Lassen County Highpoint Trip Report

Hat Mountain (8,737 ft)

Date: September 9, 2005
Author: Ken Jones

For a shorter hike than Suttle's book lists, follow his driving directions to the fork at 18.8 miles. At this point, he sends you left (where there is a sign indicating that you will be switching to road 38N18A). You can confirm that you are at the right intersection by this sign and (as of the date of this report) because the gravel road switches to unimproved dirt whether you go right or left.

Go right and follow the main track until you are no longer comfortable driving it. You will want to use the topo map to track your progress, as there are many ATV trails in the area and some of the forks are confusing. I got my rental Ford Escape somewhere into the eastern part of Section 28.

For the hike, I could not find the marked trail to the ridge south of me, so I ended up going cross-country. I'd suggest heading more or less south to southeast (staying in the trees, not the brush) to the ridge where you can pick up the mapped trail. It's a two-track road but doesn't appear to see much traffic. Follow the road northeast as far as it goes toward the peak, then go cross-country. There are a couple of possible high bumps, both with registers.