Swauk Ridge 4205' 12.7.10

   After a stressful week that included my car developing some expensive problems I was looking forward to getting out. The West side forecast didn't seem very good and since the snow conditions still are  very suspect  I opted to head East. I was also without a partner so I settled for something more benign and not overly taxing. I had one more peak on the Liberty Quad to do to close it out, so I thought it would be a good day to tackle the high point of Swauk Ridge. I would guess there are many ways to tackle this short one and I could only find one report that involved a very long ridge walk. I didn't have that kind of time and I wasn't sure about a direct route from Mineral Springs. I decided to head a little further along 97 and turned onto the Durst Creek Road. I had some trouble making it past the first portion where the snow was sloppy. I could have parked there but I am never too thrilled to suit up anywhere near where the dog could run into traffic. I pushed through the slop and found better going after crossing the bridge. I turned around a short time later and tried to park along the side of the road. I wasn't able to get far enough off the road to allow easy passage from any cars that may have come by in my absence.  I instead broke out the snow shovel and cleared a spot nearby and parked.