King Peak

Romp to King Peak

I keep wanting to call it Kings Peak, ala Kings Canyon NP, but this is the King Range, singular. It is a real mountain range, dropping more than 4,000 vertical feet off to the west to the black sand beach, though that is a world away from the summit. Think of all the peculiar places of the world you could hike or climb, some with trails, some with views, some without. This has all but crowds. About as hard as White Mtn. Peak, but with trees and no road. No timberline here, but a living forest even if the trees are slightly scarred by fire now and then. It feels good to be on a summit with a view and have enough oxygen in the brain to appreciate it fully. And you don't always have to set a world record to appreciate climbing mountains.

So I took my dad and sister, ages 50 and 10. They did alright in the three miles of moderately steep trail, and dad carried me only about 1/4 way up. We camped on top, on the other side from the platform. A young couple were tented on the platform but not obtrusive as we had the view of the ocean and their view was inland over the Mattole River toward the Trinities. No wind or bugs but a full moon lit us up. In the morning, thin clouds layered over the entire ocean as we basked in the sun of Indian summer. Then back down the trail an hour behind the other folks. Come to think of it, we never actually saw the other party on the mountain, though we did see someone hiking down by Maple Spring the day before from a mile away. Only one car was at the trailhead at Lightning Camp Ridge. It was deer hunting season but the trailhead signs warning against hunters were unwarranted and probably legally slanderous.