Siskiyou Peak (7,149 ft / 2,179 m) sits just south of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) about 3 miles (5 km) west of the Mount Ashland Ski Area. In the summer months, reaching it is an easy and pleasant stroll along a mellow stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) through meadows gushing with wildflowers and big views of Mount Shasta to the south. When it’s snow-covered, as it is at the moment, getting to it is more work, particularly if you’re clumping along wearing snowshoes. So we decided to give it a go today on the not completely absurd assumption that consolidated Spring snow conditions would make the journey doable sans snowshoes. Well, almost…
The weather here has been trending warmer, much warmer, lately. Today air temperatures in the valley were forecast to almost touch 80°F (26.6° C) under clear and cloudless skies. But when we started out along Forest Road (FR) 20 from the Mount Ashland Sno-Park, it was closer to 20°F (-6.6° C) and The LovedOne donned microspikes to keep from sliding all over the icy track. FR 20 had been flattened by snow cats for the first mile and was easy walking (with spikes). Between its junction with the service road to the top of Mount Ashland and Grouse Gap, the walking was still pretty easy, with no postholing. We followed FR 20 from Gap and then climbed directly up to the top of the ridge leading out to McDonald Peak.
From the ridge, we could see that FR 20’s prism was completely buried in snow all the way to Siskiyou Peak and beyond. And the morning’s cold had gone, lost between fiercely reflective snow below and an intensely blue sky above. The snow was softening and we feared that if we pushed on to the peak, our return journey would become a postholing nightmare. So we headed back. There was little postholing during the return but the now mushy snow surface made for uneven footing and quite a workout for the legs. So although we only did 6 miles (9.6 km) with a paltry 550 feet (168 m) of gain, we felt like we’d gotten our fair share of exercise for the day. 🙂
BOOTS on the TRAIL 
The Mount Ashland area is wonderful in winter (snow & skiing), summer (wildflowers), and Fall (usually the clearest views). Spring can be tricky as to snow conditions – too much, too little, too icy, too soft, etc. We decided not to ruin an otherwise great day by continuing on into a possible post-hole situation.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This looks like a gorgeous hike! I think the hardest trail condition is mushy snow so I would have turned around too. Spring in the mountains is gorgeous but tough sometimes!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The meadows around Mount Ashland will be a wildflower paradise come summer, as there’s been enough snow up there to keep everything watered until September. 🙂 Our kitty (Sophie) is doing fine. She’s almost got her new staff (i.e., us) trained to provide service just the way she likes it. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Brrrr. You guys are tough. That is one of our yearly hikes, but only in the early summer for the wildflowers, LOL. How is your kitty?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! We always look forward to a summer hike through the Grouse Gap wildflower meadows. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Gorgeous views! I love the summer/winter comparison.
LikeLike