DISTANCE: 9.78km / 6.08 miles
ELEVATION GAIN: 600m / 1966’
TIME TAKEN: 3:30
ELDORADO NATIONAL FOREST
ELDORADO COUNTY, CA
SOUNDTRACK: Misfits: Where Eagles Dare
SUMMITS:
• Eagle Rock: 1911m / 6270’
• Peak 6452’: 1967m / 6452’
PHOTO ALBUM
MAP
...continued
Eagle Rock is a granite gendarme that can be seen towering over the south side of Highway 50, between Kyburz and Strawberry, if you know when to look (eyes on the road!). I had compiled a mental list of things to do in this area while camping in Kyburz over the fourth of July weekend, and Eagle Rock had been identified as a close and moderate destination.
Inevitably woke up late after the inevitable night of partying. I was also loathe to leave Amber’s van bed; it was extremely comfortable, and the site of the best sleep I’d gotten in the past four nights. After slowly gaining my footing, and eating breakfast, I hopped in my van and drove up Silver Fork Road to look for the dirt forest service roads that snaked up towards Eagle Rock on the map. I decided the best place to start would be across from China Flat Campground, and I parked next to an old abandoned cabin. I started walking at 11:45AM, up the remains of an old dirt road. It had a log fallen across it within the first ten feet, so obviously it’s not something I could have driven up, even with 4WD. The old dirt road snaked up the hill, and soon intersected with what appeared to be fresh logging roads. There wasn’t much shade, the road was an inch deep in that powdery kind of dust, and the day was warm already. I though to myself, this area would be good for early or late season hiking, with it’s low elevation. I had saved a GPS track in my phone from Marcus Sierra, his path up the logging roads to Peak 6452. I decided to follow his path up the gently winding way, visit peak 6452, and then hit Eagle Rock on the way back.
There was no active logging going on (weekend?), but there was one large piece of equipment on the road, and several giant piles of cut down trees. It wasn’t total clearcutting, thankfully, more of a thinning, selective logging apparently. Now I knew where all the logging trucks, rumbling down Silver Fork Road, past our camp in Kyburz, had been coming from. When I got close to the summit of Peak 6452, I tried to go cross country to save time, and was confronted with a head high wall of impenetrable manzanita. So my advice is, don’t look for shortcuts around here. I continued following the Marcus Sierra track, going around the east side, and there found a decent trail which took me almost all the way to the top. Here, Peak 6452 opens up with granite and scrub pines. I stood atop the granite boulder high point for a minute or two, then sat down to quench my thirst. It was hot! Thunder Mountain, the Amador County high point, and the Silver Fork American River watershed were visible to the south, the north face looked down upon highway 50. Eagle Rock, my next goal was also in sight. Going down the west side of the peak, I struck off for it.
The trail that had brought me to Peak 6452 seemed to continue, but it looked like it was going downhill, away from the rock, south-west, so I broke off to go cross country, there were patches of irritating brush to push through, on and off, across the saddle. It took about a half hour to reach the large granite boulders at the base of Eagle Rock. I was happy to be past the brush, and scrambling on beautiful granite now. The way up was a fun climb across giant rock chunks, starting on the east side, then turning north. It was easy class 3, and there are probably multiple class 3 options to reach the top, as well as more difficult ones if you choose. At the top of my climb was a rock “doorway” which led to a north facing ledge. Going left from here led me to the very top of the rock. It was now about 2:30, and I had views down upon Highway 50, north to the Crystal Range, and south to Thunder Mountain again, which was now living up to it’s name, dark clouds massing in its vicinity. And then right on cue came the first thundrclap from the distance. Still traumatized (not actually) from my experience on Silver Peak, I was happy to have plenty of time to get off of the rock before the thunderstorm got to me (I could tell it was headed my way!)
I climbed back down the rock the way I had come, and then headed cross country, moderately steep downhill, through the pines and slippery forest floor carpet, I was trying to make a shortcut by going straight down to where the van was parked. I could hear the thunder getting closer. Soon I crossed a dirt road that was going east-west. No idea where it went, it wasn’t on my map. I continued past there, down through the pines, as fast as I could without slipping. Keeping a mostly straight path, except when zig-zagging around the patches of nastier brush. I eventually crossed a dry creek, and got to a nasty wall of brush that didn’t have a clear path around it. I was so close to the van that I just decided to push through, getting scratched on the legs and smacked in the face, it’s OK, my looks weren’t much to write home about anyway. I was back at the van at 3:15, for a 3.5 hour round trip hike. Then I headed back to Kyburz Camp to jump in the river and wash off the dirt and sweat! No sunset hike with the gang tonight, we had an earlier dinner, and I started drinking earlier, ended up passed out in a camping chair. Eventually, Amber woke me up and sent me to her van.
FURTHER READING
• Marcus Sierra: Report from visit to Peak 6452
• Eagle Rock on PEAKBAGGER
• Peak 6452 on PEAKBAGGER
No comments:
Post a Comment