Mount Sally, Mount Mooney, Vetter Mountain (LO), Mount Hillyer

12 October 1991

By: Gordon Lindberg

Leaders: Gordon Lindberg, Art Peyser

This was a hikers's choice. Seven hikes were starting from La Cañada, three of them at the same time as ours. After a bit of "people shuffling", we had eleven willing participants. Darlene Kurtzweil was the scheduled assistant, but due to recent foot surgery, she was unable to participate. Art Peyser volunteered to assist.

Mt. Sally was the first objective. Starting from the north end at about 9:20, thirty minutes found us on the summit. After signing in and enjoying a short break, the group was headed for the Mooney trailhead. Here we found two gun toters, reminding us that deer hunting season was in effect. However, no shots were fired nor harsh words exchanged. In another 20 minutes, we were signing in on the peak. Then it was down and across to the Vetter trailhead. The ascent was made via the trail. The road was used on the descent. As we were admiring the view from the lookout, rifle fire could be heard in the distance. Hopefully, no deer nor hikers were in the line of fire. While heading for the trailhead of our fourth peak, a somber note was cast as we witnessed an injured motorcyclist being transported to a helicopter. As the hour was getting late, it was decided to eat lunch at the Visitors' Center before climbing Hillyer. Two of our party signed out. The rest of us trekked on through Horse Flats and up to Hillyer. After a short stay at the summit, the remaining 6 were on the way down.

It was about 3:30 when we reached the cars and said our goodbyes. The weather had been warm, but a cloud cover had a desirable cooling effect most of the day. My thanks to Art Peyser for assisting during an enjoyable hike.