This was an odd hike, so bear with me. Not sure where I got the idea for this hybrid/combo route (several books and this website?) but I drove out the alternately okay/brutal forest road 9070 and parked in the small pullout across from the Mt Catherine TH. Starting around 7:30 I headed about 50 feet SE and went downhill on Trail 1348 (Cold Creek Trail). It was easy to follow but sometimes the brush was taller than I was--The trail itself was clear but with the brush over it, sometimes I was fast-walking by braille using my feet to guide me. Many spider webs. Ptuey. Blueberries looked sparse but good, and the taller berries (thimble? Salmon? rasp? basically looked like golden and red raspberries) Plus some devil's club. I rounded Twin Lakes and then with many switch-backs and huffing and puffing made it to the PCT in 1:58 min. Turned right/west.
Much easier trail after that--wider, clearer, breezy, fewer rocks, and flatter. About 25 minutes I came along the leftward branch trail to Silver Peak. It took about a half hour to make the top, and for the 30 minutes I was highest up there I was completely swarmed by mosquitoes, swatting four at a time. Even the breeze at the top was no deterrent. Didn't stay at the top long (good views despite the cloudy day) and headed back to the PCT northbound, which was a pleasure to hike on (really good size and condition and no more bugs!). I headed up to the jct with road 9070 and back south half or 3/4 mile to my car at the 4:35 mark. I was spent, but did not spend enough time on trail, so I drank some gatorade and crossed the road to the Catherine trail (also 1348).
It rose steeply on kinda a kinda cruddy rocky trail surface--not my favorite. Though it's just 1.5 miles up, it's fairly steep and I underestimated it a bit and was really fried by the end, hiking two minutes, resting 30 seconds, over and over for the last 20 minutes or so. I musta thought I was still a kid or something. 1:05 to the top (decent views despite the cloud layer) and about 35 min back to the car for a total time of 6:25 on trail. I think I was just so happy to be on trail that I pushed harder than I should have--though no aches or pains the next day, so maybe I'm just getting old!
Crossed nobody on lower trail 1348, plenty of friendly folks on the PCT, and the same on the Catherine trail.
Stats: 11.27 miles
3,908 ascent (3,782 descent)
5:42 moving time; 43 min stopped
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