Instead of moaning about the SoCal forest closures decided to drive north and hit the first promient peak in the Southern Sierras. We started at Sage Brush - bushwacked up the canyon rather than the switchbacking on the sandy trail. There was remnants of an old trail but mostly COW PATHS. Hit the PCT after the pass. And then Xcountried/scrambled to the summit of Olancha 12100 +/-. Very cold and windy on the top and just a few patches of powder in the shade. The peak is very interesting - great views of Owens Valley, Langly Peak area, and Southern California. Saw no one the entire time and the last hikers to sign into the register was over a month ago. The trail down in the dark is a little sketchy through the sage brush and VERY SANDY - which can be very tiring. Got to the trailhead at 11:30 and very tired after a three hour drive home.
Very nice work out - 12 hours 21+/- miles w/just over 6000 ft gain. Got most of our research from Summit Post. Very different than SoCal - cattle grazing, fences, Cow Corrals, large meadows, historical water troughs, and some weather -radio towers on the summit. Nice day in the wilds!
D