"This was an HPS hike led by Peter and Ignacia Doggett. In fact, it was Ignacia's fifth list finish! Ten strong hikers took the Cutca Valley Trail. Although the area had seen some rain earlier that week, it was a perfect day for hiking (unlike my previous cold, wet and miserable attempt that got aborted midway a couple of weeks earlier). The trail is clear and beautiful, but there are several sections with tons of poison ivy and poison oak, frequently hanging right into the trail. I was in shorts, so had to be super careful. Apparently there are often lots of ticks....definitely wear long pants for this route. (Fortunately, I only ended up with sunburned legs.) About 4/5 of the way up, a rattler sounded his warning from a bit of tree fall; we didn't actually see it, though. I guess it found a safe place to hide, as it soon stopped rattling and let us pass with no further incident. Once you get to the final summit push, there are a couple of spots that look like they could be the high point...the true summit is overlooking the dramatic drop-off toward the west...hence the word "crag" in the peak's name. Mileage for the day was just about 20.5 miles, but it's a relatively comfortable ..." — HikerMark • May 10, 2015