Lies and Deception

Bear Mountain will lie to you. You can barely see a corner of your final destination from the trailhead, and there are several false summits. Be sure to emotionally prepare yourself for this treachery.

Otherwise, Bear Mountain is the second roughest trail I hiked this year after Mount Elden. It’s a different kind of rough (no loose gravel here!) made up of near endless rock steps and ledges to climb, often uneven. There are a couple of places where we were scrambling on all fours, though those never lasted very long.

The best views are a long the way, and we did not find the summit particularly exciting. The second false summit starts offering sweeping views and the third offers great views down into Fay Canyon.

This was 6 of 6 for me, Joe signing out!