Bohna Peak & Sunday Peak

1/31/03

Bohna Peak has a special significance for me.  This is the peak that sparked my
interest in hiking.  I first climbed it in May 2002.  At the time I had no idea 
what peak it was or whether it even had any significance.  It simply looked like 
a challenge and so I went for it.  At the time I was a total novice who knew 
nothing about hiking.  As a result, I didn't search for a trail.  I simply went 
straight up what seemed like the closest spot.  I wore only sneakers and brought 
no water.  Although thirsty and tired, I succeeded and this accomplishment 
embedded in me the desire for further challenge.

In January 2003 I was working on completing Section 1 of the HPS list and Bohna
and Sunday Peaks were two I needed to do.  So on an uncharacteristically warm
day in January I headed up past Glennville hoping to do these two.  I had 
plugged in waypoints into my new GPS unit to assist me.  While on the road, when 
I reached my old friend, Bohna Peak, I began to wonder if the rocky summit above 
that I had climbed before was indeed Bohna Peak.  Previously I had believed that 
it was some lower peak of insignificance.  After analyzing the terrain for a few 
minutes I realized that yes indeed, this was Bohna Peak, and I had already 
climbed it.  One thing I had not done was to sign the summit register (which I 
knew nothing of).  Nor had I done Sunday Peak.  Thus, after having a look around 
and seeing very little snow in the area, I decided to do it again and to 
hopefully complete Sunday Peak as well.

As is usually the case with me, I tend to make things more challenging than need 
be.  This trip was no exception.  Having driven over Greenhorn Summit to have a 
look at Black Mountain and Split Mountain, I was off to a late start.  Given the 
hiking distance involved, however, I did not think this would be a problem.  I 
reached the trail head at 9:45am.  Not wanting to go on any dirt roads I chose 
Route 2 for Bohna Peak as listed on the HPS list.  This turned out to be more of 
a challenge than I had bargained for.  This route starts out at the Cedar Creek 
Campground.  The so called "use trail" has become overgrown with growth in many 
places and at first appears unusable.  Shortly above where the use trail starts 
it breaks up into a number of smaller trails that head up into the thick brush.  
This was the same tick infested brush that caused me great difficulty on my 
first summit.  Remembering how I had to frequently brush the ticks off myself, I 
was reluctant to dive into the brush, so I thoroughly checked out each smaller 
trail to see if there was an obvious way through.  At first, none of the trails 
looked promising.  Becoming discouraged I almost gave up.  After probably 45 
minutes to an hour I eventually located a few streamers attached to the brush 
left by earlier hikers and while bypassing this route slightly, found a way 
through.

Unfortunately, things didn’t improve much beyond this point.  As I started to 
work my way up the mountain the debris from the pine trees became more and more 
dense.  As a result, every time I thought I was on a trail it shortly 
disappeared below all the debris.  There was one fairly significant trail that 
headed north in the direction of Sunday Peak.  This trail seemed significant 
enough that it ought to be on the map but it isn’t.  Then again, for all I know, 
perhaps this was the trail I was supposed to be on.  I followed it for about a 
quarter mile but it seemed to be taking me down and away from where I needed to 
go so I turned around and headed more directly up to the ridge that the 
instructions say to follow to the summit.

Working my way up to the ridge I eventually popped out in one of the more open 
areas on the top of the ridge.  Unfortunately you end up having to head up 
through more forest before reaching the summit.  I headed up somewhat on the 
North side of ridge and got stuck in forest so thick I had to backtrack several 
times until I finally found a way though.

Finally, just after 1:00pm I reached the summit.  The summit register is in a 
can residing in a small block of rocks on the North side of summit (not at the 
prominent pinnacle of rock you see from the road).  I took some photos, signed 
the register, and then headed for Sunday Peak.

I knew I was running behind schedule (having lost so much time reaching Bohna) 
so I pushed myself in an attempt to make up some time on the way to Sunday Peak.  
Fortunately, there is a very good trail between Bohna and Sunday.  It’s easily 
identified because it looks like a rut where water has carved its way through 
the trail.  This was probably caused by motor bikes.  About half-way to Sunday 
Peak patches of snow became more frequent and finally about about the 8000 foot 
level completely covered the trail.  While the snow wasn’t a severe problem, it 
was an annoyance.  I wasn’t wearing waterproof hiking shoes so my socks 
eventually became thoroughly soaked.

I reached the summit of Sunday Peak just after 3:00pm.  Although I didn’t have a 
lot of time to admire the view I took as many photos (including some video) as 
quickly as I could and would review them later.  Toward the Northwest you can 
see the Needles formation in the distance.  Beyond the Needles I could see snow 
covered mountains.  I imagine that the view from the Needles lookout at this 
time would be particularly striking given its closer proximity to the peaks to 
the North.  Looking toward the direction of Bakersfield, the valley below was 
completely covered in a dense layer of fog which is typical this time of year.  
To the east I saw what I believe to be Black Mountain #5 and Split Mountain.

After signing the summit register I headed down as quickly as possible.  Knowing 
that I might run out of daylight I stayed on the motorbike trail instead of 
going back up and over Bohna and into the dense vegetation.  Although I had a 
flashlight I wasn’t relishing the thought of getting caught in that mess in 
darkness.  The motorbike trail takes you down to a dirt road which then links up 
with the main road.  Although this was a prudent decision given the situation, 
it did add about 5 miles to my return.  I finally returned to the Cedar Creek 
Campground and my car at 6:28pm.


Log:

09:48am - Left Trailhead
01:03pm - Reached Bohna Peak Summit
01:25pm – Departed Bohna Summit for Sunday Peak
03:10pm – Reached Sunday Peak Summit
03:42pm – Left Sunday Peak Summit
05:46pm – Reached the Road
06:28pm – Returned to Cedar Creek Campground

Stats:

Time from trail head to Bohna summit: 3 hrs 15 mins
Time from Bohna to Sunday: 1 hr 45 mins
Time from Bohna to main road: 2 hrs 4 mins
Time from Bohna back to Cedar Creek Campground: 3 hrs 18 mins


Distance from Cedar Creek CG to Sunday Peak via Bohna: 6.14 miles (would be
     shorter if backtracking excluded)
Alternate Return Route added about 5 miles
Distance on Pavement was 2.5 miles
Total Distance Covered: 16.8 miles