Peak 7,091ft P300
Mogul Peak

Without any definite plans coming up, I was happy to get a text from Kristine asking if I was interested in a return to Slinkard Valley in Mono County to tag more summits on its periphery. With plans forged for Monday, I headed out Sunday from home around noon when my wife headed off for a get-together with old work friends. Ebbetts and Sonora Passes were temporarily closed due to a cold storm that dumped about 4 inches of snow over portions of the Sierra, leaving me with Carson Pass as the most expedient route. It would take about 4hrs to get myself to Markleeville, leaving me with something less than 4hrs of daylight for a few peaks.

Peak 7,091ft

I had hoped to do this peak on my previous visit to the area. It's located at the mouth of Pleasant Valley, a few miles west of Markleeville. On that previous visit, I was stopped by a difficult crossing of Pleasant Creek and as it was getting late in the day, I didn't have much energy to pursue it. I came back with a different approach from Indian Creek Rd that worked nicely. I found the road gated about 1.5mi from the peak, but it wasn't a big deal - I would simply walk about 3/4mi along the road before heading off cross-country. The crossing of Indian Creek was trivial after which I started up to the peak's Northeast Ridge. The slopes are only modestly brushy and I found only a few short sections of bushwhacking on the way up. Once on the ridge, views open up some, though there are plenty of trees to block them. It took about an hour and a quarter to reach the summit, finding the highpoint on a small rock outcrop buried in the trees - not much in the way of views, but some. I particularly liked the view looking northeast to Markleeville. It appeared that little snow fell in this part of the range, at least below 8,000ft. On my return, I made a more direct descent back down to the creek, but this proved to be a somewhat brushy affair that I came to regret. Oh well, it was an adventure anyway.

Mogul Peak

This summit is located east of Markleeville off SR89 going over Monitor Pass. The dirt road going up Loope Canyon was in good shape, but the lesser road I used to get closer had lots of downfall, eventually stopping me a short distance from the saddle east of the peak. It mattered little, taking only 10min to get to the top from where I parked. There is the concrete foundation of a structure that once stood on the summit, perhaps a lookout. There are fine views of the Sierra Crest from the summit, with some fresh snow on display, but much of the view was washed out by the sun getting ready to set. I was done shortly after 7p, and decided not to pursue a third summit nearby that I had in mind - time for a shower, a beer and off to my campsite for the evening...

Continued...

Author:

Is this a correction?