Find Nearby Peaks

This peak is not in the book. Rick Baugher climbed this peak in 2013 and suggested the name Sharon Mountain after a nearby town. Rick stated at the time “Sharon was settled in the late 1800s and named for Sharon, Vermont, birthplace of Joseph Smith, founder of the LDS Church.” Rick climbed the mostly open east face. Livingston Douglas wrote this entry to aid climbers seeking the summit. Livingston suggested the name “The Bushmaster” for reasons that will become apparent as you read his submission. Published November 2018

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Peak 8041 is the easternmost of three ranked summits on the south side of Copenhagen Canyon. It is a seldom-visited summit that requires an arduous bushwhack from the Copenhagen Canyon Road/FSR-442 via the east ridge or a much easier scramble up the west ridge from a point where FST-309 crosses the 7,380-foot saddle at the base of the west ridge. FST-309 (an ATV trail) comes up from FSR-442 in the middle of Copenhagen Canyon. USGS Midnight Mountain 

East Ridge, Class 2+

Access

From the junction of US-89 and ID-36 in Ovid, drive west on ID-36 for 7.0 miles, just past the hamlet of Sharon, ID. Turn left/west onto Copenhagen Canyon Road (unsigned) and drive 1.3 miles to the [unsigned] Cache National Forest boundary. Park in a pullout just below the National Forest boundary. The elevation at the parking pullout is 6,685 feet. Copenhagen Canyon Road is a narrow, rocky dirt road that is suitable for passenger vehicles as far as the National Forest boundary. Beyond that point, the road becomes much rockier and rougher.

The Climb

From the parking pullout near the Cache National Forest boundary, walk briefly up Copenhagen Canyon Road and cross a small stream. Leave the road just after this stream crossing. You can see a gated dirt road heading east from Copenhagen Road here. That gate is the private property line that extends south in a straight line up the mountainside. Your objective now is to climb south up the steep slope to reach the east ridge of Peak 8041 while remaining on public land.

You are about to engage in a BATTLE ROYALE. The bushwhack up to the ridge is a punishing combination of tall, thick desert scrub, some aspens and willows, and some blowdown. The slope steepens higher up and the desert scrub is suffocating. However, after 250 vertical feet of uphill, the desert scrub becomes easier to navigate. When you finally reach the east ridge in a flat, open area at 7,060 feet, you will be greatly relieved. But not for long. The wide, flat ridge area has short scrub and broken scree to cruise across. There is a cattle fence to the left/east with several “NO TRESPASSING” signs on it. This is the boundary between the Cache National Forest and private land to the east.

There is a second cattle fence on this plateau area. It heads east-to-west up the crest of the east ridge. Follow a footpath on the right/north side of this fence across desert scrub and then up into the forest. The cattle fence ends at about 7,325 feet. Bushwhack up through the dense forest (with thick veg mixed in) and battle your way up to open terrain near Point 7643. The plateau around Point 7643 is comprised of thick desert scrub with gaps in it and some ground boulders. Continue following the [flat] ridge westward and drop 30 vertical feet to a minor saddle.

After crossing the saddle, you enter dense forest again. The slope is initially gradual here, but the thick veg in the forest makes for a miserable experience. It is a tiresome grind. The forested terrain steepens considerably as you approach the summit of Peak 8041. Climb west up a “headwall” of aspens, willows, and thick desert scrub. You will almost be on your hands and knees to make progress here. It is simply dreadful, but you can smell the summit from here. After suffering for 200 vertical feet, you finally reach the summit area—a narrow, north-to-south ridge crest. The summit high point is at the north end of this minor cross ridge. The summit had a small cairn so I built it up nicely using some loose talus nearby. The summit is a minor rocky outcrop and is not thickly forested, so you have some views of the surrounding area. Once you’ve climbed the east ridge of Peak 8041, you will vow to NEVER DO IT AGAIN.

West Ridge, Class 2

Access

Same as for the east ridge. A more direct ascent route is via FST-309 (an ATV trail) which comes up from Copenhagen Canyon Road/FSR-442 and crosses a 7,380-foot saddle at the base of the west ridge.

The Descent

From the summit of Peak 8041, descend west on the ridge crest or just left/south of it in open desert scrub with scattered mountain mahogany to skirt. You can see the narrow ridge saddle below you and the ATV trail that crosses it. As you approach the 7,380-foot saddle, bushwhack through a short section of dense forest (with copious amounts of blowdown and thick veg) to reach the ATV trail. Depending upon where you emerge from the forest, walk briefly up the ATV trail (FST-309) to the crest of the saddle. From the saddle, you can either return to Copenhagen Canyon Road (via FST-309 heading north) or begin a climb of the northeast ridge of nearby Peak 8142.