"Did the 5 HPS peaks in the area as a day hike. Honestly, this area kind of sucks. The views aren't great, the trails are in crap shape, there was a decent amount of bushwhacking, and all the peaks seem lower than nearby unlisted peaks. Deer Mountain was the hardest of the five from Hawes Ranch TH. I approached the peak cross-country from Shay Mountain, so there was some navigating and bushwhacking just to get on the proper route, then you have to climb and re-climb Peak 5805. Aptly, I saw several deer. I ran out of water in this quasi-desert, but stumbled upon the Barrel Spring which to my surprise was flowing at 0.5L/min! A little Aqua Mira and I was good to go. " — klotito • Oct 2, 2016

"This hike was tough in every way. First, getting there: the HPS directions to the Route 1 trailhead have a major error. In step 2, you need to veer RIGHT at the intersection with SR189 in order to stay on SR173, rather than veer left (with the implication that you should turn left onto 189). So I had to do some backtracking early on. Second, the dirt roads are really gnarly. I gave up after a particularly tough section, and had just parked my Subaru Forester on the side when a ranger pulled up; he said that I'd just done the hardest part of the drive and would be able to manage the road ahead. I didn't go quite all the way, but parked in the shade of a well-positioned tree, adding about a half-mile to the hike each way. On to the hike. I missed the trail descending toward Deep Creek, and crossed maybe 80 yards further south. Not good. I managed to push my way through the brush and cross the creek, then I faced a crazy steep ascent up to the ridge. This was more of a climb than a hike, since I used my hands most of the way and never saw any trails. After this tough section, I finally spotted a duck. From that point on, the trail is rather lavishly ducked, even though it's clear t..." — HikerMark • Jul 1, 2016