Monday, July 3, 2023
While staying at Bald Knob Lookout we did several hikes, and the day before heading home we hiked up Barklow Mountain.
There’s a trail that comes in from the west, but it was far more convenient for us to approach from the east, so we started at the trailhead on Road 3353:
The trail launched straight up the mountain. Needless to say it was some very steep climbing:
I don’t think this trail sees any maintenance, so it’s good we only encountered a few blowdown:
After gaining 530′ in 0.4 miles we reached the ridge and turned right. This was easier hiking, but the trail is clearly not used much:
At some point along the ridge we crossed over into the Copper Salmon Wilderness, although there was no sign stating that. Just 0.8 miles from the trailhead we reached the summit:
This is an old fire lookout site, but the trees have grown up considerably and the views are quite limited. We could see to the south and southwest and that was it:
After spending a bit of time at the summit we hiked back down:
We decided to head south towards Iron Mountain on Road 3353 on our way out, instead of back north and east. This proved to be a good decision for two reasons: 1) there had been a few sketchy wash-out sections on our drive to the trailhead that we were in no hurry to experience again, and 2) on the west side of Iron Mountain we drove past this HUGE roadside patch of darlingtonia:
The hike up to Barklow is not worth doing. The trail is abandoned and the views are limited.
Gaia stats: 1.8 miles, 580′ elevation gain
