Distance: 2.8 miles round trip on dirt road and use trail
Summit Elevation: 6691'
Elevation Gain: 680'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.5
Round trip time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Recommended water: 24 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Keller Peak Road
Difficulty: Easy
The last stop of the day was Mill Peak (HPS #140). I hadn't done much research on it, but I did read a report where someone had to bushwhack to the summit. I brought my loppers just in case. The trail started at a turnout on Keller Peak Road and descended down a dirt road. The road then climbed up toward Mill Peak which was not visible through the forest. When I came to a fork, I took the upper road. After a mile or so, I spotted a cairn that marked the use trail. The use trail went through freshly cut brush, mostly whitethorn. What encroached on the trail were soft ferns. The brush grew up to twice my height and I didn't see the summit block until I was within 50' of it. The moat of whitethorn around the summit area gave it a very San Sevaine feel. The summit block was easy and a register was in a large plastic jar. Mill Peak was quite popular based on the number of entries. Views were OK, but blocked in several directions by trees. I dug out the loppers on the way out and cut some whitethorn and ferns. I left it a little better than it was, but the people before me had done the hard work. It was an easy but productive day. I checked four HPS peaks off the list.
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