I think the route over the pass north of Burnt Mtn is better than Dykeman Pass. I went over Dykeman, but came back the other way. It was easy going on the east side of the pass, a bit wet and meadowy on the west side, but took only two hour to go from the summit back to the trail in Blue Canyon. It would be a bigger pain going uphill on the west side, but I think it'd be faster than that circuitous route over Dykeman. And not so much elevation gain, either.
I would not recommend the approach up crown Creek, using the "Mountain Meadow/Coyote Pass" trail from Crown Valley any more. As of 8/2012, a forest fire sometime in the recent past has negatively affected the trail, obliterating the trail tread in sections. At the crossing of Crown Creek, the fire incinerated everything (burnt sticks for trees and much new brush growth since the fire), but the entire length of the trail (from the signboard at the west-end junction with the trail to Crown Lake all the way to the Crown Creek crossing) has been affected. There are patches of fire evidence wiping out the trail interspersed with unaffected sections of trail. The fire damage extends a mile or two up the Crown Creek drainage from the trail crossing, before one enters the enjoyable forest-and-slab walking that Mathew mentions.
Bob Burd - Jul 27, 2009 10:55 pm - Voted 10/10
Burnt MtnI think the route over the pass north of Burnt Mtn is better than Dykeman Pass. I went over Dykeman, but came back the other way. It was easy going on the east side of the pass, a bit wet and meadowy on the west side, but took only two hour to go from the summit back to the trail in Blue Canyon. It would be a bigger pain going uphill on the west side, but I think it'd be faster than that circuitous route over Dykeman. And not so much elevation gain, either.
guydahms123 - Aug 18, 2012 2:25 pm - Hasn't voted
Crown Creek approach.I would not recommend the approach up crown Creek, using the "Mountain Meadow/Coyote Pass" trail from Crown Valley any more. As of 8/2012, a forest fire sometime in the recent past has negatively affected the trail, obliterating the trail tread in sections. At the crossing of Crown Creek, the fire incinerated everything (burnt sticks for trees and much new brush growth since the fire), but the entire length of the trail (from the signboard at the west-end junction with the trail to Crown Lake all the way to the Crown Creek crossing) has been affected. There are patches of fire evidence wiping out the trail interspersed with unaffected sections of trail. The fire damage extends a mile or two up the Crown Creek drainage from the trail crossing, before one enters the enjoyable forest-and-slab walking that Mathew mentions.