Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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46.67490°N / 114.783°W |
Route Type:
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Hike |
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Time Required:
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Most of a day |
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Difficulty:
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Trail most of the way |
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Approach
Start from the Blacklead mtn. parking spot. Yes, you actually start this hike from the top of another mountain.
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Route Description
From Blacklead Mountain, follow a closed jeep road northeast to the start of FST-508. The trail descends to the junction with FST-248, then turns more northeastly, and parallels the hillside to Goat Lake. You lose elevation until you start contouring toward Goat Lake and then you contour around a mountainside until you reach the lake. Mountain goats are often seen in this area (hence the original type name) From Goat Lake, the trail climbs to a saddle, then winds southeast to the south shoulder of Williams Peak, before turning back northeasterly and taking you to a saddle south of Rhodes Peak. From the saddle on Rhodes Peak, follow the obstacle-free south ridge to the summit.
Total distance 13 miles. Elevation gain (round trip) is 3800 feet. Plan for most of a day. It took us 4 hours to do the 6.5 miles in and 3 1/2 hours on the way out. The trail is generally easy to follow although at times it disappears and can be followed by cairns that have been placed in strategic spots.
Essential Gear
Class 1 and class 2, nothing technical. Crampons and ice axe might be necessary early season but I'd wait until after mid july as the FS road leading to this area is the main problem and a snow bank could block you long before you reached the TH. A forest fire of a few years back has left some of the slopes above the road prone to sliding and so it would be best to check with the Powell ranger station for local updates. No phone number at this time but I'll try and locate it for this route info.
Miscellaneous Info
If you have information about this route that doesn't pertain to any of the other sections, please add it here.