back into the gloom of the marine layer that rained on me again.
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