Trip Report
This was day 4 of a 5 day trip to Copper Basin with my wife. The previous day, a very rare mid-summer cold front rolled through depositing snow on the Pioneer, Lost River, and White Knob mountain ranges. Not just a dusting, but several inches and all the way down to about 9000 feet in elevation.
That night, the temperature dropped to 23 in Copper Basin. Well, at least we won't have any mosquitoes!
I had other planned hikes, but with the snow and muddy roads, I settled for one with a trail most of the way and a improved road to the trailhead.
That meant Moose Perch, which sits above Wildhorse Canyon near Moose Lake. It stands 10,354 feet high.
I didn't want my wife sitting around all day alone, so I told her that I'd be back in 6 hours and 30 minutes. I figured the hike would take 6 hours.
I found the trailhead and was off at exactly 10am. The trail up Fall Creek is very well maintained. It follows an old road before becoming more trail-like after about 1.5 miles. The views up Fall Creek were awesome, with perfect blue skies highlighting the snow covered peaks (did I mention it was late July?!).
I didn't have a watch and some of the creek crossings were time consuming. That added to the fact that the trail drops and gains elevation often, I thought my 6 hour time was in jeopardy. I eventually found the turn-off for Moose Lake.
The trail to Moose Lake had more surprises. Instead of the straight line shown on the topo map, this thing switched back across the hillside. That was adding unexpected mileage to my trip.
I eventually reached a break in the trees where I had enough landmarks to figure out my location. I pegged myself at 8800'. There was fresh snow in the shaded areas. Not having a clock, I finally remembered that my camera had a time stamp. I was 2 hours in. With 1500' to go, I felt I was on pace.
After my break I made my way to around 9200' and crossed the Right Fork of Fall Creek. The terrain for my selected route was working. I then worked my way into a bowl that led to a 9800' saddle between Angel's Perch and Moose Perch. The terrain was loose and slick from all the recent precipitation, but it worked and got me to the saddle.
I then stopped for one final break since I was now on the summit ridge. Unfortunately, I had to gain and loose elevation twice more before finally getting to the base of the peak. But the views on this ridge are tremendous and it was a perfect day with no haze in the air!
The final summit block is a fun climb. You get to use your hands a little on the rock just before the top, then you find yourself on a high, rocky ridge with views in all directions!
The view up Wildhorse Canyon is spectacular, but so are the large views of the Boulder/White Cloud region to the northwest. The Pioneers from Devil's Bedstead East to Hyndman are tremendous. Moose Lake with Angel's Perch beyond was pretty killer. The views of Standhope, Altair, and Surprise Valley weren't too shabby either. I could see the Lost Rivers with quite a bit of snow as well.
After thoroughly enjoying the views, it was time to look at the clock. It had taken me 4 hours to get to the top. I had 2 hours to get back to the trailhead and there was no way I could re-trace my ascent route in 2 hours. However, the north ridge dropped straight down to Fall Creek and within a mile of the trailhead. I studied the map and decided it would go, but I had to thread a fine needle to avoid cliffs to my left and right.
The ridge was great until around 8000 feet where it became steep, mossy, and dense forest. I powered through the deadfall and steep hillside for about 300 feet and then saw a sage brush flat about 100' feet below. I had figured the trail to Fall Creek Falls utilized this flat and sure enough, I popped out onto a perfect trail. I followed it back to the trailhead and jumped into the vehicle with 30 minutes to spare!
This peak doesn't compare to the higher Pioneer peaks, but it is wild and offers great views!
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