Boccard Point (Hike #54 in Sullivan’s 100 Hikes in Southern Oregon (Third Edition)) is in Southern Oregon’s Soda Mountain Wilderness, due south of Soda Mountain itself, which we hiked last May in a sleet storm wearing little more than t-shirts and hiking short. Yesterday was similarly cold, but at least sunny, so we thought we’d hike out to Boccard Point for its view of California, which is only 3 miles to the south. For this hike, we started from the Hobart Bluff Trailhead on Soda Mountain Road about 4 miles in from Highway 66. You can also reach the Point with more driving on gravel, but less hiking, from an access point further south along on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).
Going south on the PCT from the Hobart Bluff Trailhead, we very soon crossed in to the Soda Mountain Wilderness. And from there we could see Hobart Bluff immediately north of us and Mount McLoughlin on the horizon. Note the lack of snow – a month ago folks were snowshoeing in this area but a series of warm, wet storms have pretty much obliterated the snow pack below 6,500 feet.
We followed the PCT south to where we could leave it for the short walk to the top of Little Pilot Peak, which is not to be confused with Little Pilot Rock to the north (note dense fog / cloud layer filling the Rogue Valley),
or the better known Pilot Rock to the west.
Sullivan has you continuing on the PCT about one mile past Little Pilot Peak and then doubling back on an abandoned road that goes out toward Boccard Point. The forest is very open here, so we just cut directly south from the PCT to intersect that old road – which is still obvious and has an easy to follow trail in the middle of it.
The road eventually peters out but is replaced by a fairly obvious use trail that follows the ridge out to rocky Boccard Point (not named on the map).
From the point,
we had sweeping views of Soda Mountain to the north (with more electronics on it than at Best Buy!),
peaks to the west,
and peaks to the south.
Sullivan has you retracing your steps back from the Point but the forest is very open here, so we went cross-country over Point 5900 and then on up to the top of Soda Mountain,
to visit the lookout under sunnier conditions than last time,
and to check out the nearby geocache.
A short (8 mile round-trip, 1,000 feet of elevation), but good hike, with great views and one that can be done as a loop.
BOOTS on the TRAIL 
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