GlassMountains Trip Reports

Chloride Ridge East Peak, Oregon, September 2024

September 30, 2024 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Friday, September 13, I left our home in the Baker Valley and drove into the Elkhorn Mountains along Rock Creek. I parked at the Killamacue Trailhead, and began my attempt to climb the East Peak of Chloride Ridge. From the east, Chloride Ridge leads south, then turns west above the North Fork of Rock Creek. Chloride Ridge has several little summits. Two of them have at least 300 feet of prominence, qualifying them as peaks in their own right according to those who keep track of such things.

An afternoon view of Chloride Ridge East Peak from Killamacue Lake.

The eastern-most summit of Chloride Ridge (Chloride Ridge East Peak) lies above to the southeast of Killamacue Lake, a reservoir used to provide irrigation water to the Baker Valley. The Killamacue Lake Trail provides access to the lake, and I hoped it would get me close enough to the East Peak for a feasible ascent.

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Hunt Mountain, Oregon, June 2024

July 4, 2024 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Monday, June 24, I climbed Hunt Mountain in the Elkhorn Mountains northwest of Baker City, Oregon. Hunt Mountain has only 425 feet of topographic prominence, but it has 8225 feet of elevation and appears quite prominent from the Baker Valley. Hunt Mountain has called for me to visit every time I have looked up at it from the valley. It has been the most insistent of several peaks I hoped to visit soon in the Elkhorn Mountains.

Maxwell Mountain (left of center) and Hunt Mountain (right of center) from the Baker Valley.

Hunt mountain is protected from the east by extensive private property without public access. A possible southern approach from Pine Creek requires a long, steep, off-trail climb through forest. My preferred route has been from the north and west, via Rock Creek and the Highland Mine ruins. I turned back on my last attempt of Hunt Mountain two years ago due to the length of this approach. I planned to make a more serious attempt this time.

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Grand Wash Cliffs, Arizona, April 2024

May 23, 2024 by Paul McClellan 3 Comments

After breakfast Sunday morning, April 21, I said goodbye to Eric and Stacey Kassan as they left our campsite to climb nearby Iron Mountain. The slopes of Iron Mountain above seemed steep and I expected they would have a memorable day. I then left our campsite and drove further south to Ray Place, a remote and apparently abandoned homestead in the Iron Spring Wash below the Grand Wash Cliffs.

Duncan Benchmark appears above cliffs from Ray Place

My goal was to climb Duncan Benchmark, the highpoint of the Grand Wash Cliffs. Duncan Benchmark has 2209 feet of topographic prominence, making it the 54th most prominent peak in Arizona. I understood it had a reputation for being brushy, but from reports the brush was manageable and I was not expecting it to be a particular problem.

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Mount Perkins, Arizona, April 2024

May 18, 2024 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Friday, April 19, I drove from Tucson, Arizona, northwest through Kingman, then north on US Hwy 93. I turned to the west on a dirt road. After a few miles I found a secluded campsite and settled in for the night. My plan was to hike Mount Perkins on Saturday with Las Vegas Mountaineers Club members Eric and Stacey Kassan. I have climbed many Arizona peaks with Eric and Stacey. I looked forward to sharing another peak with them on this trip.

Mount Perkins lies to the southwest from my campsite

Mount Perkins is the highpoint of the Black Mountains northwest of Kingman (there are other Black Mountains to the southeast of Kingman). It has 2036 feet of prominence, making it the 67th most prominent peak in Arizona. There were several other prominent peaks visible from my campsite. I hope to visit the most prominent ones over the next year.

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