Bearhead Mountain-East Peak

Views are not the only reason to visit this peak. More than likely you will be the person/ group of people on the summit. Once you get off the faintly used Carbon River Trail down below you will be bushwacking and scrambling up this mountain to the true summit. In reality the scramble here is Class 2+ and if dry this mountain presents little difficult. If wet though conditions can be a little more iffy and caution must be used. On the way up my partner and basically went up a grassly field all the way to the foot of the scramble. You can attempt to do the Bearhead to Bearhead-East Peak as there is a footpath part of the way to the traverse. Unfortunately that footpath disappears on the higher part of the ridge and quickly turns into Class 3+ exposed terrain which is not recommended during in wet or icy conditions.

Getting There

VIA THE SUMMIT LAKE TRAILHEAD: Pickup Hwy 165 in Buckley from Hghway 410. Stay on the road past the towns of Wilkerson and Carbonado and over the classic narrow Fairfax Bridge. Make a left at the "Y" intersection which has a sign pointing out the Carbon River Entrance. Roughly 7.5 miles, make a left on an unmarked road to a long bridge. Pay attention because most people pass this road the first time in the area. Once it crosses a bridge it will run into another T so make a right there. Take this bumpy road almost 7 miles to the end. From there you will pick up the Summit Lake Trailhead. The road is bumpy and though regular cars can drive this road, high clearance vehicles are recommended.

Route Description

This section will describe the easier route up Bearhead Mountain East Peak. Take the route as you would going up Bearhead Mountain. From there you will want to take the very faint and lightly used Carbon River Trail for roughly 2 miles until it intersect runs up to a prominent ridgeline that leads to Bearhead Mountain. From there head straight up this ridgeline. If you head to the right you will deal with a 40 degree grassy field. If you head straight up you will deal with some slippery scree that is also 40 degrees or a potential Class 3 rock scramble. The final scramble to the true summit from anyway you head up here is Class 2 to 2+ max.


If you plan on following the ridge from Bearhead Mountain except much more of a challenge. Expect Class 3+ or higher conditions lots of exposure. It does start off mellow coming of Bearhead Mountain but the route once it leaves the main ridge quickly becomes either a hefty scramble. We were in wet conditions so we declined continuing with this route and decided the other route instead.

Essential Gear

In summer just typical hiking gear is needed. A helmet is optional here and from I saw it was really not necessary.

In spring when the snow is around you will clearly need an ice axe to reach this summit. The easiest route up contains 40 degree slopes which would require an ice axe. You might want to bring crampons or traction devices depending on the type of snow conditions that persist on this mountain.

Camping

There are plenty of places to camp in this region. My suggestion would be to camp around Twin Lake or Summit Lake. There is also the summit area of Bearhead Mountain as well. The actual summit of Bearhead Mountain-East Peak is quiet rocky and would make for a very uncomfortable bivy.

Red Tape

Northwest Forest Pass is required at the trailhead. THere are no other permits for the region.

External Links

This is an excellent page on Bearhead Mountain by Eric Willhite

Bearhead Mountain-East Peak Peakbagger Page