Find Nearby Peaks

This peak is not in the book. The name was suggested by Rick Baugher. Published November 2024

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Peak 8621 sits above the headwaters of both Cabin Creek and the Right Fork/Left Forks of Sawmill Canyon Creek in the Pioneer Mountains. It is most easily climbed from Leadbelt Creek Road. USGS Blizzard Mountain North

Access

Antelope Creek Road [(D) on Page 260 of the Book]. From US-93 about 10.5 miles north of Arco, turn left/west onto [signed] Antelope Creek Road and reset your odometer. At 4.0 miles, the pavement ends. At 18.1 miles, reach a signed turnoff for the Antelope Guard Station (right). Continue straight on Antelope Creek Road, heading toward the Iron Bog Campground. At 21.2 miles, just after a bridge crossing of Antelope Creek, reach a signed junction with Leadbelt Creek Road/FSR-218.

Turn left/east onto FSR-218 and reset your odometer. You will need a 4WD vehicle with good tires from this point. At 1.3 miles, reach a flat meadow. The 2-track road gets rougher after this meadow. At 2.9 miles, the road reaches an unsigned junction. Go left/southeast here and cross to the east side of Leadbelt Creek (a small stream). The road then quickly reaches a signed junction with FSR-223. Go left/east onto FSR-223, which is a continuation of Leadbelt Creek Road.

The road gets even rougher from here. At 4.3 miles, reach an unsigned road junction at a major fork in the canyon. Park at this junction (7,160 feet and 43⁰35’53”N, 113⁰40’06”W). LeadbeltCreek Road is a narrow, rough 4WD road with some bad ruts, a lot of bumpy ground rock, and a few steep sections. This is the first leg of a 3-peak adventure that includes Peak 8621, Peak 8729, and Cold Benchmark (9,178 feet). It covers 8.0 miles with 3,250 feet of elevation gain round trip.

Map Errors

The USGS topo map shows a 4WD road heading northeast from the final junction/parking spot up to the connecting saddle between Peak 8621 and Peak 8729. In fact, the rugged old road only goes a short distance and ends. It turns into a cattle/use trail and the road bed is completely gone.

Southeast Ridge, Class 2

The Climb

Most of this climb is Class 1. From the road junction, hike briefly northeast up an old jeep track that heads up a gully with a side road (right) that goes up to some old mines. The jeep track soon ends in the forested gully with an old road closure sign. There has been no road past this point for many years. There are not even any signs of an old road bed after this point. Continue up the gully on a good cattle/use trail all the way to the 7,860-foot connecting saddle between Peak 8621 and Peak 8729. The gully heads northeast then east then northeast before reaching the saddle.

Bushwhack northwest across the saddle and quickly find an old 2-track (shown on the USGS topo map) heading left-ish/northwest below (and right/northeast of) the crest of the southeast ridge of Peak 8621. The 2-track is overgrown and becomes faint at the base of the south face of Peak 8621. It then re-emerges and is strong for the final, steep climb to the crest of the southeast ridge. Once on the ridge crest, follow the 2-track north then northwest up to its crest just left/southwest of the rocky summit of Peak 8621. Leave the faint 2-track on this crest and bushwhack right/northeast through easy, short grass and scrub (with scattered sagebrush) to reach the rocky outcrop atop the high point of Peak 8621. There is no summit cairn or loose talus with which to build one.

From the summit, return to the 7,860-foot connecting saddle with Peak 8729. This concludes the first leg of today’s 3-peak journey. Peak 8729 is up next.