Mount Chamberlin (13,169 ft)
Mount Newcomb (13,410 ft)
Mount Pickering (13,485 ft)
Mount Joe Devel (13,325 ft)

7/6/08

Overshadowed by nearby peaks like Mount Whitney some of the more remote peaks obviously see far less activity. Such is the case with Chamberlin, Newcomb, Pickering, and Joe Devel.

Since I still needed to tag all 4 I figured I might as well get them all in one dayhike. This may have been my hardest dayhike so far this year. I traversed all 4 peaks using the connecting ridges (tedious). Total distance was 36.4 miles via Cottonwood Pass. I started late (8am) knowing full well it would likely be midnight at the earliest by the time I returned. The return took a little more time than expected (got a little lost for awhile in the dark). It was 1:47am when I finally got back to the Cottonwood Pass trailhead. No dinner. Had a 3 hour drive back to Bakersfield and had to be at work at 8am. Got in a little late. Total time on the trail was a little under 18 hours.

Anyway ... not a whole lot to report ... just a very strenuous day. The class 2/3 ridges between the peaks were more tedious than I expected, sometimes fun, but mostly just time consuming. Clouds during the afternoon helped keep things cool but didn't make for the greatest photos.

Log

08:02a - Left Cottonwood Pass trailhead
09:07a - Cottonwood Pass
10:28a - Junction between PCT and Siberian Pass trail
11:40a - Junction between Rock Creek trail and the PCT
12:02p - Rock Creek crossing
12:42p - Left trail - heading NE toward Chamberlin
02:57p - Summit Chamberlin
04:39p - Summit Newcomb
06:14p - Summit Pickering
07:32p - Summit Joe Devel
08:37p - Back on trail
09:13p - Rock Creek Lake
09:25p - Lost in the forest (stupid GPS!)
10:14p - Back on trail
10:35p - PCT / Siberian Pass trail junction
12:26a - Cottonwood Pass
01:48a - Cottonwood Pass trailhead

Stats

Time to Cottonwood Pass: 1 hr 5 mins
Time to Rock Creek crossing from trailhead: 4 hrs 0 mins
Time to Chamberlin from trailhead: 6 hrs 55 mins
Time to Joe Devel (final peak) from trailhead: 11 hrs 30 mins
Time from Joe Devel back to trailhead: 6 hrs 15 mins
Total Time: 17 hrs 45 mins