Kendrick Peak

Friday, August 26 2021

The trailhead is seven miles from Hwy 180 on dirt roads – It is a left turn from Hwy 180 to Forest Service Road ( FSR ) 171 and a right turn from FSR 171 to FSR 190 – Make sure to become familiar with the roads and download the Kendrick Peak trail maps before driving to the trailhead as there is no mobile phone service before the turn to FSR 190 – Not knowing this, I was using Google Maps to navigate to the trailhead and when I lost phone service I remembered a turn onto FSR 190 – What I didn’t know is that FSR 190 intersects FSR 171 twice in a partial loop – The very first intersection with the brown and white hiking sign is the correct road to take – I lost service and turned on the second FSR 190 intersection with FSR 171 – Definitely learn from my mistake as this leg of FSR 190 is not suitable for low profile passenger vehicles – This road is even a challenge for All Terrain Vehicles ( ATV ) with deep ruts and exposed boulders – My car bottomed out several times which raised concern that I might get stuck – I reached a point where an ATV and a jeep were parked in the middle of the road – There were several guys combing the forest not far from the vehicles – They were scouting for Elk –  One of the guys came over and talked with me – I explained where I was trying to go and he told me there was no way I would make it in my vehicle – Another guy came over and suggested I turn around and go back the way I came – He said there was another road that led to the trailhead – I managed to get back to FSR 171 and found where FSR 190 intersected FSR 171 the first time – That was the road they suggested I take and the one I should have taken in the beginning – Once I turned onto that road I could see the white on brown hiking sign and the trailhead wasn’t very far away – If you take the correct roads it is very easy to navigate the dirt roads from the 180 to the trailhead in a low profile passenger vehicle – I was driving a Kia Rio

Fortunately I was successful in downloading the trail map to my phone before I lost service – There were very few cars parked at the trailhead – This trail itself is a hikers dream – It is absolutely beautiful as it gradually ascends uphill toward the lookout tower above – Phone service is restored once you start climbing – I didn’t really pay attention to the altitude when phone service returned – For several miles it is a single track that meanders through some grassy meadows – This is one I hike I would recommend for any hiker, from beginner to advanced as it is such a scenic gradual ascent – There is a small log cabin as you get close to the summit – It was once used as lodging for the Forest Service Lookouts many years ago – As with Elden Peak, no one emerged from the lookout tower to greet me when I reached the peak – There was a concrete pad very close to the base of the lookout tower that I presumed was intended was for visitors to observe the incredible view – I could see many mountain peaks in the distance that I did not recognize as I am not familiar with the area – Started searching the Play Store for an app that might help me identify some of the peaks and found PeakFinder – What a neat app!  I was able to identify some of the peaks I had hiked earlier in the week, Humphreys, Elden and Bill Williams