East Ridge

Approach

Both, the Tar Gap Trailhead at Mineral King and the Atwell Mills TH meet up to lead into Hockett Meadows. It is about 12 mi, 1600' gain to the meadows. There are some beautiful campsites here, but you can also head further east on trail to Evelyn Lake, for another great campsite with good swimming and fishing. Alternatively, some parties have camped at Cahoon Rock father South as well.

Route Description

Starting from Cahoon Rock, head down an obvious gully SW to the saddle between the Rock and point 8387'. From here, keep in close proximity of the roller-coaster ridgeline. It leads all the way to the summit, but for efficiency and to avoid climbing the unnecessary points before the peak, choose the following route:

From the saddle east of 8387', ascend about a hundred feet, then traverse around the point on the north side and gain the ridgecrest again until just below point 8446'. There is a use trail that traverses around the E and N side of this point just below the ridge fairly easily. From here, head for the saddle directly SE of pt 8837'. From this vantage point, both routes around 8837' look nasty: the South side looks steeper, but with less brush, and the North side just looks very tangly. DO NOT take the south side. Either consider traversing N-NW around the point and face some brush, or if you don't mind 3rd class rock with a little less brush about about 400' gain, just go over the pt 8837'. If any part of the route is considered "the crux," getting around this point would be it. After this, it's an easy hike traversing around, the false summit , down to the saddle directly east of the Nose, and walking about 500 ft to the true summit.

Essential Gear

A map an compass are crucial. A GPS could help speed things up and provide some peace of mind, but the 7.5 minute USGS topo or equivalent should be more than enough. Consider wearing full pants and gaiters for the brush. Leave your trekking poles behind - the brush will just eat them up.

Miscellaneous Info

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Images

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