A short, two-day roadtrip had me heading to Alpine County. I had heard from Kristine Swigart that the snow levels were quite high on the east side of the Pacific Crest and thought I should be able to do a number of peaks up to about 7,000ft of elevation. This proved to be spot on. Most of the peaks were short outings with only one taking more than an hour's time. I had spent the night camped off SR88 on the west side of the range, around the 5,000-foot level where overnight temps didn't get below about 45F. I was up early to drive over Carson Pass and down to the Markleeville area where most of the peaks are located.
Peak 6,234ft
Located a few miles south of Woodfords and immediately east of SR89, this is the only summit of the day that I believe to be on private property, part of a ranch. There is a deer fence adjacent to the highway. I went through the one-way
deer gate and down to 
the ranch road, then up the peak from the
southwest, taking all of ten minutes. There is a nice view to
the northeast of Diamond Valley. To 
the south can be seen Peak
6,622ft, my next stop.
Peak 6,622ft
This peak is part of the BLM's 
Indian Creek Recreation Area on
the east side of SR89. I used the 
Curtz Lake TH, following the
Summit Lake Trail for about a quarter mile, leaving it at its apex to
head cross-country up the East Slopes on an ascending traverse. There is some
downfall to avoid, but this is easily kept to a minimum. The
South Ridge just below the summit is a pile of 
class 2-3 rocks
that take you to 
the summit (or skirt around the ridge if the rocks
look problematic). Powen Ru had left 
a register here in 2019 with a few
others signing in, most recently Mark Adrian a year earlier. The summit has
unobstructed views in most directions, including Raymond Peak to
the south and Hawkins Peak to the west. About 40min for the roundtrip
effort.
Peak 6,340ft
Found about 3mi northeast of the previous peak, this one is inside the Toiyabe National Forest. One can drive Airport Rd and a lesser dirt road to the BLM/USFS boundary less than a mile from the summit. The continuing road is
marked as "Closed", but has been disregarded more than a few times. I
parked
and hike this next section, but one could 
drive up to
the saddle immediately west of the summit. From there its a short cross-country
hike through the forest to 
the summit. The highpoint is hard to
pinpoint, but I left 
a register near the LoJ coordinates. Views are
limited due to trees, but there is a nice one to 
the south if you walk
a short distance in that direction. One can also see the higher peaks to
the west and Jobs Peak to 
the north, above the trees. I took
just under an hour for this one.
Peak 5,805ft
I returned to Airport Rd and drove north to the paved
Diamond Valley Rd, then northeast about a mile to the Washoe Indian
Reservation (Hung-A-Lel-Ti), a small community of a few dozen homes and some
government buildings. 
Peak 5,805ft lies about a mile to the southwest,
a low, unassuming hill. I drove an unsigned gravel/dirt road off Diamond Valley
Rd to get within about 2/3mi on the east side. I 
parked
at the end of the road
and walked southwest along the edge of a fenced meadow, eventually turning
towards the summit where the fence makes a 90-degree turn. Some care is needed
to avoid brushier sections, but mostly just a walk up 
a moderate slope.
The peak lies roughly in the middle of Diamond, 
Wade and Dutch Valleys,
mostly used for grazing. The lower Peak 5,591ft can
be seen across Wade Valley to the north.
Peak 5,591ft
I
parked off Diamond Valley Rd where it goes around
the south side of the peak, making for a hike of less than 20min each
way. Very little brush on this one and 
open views all 
around.
Peak 6,669ft - Peak 6,601ft
Pleasant Valley is a private ranch a few miles southwest of Markleeville. There are three peaks at the NE end of the valley where Pleasant Valley Creek drains the valley. I had planned to do all three in a 3-4mi loop, but was unable to find a safe crossing of the creek to reach Peak 7,091ft. So it ended up being a loop of the two peaks on the northwest side of the creek. I drove Pleasant Valley Rd to the locked gate at the USFS boundary between Peak 6,669ft and Peak 7,091ft. Another car was parked there when I arrived and was gone before I got back an hour and a half later. It was a steep climb of 900ft to reach Peak 6,669ft in about half an hour. The slope I ascended was loose, not altogether pleasant, but very little brush. The summit ridge is a collection of
acres of talus with a rocky highpoint found at the northeast end.
