Peak 9137 (Moonshine Peak) by Livingston Douglas

Elevation: 9,137 ft
Prominence: 317

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This peak is not in the book. Published December 2019


Peak 9137 sits at the head of Moonshine Creek. It is mostly forested but its summit area is surprisingly rocky and open. Peak 9137 is a rather insignificant hump which barely qualifies as a ranked summit. It is squeezed between Moonshine Creek, Firebox Creek, and Sawmill Creek. It has a tall cairn of dinner-plate shale on its summit. USGS Iron Creek Point

East Face/East Ridge, Class 2

Access

Same as for the west spur/south ridge of Peak 9331. This climb is the final leg of a ridge traverse from Peak 9331 to Peak 9137.

The Climb

From the marshy meadow at the head of Moonshine Creek (8,820 feet), cross the watery marsh to its northwest side. Bash your way up through very thick pines and blowdown on a northwest line to reach drier, easier terrain. Angle left/west as you near the ill-defined, but flat, crest of the east ridge of Peak 9137. Bushwhack up the dense trees and blowdown of the east ridge to reach the open terrain of the summit area. Scramble west up a short section of boulders/talus (with blowdown mixed in) to reach the flat, rocky summit high point. There is a 6-foot tall cairn here.

East Ridge/North Spur, Class 2

Access

Same as for the east face/east ridge. This is the first leg of a ridge traverse from Peak 9137 to Peak 9660.

The Descent

From the summit, descend east back to the wide, flat, forested saddle. Look for a prominent gully that heads northwest from here. Bushwhack northeast toward Point 8971 and then do a diagonal descent north to reach a prominent shoulder on the right/east side of the aforementioned gully. This shoulder is the north spur. Follow this semi-open spur northward through plenty of pines and blowdown to reach 8,600 feet. At this point, the north spur bends left (northwest then west) to descend to the valley floor. Leave the spur to descend directly down to Firebox Creek. Your goal is to reach the Firebox Creek drainage just above a fork in the drainage. You can see this valley fork through the pine trees.

The face descent down to the creek drainage is wicked. Bushwhack downhill through blowdown, dense trees, and young pines to reach Firebox Creek. Before you reach the creek, find the Firebox Creek Trail. Cruise west down the trail to reach the critical junction between Firebox Creek and Sawmill Creek. Find a fallen tree to cross Firebox Creek and then cross the rather small, braided stream that is Sawmill Creek. These creek crossings are at about 7,950 feet. This concludes the descent of the east ridge/north spur.

Additional Resources

Mountain Range: Lemhi Range

Longitude: -113.37829   Latitude: 44.42669

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