To get here you must hike part of Snowhawk
Creek Trail starting on Ft Richardson. From there follow the trail past
the first cabin. The hill is aprox. 1 1/2 miles past where you can
observe 2 hills to the left. From there it's off trail. You will need to
descend to the creek and into the saddle between the two hills. This is
a fairly easy hike up the saddle and along the south eastern side. If
you wish to prolong the hike like I did you can also hike to the other
peak about 1 mile south across the saddle. Being off the main trail and
on Ft Richardson means very few people in the area and none were
observed anywhere around the hill.
Important
Information
Other then the usual restrictions regarding
Ft Rich, this area is awesome. It is a fairly easy hike (I did it in
March with snow shoes) however there is some bushwhacking involved. Once
on top of the saddle there is a rim which makes it an easy ascent up the
southern, higher hill (elevation 3990). The northern edge of Ship Creek
Hill is very steep and is one of the dominating hills that can be seen
from the Ship Creek area. It is one of those hills that screams
"climb me". Land navigation is fairly easy however you must be
careful not to overshoot Snowhawk Creek Trail on the way back or else
you will have to do some backtracking (the best bet is mark the trail on
your GPS). This is a great first "off trail" hike to test your
back country skills without a lot of the worry.
Etc.
Webmaster Note: I was a little confused
when Matt mentioned the Snowhawk Trail. I didn't realize he meant
Temptation Peak. I also wanted to be clear on Military
rules. As well, I was also hoping he had some pics, so I emailed
him. It was a while before he replied (with good reason):
"Sorry its been so long getting back. I was back in the States
when I sent up the hike and now I'm back over in the desert compliments
of Uncle Sam. As to answer your 3 questions, as of right now all my
pictures are at the house and I won't have access to them for
another 8 months. Sorry about that. I highly recommend calling the base
before hiking there (range control or the MP's) because you never know
when there may be something happening on the range. I had to cancel my
first trip because I didn't call range control and when I showed up
there was an active range which closed the access road leading to the
trail head. As for the trail leading to the cabin. On most topo's, it
will show up, however it doesn't show up on a military map for some
reason. While the trailhead is not marked, it is pretty obvious when you
walk up to the top of the road. The trailhead is located about 20 meters
on the right before the dam gate. From there the trail seems to follow
the fence for about 20 feet before heading left. If you have any further
questions please reply".