Dry Soda Lookout - Starr Ridge 1/31/16

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Location: Hwy 395 to Starr Ridge Campground

Road & Trail Conditions: 395 patchy ice with gravel; FR 196 & 3925: groomed 2 weeks ago, a few snowmobile tracks since, 1-4" powder on top.  pretty darn good.

Snow Conditions: 2-3' packed base, crusty layer then powder on top, more with elevation

Skis on & temperature: 9:30am 19° mostly sunny, wind on ridges dropped temp quickly (JD 28° cloudy)

Skis off & temperature: 6pm 22°  (JD 32° )

Distance: 16 miles, 1 mile elevation climb

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 10

Comments: from the topo map the elevation is a little misleading, starting at 5200 at starr ridge, ending at 5400 at soda ash.  there is a lot of up & down in both directions.  here is an elevation profile from google earth:

 i love traveling along this ridge, alternately seeing canyon mtn, strawberry ridgeline to the north

 & bear valley to the south & west. 

the view from the lookout is extraordinary - worth the effort to get there.

FR 196 goes through several stages of the burn area; sometimes the southern border, sometimes right through the middle.  it is quite a journey to follow along the area, moving in the direction of the fire. most of the spur roads to the north are closed due to fire damage. from some of the viewpoints large sections of the burn area can be seen at once.  the camera could not capture the immensity of the area.

you can also approach from the other direction, FR 16 to 1620 up to 3925, same distance, another 500' elevation.