UN 11002 is the southeastern-most summit along a string of three peaks including Crown Point and Crown Benchmark near Comanche Reservoir. Despite being the lowest of the three, the mostly forested peak just barely pushes past treeline at its rocky summit, allowing exceptional views in all directions, including close up views of Comanche Peak and the northern faces of the Mummies.
Tagging along with Joe Grim, Terri Gerard and Laura Cartwright, we began at the upper Beaver Creek TH and cut off the trail early on to ascend the eastern rampart of 11002, which was interspersed with rock outcroppings and mostly open forest. Upon reaching the 10340-11002 saddle the trees became larger, and many had fallen to add in some more difficult bushwhacking. Near the summit the slope leveled out, and small patches of tundra lined the summit plateau. The summit itself was a rocky outcropping, with a register showing that the last entry had been nearly two years prior. We had hoped to continue on to Crown Benchmark, but with conditions deteriorating overhead we settled on intersecting the Flowers Trail and making a loop with the Browns Lake Trail.
The Flowers Trail is faint in many places, and large cairns help to know where to go next. At the intersection with the Browns Lake Trail there is an old cabin near a small stream, and just before continuing down the rain and hail started to fall. Dropping to Browns Lake and the smaller Timberline Lake we met the first group we'd seen all day, and at the lakes another group was camping. Despite swollen streams fed by runoff, Comanche Reservoir was still a bit low as was Hourglass Reservoir, which we didn't pass by but saw from above earlier in the day. Many wildflowers are blooming, including all colors of Indian Paintbrush, Glacier Lilies, Marsh Marigolds and even Shooting Stars. All together the loop was 13.4 miles and approximately 3000' EVG.
Joe has photos of the area from several hikes here: Joe and Frede
Tagging along with Joe Grim, Terri Gerard and Laura Cartwright, we began at the upper Beaver Creek TH and cut off the trail early on to ascend the eastern rampart of 11002, which was interspersed with rock outcroppings and mostly open forest. Upon reaching the 10340-11002 saddle the trees became larger, and many had fallen to add in some more difficult bushwhacking. Near the summit the slope leveled out, and small patches of tundra lined the summit plateau. The summit itself was a rocky outcropping, with a register showing that the last entry had been nearly two years prior. We had hoped to continue on to Crown Benchmark, but with conditions deteriorating overhead we settled on intersecting the Flowers Trail and making a loop with the Browns Lake Trail.
The Flowers Trail is faint in many places, and large cairns help to know where to go next. At the intersection with the Browns Lake Trail there is an old cabin near a small stream, and just before continuing down the rain and hail started to fall. Dropping to Browns Lake and the smaller Timberline Lake we met the first group we'd seen all day, and at the lakes another group was camping. Despite swollen streams fed by runoff, Comanche Reservoir was still a bit low as was Hourglass Reservoir, which we didn't pass by but saw from above earlier in the day. Many wildflowers are blooming, including all colors of Indian Paintbrush, Glacier Lilies, Marsh Marigolds and even Shooting Stars. All together the loop was 13.4 miles and approximately 3000' EVG.
Joe has photos of the area from several hikes here: Joe and Frede
