Soda Mountain and Little Pilot Peak

We started out on Beautiful day and did the 1 mile to the turn to Soda Mountain, then did the 1/2 mile 500 foot ascent to the top. The road up is steep and boring but the views from the top are spectacular in all directions. I managed to do a faceplant crossing some deadfall but Nurse Stubblefield was quick off the mark with his medical kit. I was hoping to refer to it as a dueling scar but it was just a scrape.

We returned the same way and it was noticeably less steep going downhill. We did hopscotch through a bit of snow as we were well over 6,000 feet elevation. We continued south on the PCT to the turnoff to the right to Little Pilot Peak, traversing a few snow patches, and scaled the hill to our lunch spot. Several of our hikers had never been there and were surprised by the rocky cliff, outcroppings, and the overall view.

The return trip was pleasant and mostly downhill, with lots of shade along the way. The detour to Soda Mountain adds about 1 mile and 500 feet of ascent, for a total of 7.2 miles and 1,150 feet of ascent. Most of us retired to Caldera for refreshments. The drill at Caldera is you take a numbered table outside, use a barcode to access a menu and go in and order, giving them the table number. If you know what you want you can skip the menu.

Another great day in Paradise.

Photos By: Kerr