Find Nearby Peaks

This peak is not in the book. Published November 2023

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Peak 3195 is on a forested ridge southwest of Outlet Mountain. It towers over the Priest River to its south. Peak 3195 is most easily climbed from a State Forest Road to its northeast. The south summit hump is the high point, in contrast to the official/measured north summit hump. Stand on both summit humps just to be sure. USGS Outlet Bay

Access

From ID-57 southwest of Priest Lake, turn right/east onto paved Dickensheet Road (signed for “Coolin”). Drive 1.7 miles to an unsigned road junction. Turn left onto a dirt road and drive 3.3 miles to an unsigned road junction. Park at this road junction (2,800 feet; 48⁰28’44”N, 116⁰54’07”W). This climb is entirely within the confines of the Priest Lake State Forest.

Map Errors

The USGS topo map shows a road continuing from the saddle north of Peak 3195 to encircle the peak. That road no longer exists but the overgrown remnants of the two branches of the road do still exist and can be used for hiking.

North Ridge, Class 2

The Climb

From the road junction, hike about ¼ mile west up the 2-track side road to a wide saddle with a large parking area. The road ends here but the remnants of two overgrown 2-track roads still do exist. They emanate southward from the aforementioned saddle. Directly south from the saddle is the steep, rocky, brushy north ridge of Peak 3195. Climbing it directly from the saddle is not a wise choice. Instead, hike about 0.2 miles south on the remnants of the “east side” road. Leave the overgrown 2-track to scramble right/west up a steep, but manageable, brush/forest slope to quickly reach the crest of the north ridge.

Follow the north ridge up over a ridge hump then down slightly to a saddle. Continue south up to the semi-open high point of Peak 3195. I built a small cairn on the high point. Of the two high humps, the south summit is clearly higher (and measures such on my altimeter). The USGS map makes the two potential summits look like steep pinnacles/towers but they are not. High up, the north ridge is quite gentle, open, and easy. Lower down, it is a wicked, steep mix of rock and brush. I attempted to descend it all the way to the saddle and was buried in impenetrable bushes and brush. I had to exit northeast down to the old 2-track road to then return to the saddle.