Views are open in all directions. The higher Peak 7,091ft to
the southeast looked to be another steep climb and I wasn't exactly
looking forward to it. To 
the southwest, Peak 6,601ft looked much
easier with a 300-foot drop to the saddle between them. The walk
between the summits was an enjoyable 30min stretch. From
the summit of Peak 6,601ft, there is a nice view looking
southwest to the head of Pleasant Valley, flanked on opposite sides by
Raymond and Thornburg Peaks. I could hear faint sounds of activity in the valley
below, something like wood being split or heavy equipment. I decided it would be
best not to drop directly down to the valley, but to make a descending
traverse to the northeast back towards the gate. This worked well, the nature of
the loose slopes now working to my advantage. There were some
sections of brush I couldn't seem to avoid, but thankfully short. I was
down to 
the creek in about 20min, on the wrong side of the gate that I
had parked near. I went along the edge of the creek for a short while,
half-heartedly looking for a way over to allow me to climb Peak 7,091ft. The
stream was moving swiftly and there was no obvious way across, no fallen logs
bridging the two sides. My heart wasn't really ready for a 1,100-foot climb, so
I readily gave up the idea and went back to 
the Jeep.
Leviathan Peak
I drove back to Markleeville and then up to Monitor Pass to tackle a few easy summits there. I had been to the area on several occasions, most recently in 2019. I had climbed Leviathan Peak from the highway back in 2005. That year had considerably more snow in May. We were unable at that time to drive the rough road that goes to the summit, but
today was another story. I
motored to 
the summit in less than ten minutes, finding no snow until
just below the top, and this was easy to avoid. The lookout tower looked much as
it had 15yrs earlier - boarded up and closed for good, a tall telecom tower
standing beside it. The highpoint is found just south of both structures atop a
pile of rock. Really 
nice views as one might expect for a P1K.
Dome Two
This is
a minor summit a few miles northeast of Leviathan. For some
reason, it has a page on SummitPost, wholely undeserving. Dirt Big Springs Rd
passes within a quarter mile of the summit. Lesser roads can get you even
closer, within 500ft on 
the northeast side. From there, it's about six
minutes to reach the summit. There is 
a thin, 9-foot cairn constructed
at the top, the most impressive thing about the summit (though it sports
outstanding views to 
the east into Nevada, including Topaz Lake and the
Sweetwater Range). Though sturdy enough, I didn't think it safe to climb the
thing to add a rock to the top. I found a year-old Mark Adrian 
register
tucked into the cairn. I looked around for something older, but came up empty.
Back at the Jeep,
I spent some time trying to reach Peak 8,140ft several miles to the northwest.
I tried two different routes, one on each side of Leviathan Peak, but was
blocked by snow on both. The closest I got was 1.7mi from the summit. I figured
I'd come back without snow and make it a near drive-up.
Peak 6,380ft
It was 4p when I gave up on Peak 8,140ft, and with a few hours of daylight remaining, I drove down the east side of Monitor Pass to do this last summit. It lies on the north side of the highway, overlooking Topaz Lake. I parked about a mile WSW of the summit along the highway, starting
from there
on foot. The surrounding area was 
burned in the 2017 Slinkard Fire,
leaving few trees standing and little brush. Mostly the terrain is grass and
rocks, with plenty of the latter to make the hike a bit tedious. The route goes
across rolling terrain with a few 
unanticipated drops, though nothing
more than about 50-100ft. The final climb up to the summit had fewer rocks,
making it more pleasant. The summit is rounded, unassuming, and has a fantastic
view of 
Topaz Lake. It also has a decent view of the four summits to
the south that Kristine and I planned to visit the next day. It was
5:30p when I 
finished up back at the Jeep, having
spent an hour and a quarter on this last summit.
I drove a short distance back up the highway, then down the dirt road leading into Slinkard Valley. I had hoped to be able to drive this road the next day about six miles with Kristine, but found a locked gate about half a mile from the highway. Most of the valley is managed by the California DFG - foot traffic welcome, but not motor vehicles, or at least those owned by the general public. I found a flat spot to camp for the night somewhere between the gate and the highway, not far from a few small portable trailers that serve as a sheep camp. The two shepherds with their three dogs brought the 300+ herd back to camp while I was eating dinner. I gave a wave, but got none in return - I got the distinct impression they weren't all that happy with my presence there...
Continued...