Find Nearby Peaks

This peak is not in the book. Published November 2018

---

Peak 7233 is a small, hidden summit located at the top of some forested cliff bands on the west side of Eightmile Canyon Road/FSR-425, about ¼ mile below the site of the old Eightmile Campground. Eightmile Campground has been out of service for years, so it’s in pretty rough shape, though there is one decent campsite in a meadow near the campground entrance. Since there is no other peak named for this canyon and since this peak sits directly above the old Eightmile Campground, I call it “Eightmile Peak.” It is rarely visited. USGS North Canyon

Southwest Face, Class 2

Access

From the stoplight on US-30 at the east end of Soda Springs, drive south on South 3rd Street, which becomes Eightmile Road. At 6.4 miles, turn right at an unmarked junction (the road going straight is gravel, not paved). At 7.8 miles, the pavement ends. At 10.0 miles, enter the Cache National Forest and the road becomes FSR-425/Eightmile Canyon Road. At 11.5 miles, go straight at a road junction on FSR-425. At 13.4 miles, the road reaches the site of the old Eightmile Campground. Turn right into the “campground” and park at the first campsite on the RHS of the campground road in an open meadow. The elevation here is 6,685 feet.

The Climb

From the first campsite in the disused Eightmile Campground, bushwhack across the dry creek bed of Eightmile Creek (which is just upstream from the very wet creek bed!) to reach the base of a hillside to the north. Scramble up this steep face in open scrub and field grass, skirting mountain mahogany as necessary. After reaching the crest of the ridge at the top of this hillside, descend 45 feet (vertical) northward into a dry gully and cross it. You are now at the base of the southwest face of Peak 7233.

Scramble northeast up semi-open terrain that is a mix of trees and thick, tall desert scrub (which doesn’t seem to end) to reach the virgin summit. There are no game trails or cattle trails to help you bash your way up the southwest face. The summit is a minor ridgeline with trees nearby. There are minor rocky outcrops and embedded boulders on this ridgeline. There was no evidence of previous ascent.

Northeast Face, Class 3

Access

Same as for the southwest face

The Descent

I must caution the reader that this route of descent is very difficult. I would rate it a 9 out of 10 as far as bushwhacking difficulty. And that’s going DOWNHILL. I only assign a “10” to a bushwhack that is IMPOSSIBLE. It is wicked. You will wish you never did it. Needless to say, it is probably close to impossible to ascend this route.

From the small summit area of Peak 7233, descend right/east off the summit hump then turn left/north and follow the ridge down to 7,000 feet. So far, the terrain is thick forest but is manageable. That is about to change. The slope steepens considerably here, the forest is thick, and the downed timber is INSANE. Worse yet, there is thick veg included in this horrendous mix. Descend northeast on the right/southeast side of a prominent gully. As you near Eightmile Canyon Road, move left/north into the gully to reach the [blessed] road. After reaching the road, follow the road south for 0.8 mile to get back to the campsite where you are parked in the old Eightmile Campground.