Crag Peak is another fun class 3 one that's climbable year round. I wouldn't mind going back to that one again, to climb its north ridge. Might be spicier than Spanish Needle.
Yeah, it definitely looks more like SoCal than the Sierra. The area makes a nice change of pace--there are some nice scrambles around there. I'm sure I'll be going back this winter for some of the HPS peaks around there.
Thanks... I have a bunch more to add on rainy days this winter. The Southern Sierra's pretty cool. It's almost like high desert, with some granite thrown in there to remind you that you're in the Sierra still.
I'd like to do a loop around Lamont/Spanish/Sawtooth sometime--that's a great area. The step across on Spanish is really pretty easy, it just took me a minute or two to work up the nerve...