Thu, Sep 27, 2012
|
![]() |
Etymology |
Story | Photos / Slideshow | Map | GPX | Profile |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Deadwood Peak later climbed Thu, Nov 1, 2018 |
Deadwood Peak lies in the Mokelumne Wilderness south of SR88 and Round Top. It is separated from the latter by Summit City Creek which forms a deep barrier between the two. I had initially noted it some years ago when Matthew and I were making a traverse along the ridgeline between Kirkwood Ski area, Round Top and Carson Pass. Deadwood has more than 1,300ft of prominence and stands proudly over the Summit City Canyon. Getting to it in winter time would have been very cool - and very difficult too, thanks to that deep gorge in the way. It's possible to go around the gorge by way of Upper Blue Lake, but the approach is long and requires good winter snow conditions to make a day trip out of it. Lacking the patience to wait for the right time in winter, I decided to make an easy day of it in summer, or in this case, early fall. At this time of year one can drive the scenic paved road south from SR88 to Blue Lakes, a recreational hot spot for fishermen, hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts like myself. I was the only one parked at the Grouse Lake Trailhead found at Upper Blue Lake's outlet, but the nearby campground looked to be nearly full. The lakes were popular even if the trails were not.
I had spent the night sleeping in the van at
the TH so that I could get an early
start, not so much that it was a difficult day (it's not - I'd be back before
noon) as that I actually enjoy hiking before dawn so that I can watch the new
day come on. I was hoping I'd be able to reach the summit around sunrise at 7a.
To manage this, I was up at 4a and on the trail half an hour later. I had
checked out
the start
the evening before so that I could avoid getting lost in
the dark. This was somewhat helpful as it wasn't obvious at night. I crossed
the
steel bridge
over the spillway and turned left, heading downstream to find
the trail and the
wilderness boundary.
The trail to Grouse Lake, some six miles
in length, rises gently over about five miles, climbing about 1000ft before
dropping to Grouse Lake on the southwest side of Deadwood Peak. My route took
me along the first four miles of trail, going past the still shores of Granite
Lake, deeper into the Mokelumne Wilderness until I was near the trail's
highpoint on the southeast side of Deadwood.
Leaving the trail, I climbed the talus-covered slopes gaining altitude and
watching the eastern sky take on the first color of the new day.
Granite Lake
could be seen reflecting the pale sky in the middle of the scene. I reached
the summit
of Deadwood around 6:40a, still twenty minutes before sunrise. I found
a small cairn with the rusty head of an old shovel, but no register. Not wanting
to sit around and freeze my butt off waiting for the sun to come up, I decided
to pay
the west summit
a visit. It is nearly the same height and in fact the
west summit looks higher when viewed from the true summit, but this is
an illusion. It took 15 minutes to cover the distance between them along an
easy, open ridgeline that connects the two. The west summit actually has a
register found in
a PVC tube
that dates back
to 2008. 16 pages were filled over
the last four years, evidence of no small popularity even for this lower
summit. I watched
the sun rise
over the east summit, lighting up the higher
summits like
Mokelumne
to the southwest before spreading over the landscape more
generally. There is a fine view of
Round Top
and Summit City Canyon from both summits.
I next turned my attention to unnamed Peak 9,205ft, another P1K that lies three
miles to the southeast, rising above the south side of Meadow Lake. It is
possible to drive most of the way to Meadow Lake if one were out for just this
peak, but I thought it would make a good looping route from Deadwood. It's
pretty much all cross-country between the two, taking just over two hours to
get from one summit to the other, but the route proved to be very scenic and
enjoyable. After dropping southeast off Deadwood's west summit, I landed on the
Grouse Lake Trail and followed it briefly until I was in the
Snow Canyon drainage. I then followed the creek channel for some
1,500ft down Snow Canyon over two miles. The
upper part of the canyon
consisted of slabby Sierra granite that made for some enjoyable scrambling. Down
below, in the middle of the canyon before it turns to the south, is the large
Snow Canyon Meadow, the grasses now brown with the fading summer.
Looking back from the middle of the meadow,
Deadwood Peak stands
prominently to the north. The canyon then makes a wide
90 degree bend to the east, dropping another 500ft to Meadow Lake. It narrows
here and the forest is thicker with more downfall, making for a different sort
of adventure altogether. I traversed out of the canyon to the south to
scramble down the remaining distance over
more slabs to
the dam found at the west end of Meadow Lake.
The lake (as well as the other lakes in the area and the campgrounds)
are all owned and adminstered by PG&E for a mix of hydroelectric and
recreational purposes. The concrete and rock dam provides a convenient way to
cross to the south side of the lake without climbing down to the gorge below
or around the east side of the lake. There is a small
wooden shed found at the
south end of the dam and plenty of old, unused pipes and other equipment lying
about somewhat haphazardly. Much of it looks to have lain there for decades.
The water in the lake was
fairly low, the usual drawing down of the
mountain reservoirs before the lakes begin to freeze over as fall progresses.
The route I took to Peak 9,205ft followed up the
forested canyon south of the
lake and west of the summit. It's a pretty steep climb, rising 800ft in about
half a mile. When I was getting out of the thickest parts of the forest and
could see the rocky summit area to the east, I moved right to climb the yet
steeper slopes more directly to
the south side of the summit rocks.
Though imposing-looking from
the west side, the south and east sides
of the summit ridge proved easier at class 2-3. I reached the
summit rocks just before 9:15a. Somebody named Lenny had left
a register in 2008 naming the summit after their
pet cat, Macy. Somehow I doubt that name will stick, despite the popularity of
Macy and cats in general as represented by the other register entries.
The best scrambling of the day was found on the descent from the summit, down
the North Ridge that proved to be
stiff class 3
in a few places and most
enjoyable. The fun lasted for nearly half an hour before I was stymied on the
ridge route with about 400ft to go. I bailed off the west side of the ridge
down a steep, loamy chute into the forest found on that side. Near the top of
this chute I startled a grazing buck with I think six points to his crown. He
shot off down the chute and out of sight before I could even think about getting
my camera out of its case. I dropped nearly to the level of
the lake before
realizing I'd have more uphill to do to get back to the road found somewhere to
the east of the lake. I wandered along a use trail, through some modest brush,
and eventually found the
parking area
above the lake. As I was following the
road back towards Blue Lakes I came across a couple of hunters. One was standing
behind his truck
looking into the woods across the hood. Perhaps the car was to
protect him from the animals that might be similarly armed. I gave a small wave
as I walked by, but I don't think he was too happy to have me there, spooking
whatever deer might be hidden nearby. His buddy was just up the road, a large
portly fellow decked in camoflage and sitting on a rock alongside the road. At
least he seemed a little friendlier. I hadn't realized it was deer hunting
season and was beginning to wonder if I shouldn't have something to wear colored
red or orange in my backpack.
Just before reaching Twin Lake I left the road and headed cross-country to the
north through the woods. This would make a convenient shortcut rather than
following the roads all the way back to my van. It took only about 10 or 15
minutes to find the Grouse Lake Trail I had started on in the morning, somewhere
near the wilderness boundary. I followed this back to
Middle Creek (where I stopped to ponder
a crayfish I
spotted in the clear waters) and then to
Upper Blue Lake.
It wasn't yet 11a
but I was done for the day. I had tagged the five P1Ks I was after on this trip
and it was time to drive home. I still had more than a month before the winter
snows would begin and would manage a few more Sierra trips in the coming weeks.
For more information see these SummitPost pages: Deadwood Peak
This page last updated: Tue Feb 8 20:49:01 2022
For corrections or comments, please send feedback to: snwbord@hotmail.com