Admin’s Trip Reports

Original scouting trek with Tony from HikingUpward.com - we were out at Hammersley Wild Area exploring sections of the Shang Hollow Trail area when on our way out, we stopped at a logging clear-cut when we spotted "Stony Peak" in the distance. Stony Peak was cut out by loggers approximately ~5 year ago, circa 2017, leaving the top of the mountain's rocky peak exposed with 360-degree views. We decided it'd be fun to try and summit the peak, so we followed a combination of deer trails and an old logging grade (total bushwhack) that led up the eastern side of the mountain - this is by-far the more difficult ascent and an alternative route to the top. Once at the top, we found a pipeline view and low-growing shrubs and thorns littering the forest floor between the service road and the top of Stony Peak. We bushwhacked out through the thorny overgrowth, following an old logging road, to just below the top of Stony Peak. Struck with "Summit Fever", I attempted to bushwhack through the thorns in several sections to reach the summit; however, we were clearly exhausted because we didn't notice the service road simply curved around the mountain to reach the top! On that day, we gave up on summitting Stony Peak (I came back the next day to summit) and decided to head south to explore that area a bit. To the south, we found more logging activity - as recent as of 2021, where yet another mountain "knob" was deforested, with more 360-degree views! These two mountain knobs, located south of Stony Peak, look like a camel's back, hence the name - Camel Hump Knob. As of May 2022, the northern hump of "Camel Back Mountain", has been deforested, allowing hikers to get grand views of the surrounding mountain tops, including a view of Elk Lick Knob in the Hammersley Wild Area.