Hiked: 6/18/2022
Distance: 12.2 miles round trip on trail and cross country
Summit Elevation: 7294'
Prominence: 2048'
Elevation Gain: 2634'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.5
Round trip time: 6 hours 20 minutes
Recommended water: 88 oz.
Parking/Fees: Adventure Pass at Walker Pass Campground
Difficulty: Moderate
Thirty-six hours after Olancha, my calves were still tight, but I had recovered enough for something less challenging. I spent the night in Ridgecrest, so there were plenty of options. Scodie Mountain (HPS #105) was an HPS Star Emblem I didn't know anything about. It's also a P2K with multiple routes. Most people ascend the PCT to a cross-country section, then return down a large gully. I made the gully a game-time decision. When I started Olancha, it was 77F at the trailhead. For Scodie, it was 44F due to a cold front. I drove to Walker Pass Campground and headed south on the PCT.
The trail transitioned from desert to pine forest in four and a half miles. The use trail leaving the PCT was evident. After climbing a steep, sandy slope, I saw Scodie another mile and a half away across a forested bowl. The use trail goes over unofficial Peak 7042 with it's own boulder pile. I went to the top of the pile to see if there was a register, but found nothing. Since I was heading east, most of my photos were ruined by light pollution. The trees were 10' to 20' high, so you couldn't see where you were going. The bowl also had small rolling hills that didn't show on a topo map. It would have been tough to navigate the terrain with just a map. It became a GPS exercise, but the trees and brush were not dense, so no bushwhack. I zig-zagged around obstacles and followed the track past several false summits. None of the tall boulder piles turned out to be the summit. The high point was a 12' class 2 boulder. Strong wind gusts (30 mph) hit me near the summit but were not a deterrent to climbing the boulder. An ammo box held the register. I signed in, took a few photos, and then started back the same way. With my craving for adventure still sated, I chose to skip the gully and go back to the PCT. On trail, I could writhe to the mindless groove instead of having to make decisions about obstacles in the gully. I met one couple on the PCT. Most of the thru hikers were well north by now. Back at the truck, I realized I had left my tailgate down and bags unguarded. Despite people milling about, no one disturbed my stuff. Score one for good people!
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