Find Nearby Peaks

This peak is not in the book. Published November 2019

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Peak 8542 is across the road from Deep Creek Ridge. Unlike Deep Creek Ridge, Peak 8542 has no ski trails or other trails. It is trail-less and completely forested. It is seldom visited. USGS Lake Mountain

Access

See [(H)(1) and (2) on Page 142] updated here. Shoup Bridge is located 4.3 miles south of the Salmon-Challis National Forest Service office in Salmon, ID. Turn right/west onto the road that crosses Shoup Bridge. After about a mile, the road takes a sharp left/south turn (signed with a large arrow). At 2.4 miles, go straight at a signed road junction for Williams Creek Road/FSR-021. At 3.9 miles, the pavement ends. At 4.9 miles, enter the Salmon National Forest. At 6.9 miles, reach a signed road junction. FSR-028/South Fork Williams Creek Road goes left here. Continue straight up Williams Creek Road. This road is an excellent gravel road all the way to Williams Creek Summit, which is actually a pass. There is a well-signed road junction at Williams Creek Summit. The ridge crest road (FSR-020) crosses Williams Creek Road here. Park here (7,813 feet).

Northwest Shoulder, Class 2

From Williams Creek Summit, bushwhack south then southeast up the ill-defined shoulder through a surprisingly easy pine forest with no brush and only a modest amount of blowdown. The shoulder quickly becomes better defined, particularly on its left/east side, and is easy to follow. The ridge bends noticeably right/south high up and narrows. The final summit ridge is flattish and forested with more rock in its base. There is only a slight uptick to the summit high point which is located at the north end of the summit cap. The summit high point is on a rocky ridge crest with trees nearby.

There were no signs of previous ascent so I built a decent summit cairn using the abundance of loose talus nearby. From the summit, you can see down to the ridge road/FSR-020 to the west but the trees hide Saddle 8141 which is located at the base of the west face. You can see the west face descent route and the gully to avoid. This gully lies directly west of the summit and is between you and the west face.

West Face, Class 2

Access

Same as for the northwest shoulder

The Descent

From the summit, descend northwest for about 0.2 mile to reach the top of the west face. Bushwhack west down through dense forest and copious blowdown (a complete contrast to the easy, open forest on the northwest shoulder). Work rigorously to maintain a due west line. When you emerge from the forest, you should be relatively close to Saddle 8141. In any event, you will reach FSR-020. I emerged from the forest about 50-70 yards south of the saddle and had only a short walk up the road to reach the saddle. From the saddle, continue north on FSR-020 as it descends rapidly for 0.6 miles to reach Williams Creek Summit and your parked vehicle.