Find Nearby Peaks

This peak is not in the book. Published November 2019

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Peak 8992 is merely a hump on the west ridge of Peak 9768. It is a ranked summit and is in an area of historical mining activity. A jeep road switchbacks its way up this peak, making a scramble up the remaining west face or southwest ridge an easy endeavor. The peak can also be bagged as part of a descent of the west ridge of Peak 9768. Peak 8992 overlooks Pierce Canyon to the south. USGS Copper Mountain

Northwest Ridge, Class 2

Access

Mahogany Canyon is a bit tricky to get to. The BLM roads leading here are not well signed. From the signed BLM access road for Mahogany Canyon is located along ID-28 7.3 miles north of the north entrance to the Birch Creek Campground and 100 yards south of the Kaufman Picnic Area. It is next to a crossing of a small creek so you must look for it. The road is narrow and is easy to miss.

Reset your odometer at ID-28. At 0.9 miles, go left at a junction just after crossing a cattle guard. At 1.0 mile, go left again. At 1.3 miles, go right onto a rougher road. At 3.9 miles, go right/straight-ish at a junction. At 4.0 miles, reach a 4-way road junction. Park here (7,167 feet). Straight ahead is FSR-906 (signed) and Mahogany Canyon. None of the road junctions prior to this one is signed. Use a USGS topo map to help you navigate here.

Note: This is a slightly different driving route from the one detailed in the Lopez book. I tried to drive that route a few years ago and was quickly turned back by rough road conditions, a cattle fence, and a sharp drop off a bench into a gully. This became my access route for Mahogany Canyon and I’ve driven it twice now.

The Climb

This climb is the first leg of a three-peak adventure above the Pierce Canyon drainage. It includes Peak 8992, Peak 9768, and Peak 9625. From the road junction just west of the mouth of Mahogany Canyon, hike south-southeast along a jeep road which makes a sharp left/east turn into Worthing Canyon and descends to a road junction at the mouth of the canyon. Leave the road at this junction and scramble south briefly to reach the crest of the northwest ridge of Peak 8992. The terrain is initially desert scrub and tall field grass. Once on the ridge, the terrain becomes short grass with a good gravel/dirt base—superb for off-trail hiking.

Grind your way southeast up the rounded ridge to intercept a jeep road at Point 7938. Cross the road here and follow the ridge up to another road crossing. From there, follow an unofficial jeep track directly up the ridge crest to the summit. The summit of Peak 8992 is simply a hump of broken scree and short scrub. There is a modest cairn atop the summit and an old mine is close by.

Northeast Ridge, Class 2

Access

Same as for the northwest ridge. This is the first leg of a ridge traverse from Peak 8992 to Peak 9768 to Peak 9625.

The Descent

From the summit, descend northeast on easy, open, short grass to a saddle that connects Peak 8992 to its much-higher neighbor, Peak 9768.