After we returned from our adventures in Death Valley, The LovedOne threw herself into preparing for the library’s big used book clearance sale – the first one in almost two years (Yeah! 😃). Lots of books have piled up in those two years, so getting ready has (temporarily) taken her out of action for hiking (Sigh 😥). But it’s for a good cause – people get affordable books to read and the library gets some additional funds. That said, today was forecast as a day between storms, so I decided to make use of it for a hike. Porcupine Mountain, which sits just north of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), offers an easy hike with big views. It seemed like a good choice for a morning’s hike.

I left home in a dense fog which simply disappeared well before I started climbing toward the Siskiyou Pass. You can approach Porcupine from either the Boccard Point Trailhead to the east or from the west, near Pilot Rock. I started along the PCT from the west. It was sunny but cold with a good, stiff breeze. All the wildflowers are history but it hasn’t snowed much up here (yet) so a few mushrooms are still around. The skies were clear and the big views were good – with Mount Shasta to the south and Mount McLoughlin to the north.

A lone leaf waits for winter
Mount McLoughlin from along the PCT
Fluff
A mushroom of many colors
Mount Shasta from along the PCT
Buds knocked down by the wind
Mount McLoughlin from Porcupine Mountain
Mount Ashland from Porcupine
Mount Shasta from Porcupine
Pilot Rock from Porcupine
Withering
Pilot Rock from the PCT
Mushroom with leaves
Mount Ashland from the PCT
Snowberry

Overall, this was an invigoratingly brisk exercise hike – 7.3 miles (11.7 km) round-trip, with a cumulative 1,400 feet (426 m)) of gain – on a nice cold morning. I did, however, miss The LovedOne. 😘 As I was driving home, the sky filled with clouds ahead of the rain we’re expected to get over the next few days. ☂😀

Porcupine from the west along the PCT
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