Crafts Peak, Mill Peak, Heaps Peak

15-16 May 1965

By: Mary Cordes

Leaders: Ben Romero, Larry Salmon

With Keller Hut as a base camp, a short caravan was made Saturday afternoon to Lakeview point for the start of the Crafts Peak hike.

Nine members and guests started the climb using an old fire trail which led through scenic wooded areas with occasional glimpses of Big Bear and Lake Arrowheads in the distance.

About two-thirds of the way up, the trail was made over and through patches of brush though not as rough as we had anticipated. There were several large fields of snow which we encountered and here some of the hikers engaged in tossing snowballs while some of us made some short glissades on the slopes.

We reached the summit and on signing the register found that the peak is seldom visited though it affords very fine views of the surrounding areas. After a short rest we returned to Keller Hut where we spent the night.

Sunday morning we started for Keller and Slide Peaks but were unable to proceed because of a locked gate due to debris and snow. The leaders, Ben Romero and Larry Salmon, then chose two other peaks as alternates, namely, Mill and Heaps.