On Wednesday we had 7 hikers come out to hike Porcupine Mountain from the Pilot Rock Trailhead. We got a late start because we had a new hiker joining us all the way from the Applegate near Provolt and she was in the wrong part of the parking lot. On our way up I-5 I received a call saying 2 hikers missed that the meet time was 8:30, but since we had a late departure time, we would wait.

After the bumpy drive up the dirt road, we were happy to use the bathroom before we started the hike. At 9:25 AM we started up the Pilot Rock Trail in 70° weather. After about 0.9 of a mile, turn left and head north on the PCT. At one point, we got off the trail to let a through hiker pass us by.

The trail was very lush and overgrown in many places. I am sure this will change as more through hikers make their way north. We saw lots of Thimbleberry plants, Jacob's Ladder and at least 20 Phantom Orchids. One section had 12 along the trail.

We made our way up to Babbit Gap and had an amazing view towards California. We lingered for a bit and took lots of photos. Then we continued on. When we got to the place where the trail leaves the PCT I made sure we were all together.

We headed up the steep rocky faint trail and made our way to Porcupine Mountain. There, we climbed up the rocks to the top. Scott stayed down below under the shade of a tree. Lunch was enjoyed in the shade and Michael was given a card for his 79th birthday. We came back down the rock and Scott joined us for our group photo.

We headed back the way we came and got back to our cars at around 2:00 PM. We hiked around 8 miles and gained almost 1,400 feet of gain. I circled around Porcupine Mountain to see if there was any benchmark or waypoint (with no luck), so my final distance was 8.25 miles