Saturday, November 9, 2024

Winston Ridge and Peak 6903

Hiked: 11/8/2024
Distance: 4.7 miles round trip on trail
Summit Elevation: 7008' (Winston Ridge)
Elevation Gain: 1150'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.9
Round trip time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Recommended water: 32 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free at Cloudburst Summit turnout on ACH
Difficulty: Easy

Another day hitting easy HPS peaks along the ACH. First up was Winston Ridge (HPS #117). I had climbed Winston Peak years ago so I didn't go over it. Instead, I took the dirt road that runs south of Winston Peak toward Cooper Canyon trail camp. The road is above the PCT and parallels it for about a mile where they intersect. Then, I took the PCT north to the saddle between Winston Peak and Peak 6903. There was a defined use trail to Winston Peak and a faint one to P6903. I went directly up the ridge to 6903, which had a small group of boulders on the summit, no register, no marks. I continued over 6903 to another saddle where a nice trail led the rest of the way to the Winston Ridge summit. This was fine country with sparse, tall pines and a lot of open space. The summit was Winston Ridge was within a small circle of stones. A green can held the register, but there were no marks. I could not sign in because there were no pencils or pens in the can. I usually carry a pencil, but could not find it. I was able to donate a Ziploc baggy for the register. I continued to the end of the ridge for the views west. On the way back, I followed a use trail around the east side of P6903. I came up behind a deer hunter there and yelled out from 100' to not startle him. He had no luck finding deer, though there were plenty of tracks around. He was also worried that I was out in the wilderness without a firearm and that animals might get me. I assured him I had met the animals of the forest and we were at peace. I was more concerned that my khaki pants and light gray puffy made me look like a deer. I followed the PCT/road back and drove to my next goal: Mt. Hillyer.


Junction with the PCT


Peak 6903 summit

Looking over at Winston Ridge

Random triangle marker on the P6903 ridge


Winston Ridge summit


Looking west from the end of Winston Ridge


No comments:

Post a Comment