Solo hiked Thurs 11/14/24 – Was prepared for a slog based on reviews but I found this trail to be a straight forward, scenic route in the shoulder season that made for a nice day. The trail puts you to work from the start in a chaparral zone with a steady climb up to Olancha Pass before meandering through the denser forest at Summit Meadow. This is where the snow coverage was more consistent at 1-2 inches for the entire route to the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) where it continued almost all the way to the base of Olancha Peak. The snow had fallen the night before with only my tracks breaking the trail before running across those of a black bear and then the tail drags and paw prints of an adult mountain lion at Summit Meadow. Since I started this trek really early, I knew these companions weren’t too far ahead but I never ran across them. After leaving Summit Meadow, the views to the southwest of Beck and Monache meadows were very far reaching panoramas, much like I crossed in NW Yellowstone a few months ago. Since this route is a dry one, I left (and later recovered) ½ liter water caches every 4 miles but didn’t need them as you would doing this in the hotter seasons ( I used 2.5 L from a bladder). The only tricky part of the trail was PCT Mile 723 just before the junction with the Bear Trap Meadow Trail where it braids into three different, unmaintained uphill routes, all of which eventually lead to the same place. Looks like a lot of frustrated through hikers have passed here over the last few years. Olancha Peak suddenly came into view after rounding a curve in the PCT, looking very prominent and quite impressive but not really intimidating. I left the PCT and scrambled up the southwest slope, though the timberline and across the stable, uncomplicated talus which had only trace amounts of snow and ice. As the wind picked up, I used the older antenna mast pole as the summit way point, traversing to the steeper face in a successful attempt to speed things up a bit. Olancha’s summit was much nicer than I had imagined but the strong wind gusts were as forecast, not letting me take off heavier weight gloves for more than 2 minutes before the start of frost nipped fingers. The views were just as spectacular as those from Mt Langley last week (2024 trekking weather has to be the best I’ve encountered over several decades). I took my time on the way out after going down the SW slope and rejoining the PCT, especially at the meadows. I took the normal trail up and down, not opting for the cattle driveway which was a mixture of mud and snow. Never needed my micro spikes on the trail or four wheel drive on Sage Flat Road. Nice to finally go up Olancha after seeing it lurking in the distance from so many other peaks. Logged 21.2 miles / 6391 vertical ft with Gaia.
★
★
★
★
★
Solo hiked Thurs 11/14/24 – Was prepared for a slog based on reviews but I found this trail to be a straight forward, scenic route in the shoulder season that made for a nice day. The trail puts you to work from the start in a chaparral zone with a steady climb up to Olancha Pass before meandering through the denser forest at Summit Meadow. This is where the snow coverage was more consistent at 1-2 inches for the entire route to the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) where it continued almost all the way to the base of Olancha Peak. The snow had fallen the night before with only my tracks breaking the trail before running across those of a black bear and then the tail drags and paw prints of an adult mountain lion at Summit Meadow. Since I started this trek really early, I knew these companions weren’t too far ahead but I never ran across them. After leaving Summit Meadow, the views to the southwest of Beck and Monache meadows were very far reaching panoramas, much like I crossed in NW Yellowstone a few months ago. Since this route is a dry one, I left (and later recovered) ½ liter water caches every 4 miles but didn’t need them as you would doing this in the hotter seasons ( I used 2.5 L from a bladder). The only tricky part of the trail was PCT Mile 723 just before the junction with the Bear Trap Meadow Trail where it braids into three different, unmaintained uphill routes, all of which eventually lead to the same place. Looks like a lot of frustrated through hikers have passed here over the last few years. Olancha Peak suddenly came into view after rounding a curve in the PCT, looking very prominent and quite impressive but not really intimidating. I left the PCT and scrambled up the southwest slope, though the timberline and across the stable, uncomplicated talus which had only trace amounts of snow and ice. As the wind picked up, I used the older antenna mast pole as the summit way point, traversing to the steeper face in a successful attempt to speed things up a bit. Olancha’s summit was much nicer than I had imagined but the strong wind gusts were as forecast, not letting me take off heavier weight gloves for more than 2 minutes before the start of frost nipped fingers. The views were just as spectacular as those from Mt Langley last week (2024 trekking weather has to be the best I’ve encountered over several decades). I took my time on the way out after going down the SW slope and rejoining the PCT, especially at the meadows. I took the normal trail up and down, not opting for the cattle driveway which was a mixture of mud and snow. Never needed my micro spikes on the trail or four wheel drive on Sage Flat Road. Nice to finally go up Olancha after seeing it lurking in the distance from so many other peaks. Logged 21.2 miles / 6391 vertical ft with Gaia.
★
★
★
★
★
Beautiful area, but very busy with people. Wheeling is easy, my father-in-law’s 2x4 stock Cherokee made it all the way to the meadow.
★
★
★
★
stars
