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Cedar Creek Peak, 7,463 feet.

The following trip report and photo was supplied by Rick Baugher. Cedar Creek Peak  is a bushwacker's delight. This section of the Sawtooth National Forest is managed as a bird sanctuary and there are no maintained trails to assist in gaining this summit.

    From the 5500' level along the North Heglar Canyon Road, just before it became muddy and snowbound, I headed steeply south to gain a north ridgeline of the peak. Soon the brush battle began, while underfoot all the flavors of icy tread turning to mud could be experienced.
Fortunately, this was replaced at a higher elevation by the varied subtleties of rotting snow. Snowshoes, of course, were helpful, but no match for the frequent limestone outcrops and deadfall. By the time I clawed my way to the summit crown, Hardy's  admonition to Laurel came
to mind,"This is another fine mess you've gotten us in".

    After admiring the remains of a surveyor's target signal, probably of 1958 origin, the admiration changed to the peak's summit defenses. Any approach to Cedar Creek Peak requires doing battle with the spiny Cerocarpus bush. There would be no easy alternate descent route.

From The summit of Cedar Creek Peak the view is SE to ridgepoint 7443'. To the left, 7 miles distant is the Sublett Range highpoint Roy Peak 7492'

    Driving back to I-86, it's worth stopping in the Yale area at the
historic "Parting of the ways". This is the spot where to the Oregon and
California Trails split at Raft River. Somehow my 5 hours of
bushwacking pales next to the thought of taking covered wagons cross
continent.

                                                Rick Baugher
                                                3/18/07