I've lived in the area for 11 years and this is the first time I visited Dirty Harry's Peak Trail. My hike today consisted of the following:
- Summiting Dirty Harry 's Peak
- Reaching Dirty Harry's Bathtub
- Attempting to Summit Web Mountain
I started at 8 to a very full lot and parked on the side of the road. Most likely many of the cars were also there for the climbing in the area. The trail up was incredibly busy until getting to the Balcony. I kept going immediately and made my way up to the Summit with no issues. There snow starts around 4,300 and is intermittent until the last quarter mile or so, when the snow is consistent all the way until the end. The overlook point (looking down to Gravel Lake and over to Dirtybox Peak) was clear and offered a nice spot to sit down and enjoy for a few minutes, and I heard an owl off to the distance. All in all the hike up was quiet and solitary, and I only saw 5 or so people, including those I passed. Near the top I helped guide a woman through the snow, as she didn't have an app and the trail was obscured--nice to befriend a stranger for a few minutes!
I decided to add on an extension after realizing that Dirty Harry's Peak, while good, was a short hike. I made my way back to the Web Mountain Trail junction, which is an unmarked trail at a talus field about halfway down from the Summit to the Balcony. I entered the trail, which was noticeably overgrown and not well-traveled. A delight! I met a man who was clipping a lot of the thorny brush and nettles and we hiked together all the way to the Bathtub, which is the pool of water that can be found at the end of the trail (the end, according to Cairn, anyway). The trail was difficult to follow but you essentially just make your way parallel to the talus field all the way to the basin. The final scramble to the basin involves hopping across the talus boulders. There is thick snow around 4,000 feet and surrounding the entirety of the basin, even though it's soft.
I spent a few moments and saw Web in the distance and really wanted to get there. I tried my best, hiking alongside some other tracks into the canopy. Realizing the time and realizing how alone I was, I turned back at this point. I think I could have made it, but it's slippery and a bit iffy as a solo hiker. Enjoyed marking it for a future expedition and made my way back. The trail to the balcony was pretty packed at that point, and the trail from the Balcony back to the parking lot was just as busy as earlier in the morning, if not more so.
Times to Dirty Harry's:
- 8am ascent
- 9am reached Balcony
- 930am junction to Web
- 1015am summit
- 1050am up to Web
- 1135am reached Bathtub
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