The second of two days on a short, solo desert roadtrip was spent in the
Southern Sierra between SR178 and SR58. Bounded by the Scodie Mtns to the north
and Jawbone Canyon to the south, this large area of 
dry hills lies in
the rainshadow of the higher Piute Mtns to the west. The first summit lies
within the Kiavah Wilderness (encompassing most of the Scodie Mtns), the next
three in the Jawbone OHV area and the last two on private property. None of the
hikes were particularly long nor had significant elevation gain, making for a
pretty tame day, overall.
Peak 4,874ft
My first stop was the southernmost summit in the
Kiavah Wilderness, a
short half mile hike from dirt SC106. I parked on the southwest side of the peak
where a hiker/equestrian 
access gate was located on the Wilderness
periphery fence. It took about 40min to reach the summit, the
upper slopes having some
granite blocks for moderately interesting scrambling, the best I would find
all day, though not really saying much. The summit has a decent view of the HPS
Skinner Peak to 
the northwest. I knew that Bob Sumner had been to the
summit two years earlier so I added his name along with my own to
the register
I left. On the descent I headed off 
the southeast side in order to take
advantage of sandier slopes found there, making for a fairly quick return in
about 20min.
Peak 5,924ft - Peak 5,700ft - Peak 6,244ft
After
returning
to the jeep, I drove another 7-8mi on OHV roads to reach the
Sierra Crest between Peak 6,244ft to the north and two other peaks to the south.
I could have driven the jeep close to the tops of Peak 5,924ft and Peak 5,700ft,
but chose to make a 4mi RT effort of it on foot, utilizing a section of
the PCT I had never been on. Though 
the PCT bypasses both
summits, a motorcycle track leads to 
the top of Peak 5,924ft, my first
stop, and 
an OHV route going along the crest very nearly reaches to
Peak 5,700ft. Consequently, there was only a short section of
cross-country, maybe 300ft at the very end. The hills are mostly covered in
sparse brush and occasional joshua trees, leaving 
wide-open views for
most of the hike. The portion between the two peaks along the crest offered the
nicest views, particularly to 
the west where some snow could be
seen lingering on the shadier aspects of the Piute Mtns. I spent two hours on
the roundtrip effort. After returning, I repositioned the jeep at
another saddle further north before 
setting off
on the PCT in that direction
for the higher Peak 6,244ft. Once again the PCT bypasses the summit, but easy
cross-country leads up the west side of the peak from the trail, taking about
35min from the starting saddle. I left 
a register
at this summit as well before heading back via nearly the same route.
Peak 5,337ft
The last two summits are found about 10mi further south as the crow flies. I descended an OHV road off the west side of the crest down the Frog Creek drainage to reach the paved Kelso Valley Road. I drove this south, up and over a saddle on the crest (where someone had cached a great deal of
bottled water
for the PCT through hikers that would soon be coming this way), and down the
other side on dirt Jawbone Canyon Rd. Peak 5,337ft is located just off the
south side of the road, on private property peppered with large wind turbines.
Parking at a pass, I went over a fenceline and steeply up
the sandy slope, eventually gaining an old 
motorcycle track
that I followed to the summit, all of fifteen minutes' work. Several dozen
turbines can be seen 
from the summit, with a connecting network of
well-graded dirt roads, all off-limits to the public. The land here is still
used for grazing, part of a private ranch that most likely leased the space to
the turbine enterprise. The HPS summit of Butterbredt rises considerably higher
to 
the north across the saddle where I parked.
Peak 5,055ft
This last summit is about a mile east of Peak 5,337ft, also a short hike from Jawbone Canyon Rd. There are no turbines on the slopes of the peak, and though it seems likely to also be on private property, there is
a motorcycle track that sees regular usage going to
the summit. I 
returned to the jeep by 1:40p
where I showered and changed into fresh clothes before starting the 6hr drive
back to San Jose. I drove the remaining distance down Jawbone Canyon Road,
through the open OHV area, incredibly popular on weekends. If you've never
seen what a bunch of motorcyclists can do when they have free reign over
the landscape, it can be quite impressive, depressing or sobering,
depending on your view of such freedom...