Hockett Peak is a named peak on the USGS topo that is located in the Southern Sierra along the Kern to the west of Jordan Hot Springs.  After passing by it a number of times over the years Kristen Lindberg and I led a WTC trip to climb it in 2017 to great success.

Hockett towers above Trout Meadows which is one of those incredibly green and scenic meadows you find all over in the Southern Sierra.  It's full of nice camp spots with legal fire pits, ample wood, and multiples options for access to water.  The best trailhead is Jerky Meadows, aka the same trail we used for this years Massacre trip and one that opens reliably early every year.

This was also another Sierra Club provisional this time an "I" rating for Victor Gomez.  The I rating is for cross country travel so we had to do something that had a decent amount of it and where the navigation wasn't obvious.


Hence why our summit day for Hockett would be a little more circuitous than the route we took last year.  Instead of climbing the western flank we'd come around from the south and hit a few points along the way.  This would make for a fairly long day considering we had to return to camp, pack up, then hike out which involves an uphill climb to the cars.

Victor also had us camping at the Trout Meadows FS Station after verifying with the Kernville rangers that it was ok.  This gave us a reliable water source, a nice fire pit, logs for sitting, and even two rather nice outhouses.  It was almost too comfy...

June 9th & 10th, 2018

Hockett Peak (8,552')

Day 1: 8.7 miles, 1,800'

Day 2: 16.8 miles, 4,300'

[Pics] [Caltopo] [Map]

After what has felt like a painfully slow last couple of months where I've barely been able to get out in the mountains I've finally wrapped up the classroom portion of Wilderness Travel Course, the Spring Advanced Mountaineering Program, my Wilderness First Aid recertification, and the Sierra Club LTC Rock Checkoff which means that at long last it's Sierra trip season again!  And this year that means I've got 19 -ish weekends of adventures planned!

The first of those weekends is the annual Memorial Day Massacre trip where Jen Blackie and I (and occasionally others) head out to do some big both to take advantage of the holiday and to help get us into proper backpacking shape.

In the past these trips have been 4 or 5 day monsters (for write ups on many of these trips you can browse the tag Memorial Day Massacre) but the last few years we've had to hold them to 3 days thanks to Jen's sadly draconian teacher employment contract.  So with only three days to work with we decided we'd redo last years aborted plan this time without the flooded trail conditions and  (hopefully) the major boot issues that derailed us after a mere 32 miles.

May 26th to 28th, 2018

Coyote Peaks (10,892')

Angora Mountain (10,198')

Day 1: 17.75 miles, 3,000' gain

Day 2: 10.3 miles, 4,800' gain

Day 3: 19.4 miles, 3,400' gain

[Pics] [CalTopo] [Map]

Iiiiiiit's Sierra trip season!  Kind of!

Hockett isn't on any peak list I'm aware of it's just one of those out of the way named bumps that is just prominent enough to make it interesting.  I've been eyeing it for a few years but it was always an aggressive bonus peak on longer trips and never worked out.

So we decided to make a weekend out of it.  The Jerky / Lloyds Meadow trailhead is nice because it's a non quota trailhead that seems to open relatively early compared with some others in the area *and* the only major stream crossing has a bridge!  Perfect for an early season backpack.

The only downside is you need to get there before it gets to warm and we were pushing it here going in late June with forecasts going into the 90s thanks to a heat wave hitting California.  But we figured we could manage.

June 24th & 25th, 2017
Hockett Peak (8,552')

[Pics] [CalTopo] [Map]

Historically I try and go big on Memorial Day and do a Sierra backpack with an aggressive plan.  It is after all the first "free" long weekend of the year and I'm always raring to get into the Sierra after a long season of desert trips and teaching outdoor classes.

It's also early enough where weather and other factors make things difficult more often than not.

A brief summary of the Massacres so far
2010 Walker Pass - The trip that inspired the name. Went at Chimney Creek to get a number of peaks and hike south to Walker Pass. Jen and I were the only ones that completed most of the peaks after more limited water sources than anticipated.
2011 Williamson Turnaround - Planned to be a Williamson are cleanout. Went in on a bad forecast which proceeded to get worse. Retreated from Shepherd Pass due to 100 mph winds to set up near Anvil only to have our tent ripped open by gusts. Spent the night in a bush getting snowed on. No peaks but we day hiked Olancha as a consolation prize.
2012 Golden Trout - Some weather but highly successful. Lots of miles & peaks. Started with 3 people, ended with two, and drank the worse water I've ever had the mispleasure of forcing down.
2013 Courtright In A Kilt - Spectacular weather, lots of peaks, lots of miles. All in a kilt!  (That summit shot won me an award)
2014 Skip Year - Didn't happen due to the job switch and moving back full time from Boise.

May 27th & 28th, 2017

[Pics] [Caltopo] [Map]

2015 Kibbie Ridge - Snowstorm hit on day one and high river crossings made the loop impossible.  Scaled the plan back and later did the loop over the 4th of July 2016