Find Nearby Peaks

This peak is not in the book. Published November 2023

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Peak 6511 sits at the head of Cyanide Gulch and towers over Gibbonsville to its northwest. Due to private land, it is most easily climbed via its northeast spur/north ridge from Gibbonsville Road/FSR-079. This area is a mix of private and public land, so be careful. This climb is entirely on National Forest land. USGS Gibbonsville

Access

From US-93 at Gibbonsville, turn right/east onto [signed] Gibbonsville Road/FSR-079 and drive 2.1 miles northeast then east to the Salmon National Forest boundary sign at a side spur road (that leads to a campsite) on the left/north side of the road. Park here (4,740 feet; 45⁰33’26”N, 113⁰53’45”W).

Northeast Spur/North Ridge, Class 3

The Climb

From the road junction, walk east along FSR-079 for about 1/8 mile to reach a suitable place to bushwhack across Dahlanega Creek. Find a downed tree to cross the creek. Once across the creek, bushwhack southeast up a short, steep, wicked patch of forest and brush (Class 3) to reach the [blessed] crest of the northeast spur. Follow an on-and-off use/game trail southwest up the ridge crest. The terrain on the northeast spur is a mix of pines, deadfall, field grass, and brush. It is an endless, steep uphill grind to reach an obvious juncture with the north ridge in semi-open terrain.

Go left/north onto the north ridge and scramble up the ridge, using an on-and-off use/game trail that is sometimes buried by deadfall. Reach a flattish ridge area at about 6,320 feet where a good use trail appears from the right/west. The trail appears to come up from Cyanide Gulch to the west. This trail heads left/east to the ridge crest and goes all the way to the summit. It makes the final 10-minute hike to the summit much easier than would otherwise be the case. The summit is in a logged are and has cut-down tree stumps. It had no summit cairn so I built one. As per the USGS topo map, the high point is at then northeast end of a tilted, open field in the middle of a nearby pine forest.