Thanks! I just changed the main picture to your shot from the pass.
When we climbed this on 7/16/2005 during a low snow year, there were minimal bug problems. I can see how that damp approach could be bug infested, and I think we were lucky.
Did you manage to stay mainly on a trail to the pass, and do you have any other suggestions about staying on route?
We lost the trail in the lush (bug-infested) meadows of the upper basin of Scatter Creek just below the pass. We found the trail again right near the top of the pass. There is an old trail that does go to the pass and down on the other side towards Solomon Creek. It doesn't appear on today's Green Trails maps, but it does appear on the older USGS quads. It has disappeared for the most part until just the part right before the pass, so it's best just to head up to the pass in the easiest way you can find.
We did a pretty good job of staying on route. Once at Scatter Creek Pass, we just did a descending traverse aiming for the bottom of the infamous boulder field. When we did this, we found an old boot path that took us a good way in that direction. The boot path petered out going through brush bands, but it wasn't too bad getting to the boulder field. Once at the bottom of the boulder field at 5400 feet, aim directly for the saddle on the summit ridge of Harding. Pretty straightforward. Even though we were out of the boggy meadows of Scatter Creek, the mosquitoes didn't let up one bit, nearly all the way to the summit. Bring lots and lots of DEET.
Snidely Whiplash - Aug 5, 2010 10:20 am - Voted 10/10
Here ya go.I've added some pictures of Harding itself, plus some others. What a brutal climb. Can you say MO-SQUI-TO?
larryN - Aug 16, 2010 9:43 am - Hasn't voted
Re: Here ya go.Thanks! I just changed the main picture to your shot from the pass.
When we climbed this on 7/16/2005 during a low snow year, there were minimal bug problems. I can see how that damp approach could be bug infested, and I think we were lucky.
Did you manage to stay mainly on a trail to the pass, and do you have any other suggestions about staying on route?
Snidely Whiplash - Aug 16, 2010 10:58 am - Voted 10/10
Re: Here ya go.Thanks for giving my picture top billing.
We lost the trail in the lush (bug-infested) meadows of the upper basin of Scatter Creek just below the pass. We found the trail again right near the top of the pass. There is an old trail that does go to the pass and down on the other side towards Solomon Creek. It doesn't appear on today's Green Trails maps, but it does appear on the older USGS quads. It has disappeared for the most part until just the part right before the pass, so it's best just to head up to the pass in the easiest way you can find.
We did a pretty good job of staying on route. Once at Scatter Creek Pass, we just did a descending traverse aiming for the bottom of the infamous boulder field. When we did this, we found an old boot path that took us a good way in that direction. The boot path petered out going through brush bands, but it wasn't too bad getting to the boulder field. Once at the bottom of the boulder field at 5400 feet, aim directly for the saddle on the summit ridge of Harding. Pretty straightforward. Even though we were out of the boggy meadows of Scatter Creek, the mosquitoes didn't let up one bit, nearly all the way to the summit. Bring lots and lots of DEET.