| Find
a dirt road on the east side of highway 95 just north of the
general store in Parson, 237592. Follow to a T-junction, 257600, and
turn left. Drive
for about 500 meters and take a right, 253603. Continue, staying right
at
257608, to a small landing, 261610. Park here. High clearance vehicle
recommended. The goal is to ascend the south rib of an unnamed
outlier until it tapers, 264618. From there, start to contour heading
in the drainage and look for a treed gully on the opposite side,
266621. Follow this straightforward
gully to its crest, 269623. Climb this rib for about 130 meters and
start veering climber's right towards another drainage,
274628. Once in the proper draw, it is easy to reach the
saddle to the east and summit close by.
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From the landing we
head for the stand of trees. |
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Just beyond the
stand of trees, a bluff needs surmounting. |
Scramble: RT
8.5; 4.25 up. Yahoooo,
another successful local outing planned with Google Earth. Route
finding starts from the highway where you must
find the access road; it looks like a driveway between two houses. This
one was a stretch from the start without the truck. With recent rain,
depressions on the service road were filled with water. Fab drove the
Sunfire through several holes but one was particularly deep; we almost
got stuck... We made it to the landing for the next challenge: finding
our way to the proper draw and saddle. Like its neighbor Tower Peak,
the treed terrain reduces visibility and bluffs are circumvented along
the way. Navigational skills are an asset along with flagging tape.
There is no trail; the bushwhacking is mostly light with some deadfall
sections. We focused on finding the treed gully and hoped it would lead
us to the second ascend rib. It did. From there we climbed and
traversed climber's right until we got sight of the proper draw. We
still had to pick our way around bluffs to reach treeline at the head
of the drainage. Once in the draw it is easy hiking. From the saddle,
the summit ridge appears difficult but it isn't. Oddly, a huge cairn
sits a the top but this is not a popular trip... Nonetheless, we very
much enjoyed the challenge; we're happy to be here. Now for
the
descent, which will prove to be a good exercise in backtracking.
Although we we're sometimes slightly off the original path saying "this
is the general direction", we found our way back. The descent was
uneventful but not without a few minor corrections. For the
final crux, crossing the mud puddle with the car... The anticipation
was killing Fab!
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Typical terrain. |
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Getting a glimpse of
the treed gully we are aiming for. |
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In the drainage,
looking for the treed gully. |
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Ascending the gully,
I look back at the rib we traversed from. |
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Straightforward
treed gully. |
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Some bluffs to go
through before reaching the proper draw. |
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Again, looking back
to facilitate route finding upon return. |
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Nearing treeline in
the proper draw. |
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It is easy hiking
from here. |
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The Columbia Valley
below. |
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The saddle. |
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On the saddle,
Coral's false summit appears. |
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The summit is at the
far left. |
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The Goodsirs on the
right. |
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Tower Peak in the
background. |
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Summit ridge. |
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Impressive cairn for
a seldom visited mountain. |
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Yeah, another local
scramble from Google Earth. |
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Very few entries in
the recently placed register. |
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One more summit
dance. |
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Heading back. |
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Traversing towards
the second ascent rib. |
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Negotiating bluffs. |
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Back down the treed
gully. |
| Back
to home page |
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