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Gimpilator infinity/21M
Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 1684 | TRs | Pics Location: Edmonds, WA |
Bearing Peak - 2520'
Richard invited me to do Bearing Peak and Canyon Point. Starting from Northshore Road just before dawn, we hiked up the wash, over the pass, and into into the western end of Pinto Valley. Rich had researched a nice approach for us to get to Bearing. Although, there was no beta available for Canyon Point. Not even the guidebook mentions that one, even though it is officially named and prominent.
Pinto Valley Pinto Ridge
We hiked south down a canyon which has some narrow spots and minor dryfalls. A tall rock fin in the middle of the wash shed large boulders at the slightest touch. Once the peak was visible, we turned east and up a canyon. We avoided one large dryfall by working around the right side. The upper gully was full of loose rock.
rotten 20 foot high rock fin loose gully Rich down below
We came to a saddle in the north ridge and then it was a short distance to the summit. Canyon Point appeared to have a lot of cliffs barring access. Rich pointed out the gully he had scoped on Google Earth. He thought it might go. Hopefully. We descended an east canyon from the same saddle and then followed a wash south.
Boulder Peak West Boulder north ridge Wilson Bearing summit Canyon Point Bearing Cove
Canyon Point - 2398'
Richard’s gully did indeed work out, and sheep sign indicate that it might just be the best way to go. We traversed around a highpoint and then followed the north ridge crest south. Near the peak we saw a herd of 10 bighorn sheep. At least 8 of them were juveniles. They were very curious and we realized the likelihood they had never seen humans before.
wash looking back at Bearing loose aim for this summit not yet visible Jumbo Peak visible beyond the lake narrows Canyon Point and Wilson Canyon Point 10 bighorns
Canyon Point has an exceptionally good view of the lake. This might be a popular peak, if not for the remoteness. We descended the exact same way. I was tempted to probe further along the north ridge, but didn’t take that chance. Instead we parted ways in the wash. Rich was pretty stoked to get his main goal done and there was 4 hours of daylight remaining, so I wanted a few more peaks.
Boulder Rich on the summit
West Boulder Peak - 2733'
I followed washes on the south side of West Boulder Peak and traversed east around a few false summits. On top I had a nice view of The Sentinel, my favorite peak in the area. I can’t overemphasize how fun the route on that one is.
West Boulder Arch Mountain near the top The Sentinel Boulder looking back at Canyon Point and Bearing
My hope was to get 4 or 5 peaks out of the day, but again daylight is a limiting factor this time of year. One thing for sure, it was important to get back to Pinto Valley by dark. This is a complex area and you wouldn’t want to be route-finding in the maze of hills and canyons after dark.
Boulder Peak - 3004'
I descended the north side of West Boulder and hiked east through some valleys to get to a west ridge of Boulder Peak. This ridge went nicely and I avoided a craggy section by traversing along the left side.
looking back at West Boulder
It’s hard to say exactly where the summit is located, but I traversed over it on the way to a benchmark further south. There was also a concrete memorial, but it seems more like some people just wanted to leave their names permanently on a mountain top, “Walt+Lavern 71 Scott+Gina”. I did find a paper register which was nice, because the other 3 peaks hadn’t had one.
Muddy Mountains in the distance and Harlan peaks right of center Bonelli Guardian Arch Wilson and Canyon Point Arch Pyramid and Booth's Pinnacle Cathedral and Virgin far distant Bearing and West Boulder
On the way back to Pinto Valley, I was tempted to explore “Harlan Peak”, but decided against it for two reasons. A) it has less than 300 feet of prominence B) there are two separate peaks of nearly equal height with the same summit contour. The guidebook has the western one as the peak, but everything I had seen indicated that the eastern one is higher. A potentially time-consuming hassle. There might be enough light left to climb one, but certainly not both. Any way that I thought about it, it was an unattractive prospect. The urge was nagging me despite this, but I managed to let it go and pass by them.
The Sentinel Harlan peaks, ArcGIS has the east one as higher Pinto Ridge and valley
I kept my eyes open for the Pinto Valley petroglyphs, but only saw the same ones which I had found before, and those are not very old. John Morrow is the master at finding them and I’ll have to ask him about it before my next trip to this area. Returned to the car before pitch dark and didn't use the headlamp in the morning or evening. Roughly 4.5k gain and 21+ miles.
modern petroglyphs The Sentinel last light on Canyon Point
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Jake Robinson Member
Joined: 02 Aug 2016 Posts: 521 | TRs | Pics
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Nice, that's some determination getting all those peaks in one go like that. Cool shot of the Muddy Mountains and Harlan Peaks too.
As always, thanks for taking the time to document your trips. You're creating a great resource both here and on your peakbagger.com page that will be very valuable to anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps. I'm sure I'll use your info if I ever head south. Keep the TRs coming!
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