I hiked up the Dirty Harry Peak trail and first headed to Web Mountain, then returned and visited Dirty Harry Peak.
Dirty Harry Balcony
Even though the forest is not very appealing (dense second growth forest, no big trees, little diversity), the various viewpoints along the way make this section pretty nice. Many wildflowers are already in bloom at these point (notably paintbrush).
Web Mountain
The start of the bootpath to Web Mountain is easy to find. The bootpath is also mostly easy to follow. In dense forest occasionally I had to look around a bit to locate the path but it was never an issue. The dotted track on the Map Builder Overlay of CalTopo is accurate.
When approaching the little tarn the boulder & talus fun starts. The conditions are tricky right now due to thin and partial snow coverage. I probed in front of me and found very deep holes, so I chose to use the snow-free talus where I could, which is a lot more difficult, but at least mostly safe.
Until 5000ft there is still soft wet snow on top. Easy to kick steps, but also a bit slippery. After that the snow got a bit more icy. The last steep section was still 100% snow. I used an ice axe and crampons.
The summit has nice views of Spider Lake and Mount Defiance. Granite Lakes are not visible.
Dirty Harry Peak
There are a few minor snowfields left at the top, but the snow is mostly flat so you do not need traction. The trail is not particularly pretty (most of the route is a wide scar on the mountain), but there are a lot of wildflowers next to the trail that will bloom later (lots of foxglove and beargrass). At the summit, the view down to Granite Lakes is pretty cool.
Comments
Think I followed your tracks on my way down from Web today, thanks!
Posted by:
fadenz on Jun 06, 2024 09:48 PM
Ah cool, glad you had a good time. I saw your report. Nice work!
Posted by:
Martin Bravenboer on Jun 06, 2024 10:01 PM