We have been planning this climb for over 18 months. Our entire family was going to do the adventure in June of 2020, but COVID closed the park. Really I began planning before that. Shortly after I started SOTA, I began refining my kit and learning CW with the intent of one day being prepared for this mountain.
Our group:
Well, we made it back alive. Bennett Pass Rd/NF-3550 is a single lane (which serves both directions) dirt track.
We had spent the night at Rock Creek CG and thus driving up NF-4860 to the turn at the intersection with NF-3550. There are, however, only 1 or 2 places to turn around after that. We had to digg (a 4-letter word) through 2 snow banks to gain passage and only saw one other vehicle (a Jeep) on the route. High clearance 4x4 vehicle required on NF-3550.
Brundage Mountain is short, but punchy. Don't let the distance to summit fool you. It goes from a road to a double track that fades into the brush. We mostly followed the gps track from K7MK. His track yields a good spot to cross the creek and keeps you out of the thickest brush. Where we deviated was on dealing with the block below the summit. We opted for climbers right on the ascent and climbers left on the descent. The right side is more rocky and feels like a stairmaster. The left side is more dirt, so more slipping. Pick your poison I suppose, both are steep.
Cuddy Mountain, W7I/SR-055, is ALMOST a drive up summit, if your vehicle can handle it. The road to Cuddy and Summers requires careful driving, high clearance, and 4WD certainly helps. I was glad we gave an extra day for the snow to melt out because there were a couple spots that would've been more difficult to get through in the Explorer if it had been deeper. A couple mud pits looked suspect, but be made it through okay. The roads up here are frequented by off road enthusists and you'll likely see some UTVs, ATVs, and dirt bikers.
Indian Spring Butte is very near Strawberry Mountain (W7O/NE-018) and it is possible to summit both in a single day. It is 0.8 miles one way and 600 feet of gain. There is no defined trail, but the access is straightforward because of minimal undergrowth under the tree canopy and it is an easy ridgeline to follow.
Mckinley Mountain was my 3rd summit up on the Scott Bar ridge for the day. I was coming from the west and there is some very rough and narrow sections of road with steep banks, no shoulder, worst was driving around Deadwood Baldy Peak (not a SOTA). If you come up from Deadwood Creek Rd this may be avoidable, I'm not sure. Either way, this country is not meant for passenger cars and make sure you have good tires and a spare. The hike is about .8mi up a inpassable road from RD 45N28, with about 650' gain.
Indian Creek Baldy, I found out after reaching the top and reading the notepad in a jar, is the highest point of the Scott Bar Mountains. It is an amazing 360 view of the Northern California area, including Shasta, Scott Valley, Marble Mountains and more. It is a short but difficult climb up.
This was my first of three in one day in N. CA just west of Yreka in the Scott Bar Mountains. It was a pleasant area to activate, forested knoll with some large open spaces to set up in and look down to Scott Valley to the SE. It was still early and we were in the clouds a bit so couldn't see the distant mountains such as the Marble Mountains and Shasta too well but probably you can on a clear day, and depending which side of the summit you are on.
Trailhead: Goose Lake TH, Google maps will guide you there. 2WD is probably fine for this road.
