Find Nearby Peaks

This peak is not in the book. Published November 2018

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Peak 7144 is a scrub-covered hill that is located in the heart of Pole Canyon in the Black Pine Mountains. At the base of its southwest shoulder is a lovely meadow where I established a base camp for two hikes. On the first evening (at dusk), I was visited by a rather skinny bull moose. Something wasn’t quite right about this moose. And then it hit me—THE ANTLERS. This moose was a moose-mule deer hybrid. Yes, a bull moose with deer antlers. I’ve unofficially named this peak “Hybrid Peak” in honor of one of the strangest animals I’ve ever seen. USGS Sweetzer Canyon 

Southwest Shoulder, Class 2

Access

From the south side of I-84 at Exit 263 (Juniper), drive west briefly then south on a rocky dirt road. At 0.7 miles, turn right/west at an unmarked junction. At 3.7 miles, enter the Sawtooth National Forest. The road now becomes FSR-761/Pole Canyon Road. At 5.2 miles, go STRAIGHT at an unmarked road junction. At 6.3 miles, reach an open meadow in the center of Pole Canyon. Park here (6,210 feet) or slightly farther up the canyon in the forest.

The Climb

From the meadow, scramble north-northeast up steep desert scrub (with a decent base of scree) to reach the rounded southwest shoulder near a clump of pinon pines. Scramble northeast up easy, short scrub and broken rock to reach the gentle, rounded hump that is the summit of Peak 7144. You will cross several domestic sheep trails high up on this shoulder. You might even see a herd of sheep nearby as I did. The summit had a broken-down cairn (large talus) so I rebuilt it. Nothing else on top.

West Ridge/Southeast Spur, Class 2

Access

Same as for the southwest shoulder

The Descent

From the summit, descend north-northwest briefly then west down the ridge, following a good, grassy 2-track to reach the 6,740-foot saddle at the base of the ridge. Continue west across the saddle to surmount Point 6761, which lies in the center of the wide saddle. Point 6761 is positioned at the top of the southeast spur. Descend southeast on this spur to the meadow in Pole Canyon. The terrain on the spur is moderately thick desert scrub with some gaps and a sporadic game trail on the ridge crest. You will find a few weak sheep trails in the scrub lower down on the spur.