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Markleeville Peak

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Markleeville Peak
Markleeville Peak from the Nipple

Place Name: Alpine County

Place Description: State: California
Date: 07/12/2018
Elevation: 9,415 Feet
Prominence: 1,135 Feet
Miles: 3.8
Elevation Gain: 1,527 Feet
Lists: Tahoe-Ogul, Western States Climbers List

  • Difficulty
  • Solitude
  • Kid Friendly
  • Summit Views

One Of The Easier And Funner Oguls

All the years I have driven over Carson Pass, Markleeville Peak never really stood out to me. Now I can’t help but notice how easy it is to see from all over the area. This is a cool looking mountain, none to hard to hike up, and with no trails, doesn’t get much visitation. This is still one of my favorite summits.

Overall
3.3

Pros

  • Short hike
  • Nice summit area
  • Beautiful wildflowers

Cons

  • Significant gain in short time
  • Limited parking
  • Short hike (wish it was longer)

If you are looking for a quick Sierra peak to bag, Markleeville Peak certainly fits that mold. With it’s listing on the Tahoe-Ogul and WSC Lists, it doesn’t seem to see as much traffic as others in the region.

The Trail

Simply put, there is no trail. Along Blue Lakes Rd, finding parking at turnout is required. From there, pick and choose the route. The country is very open and covered in Mules Ears which allows easy route finding.

There is a beautiful drainage that is forested and we saw a buck come out of there on our trip. We skirted around the drainage to the right before reaching the ridge.

Tahoe Ogul

About halfway up Markleeville Peak.

From here, it’s all open at the summit with some minor bushwhacking.

The Summit

We reached the summit pile after about 1.9 miles of hiking. Almost 3 hours to reach the summit, even with lots of stopping for my 5 and 7 year old kids. They made it though! I think, most people could bang this out in 60-90 minutes.

The wildflowers were out in force, never seen so many mules ears before! Found the register under a flat rock just behind the summit stick. The register dated back to 1999! Views of the surrounding Sierra peaks and Great Basin were exceptional. A very nice reward!

Tahoe Ogul

Summit marker on Markleeville Peak with Round Top in the distance.

The Final Word

This was a great little peak and after climbing it, I seemed to notice it more from all over the Carson Pass area. I would highly recommend this hike for hikers in all skill levels, just be warned, there is about 1600 feet of gain in just under two miles. I would say this is a very worthwhile Ogul Peak and one that could easily be combined with The Nipple, Jeff Davis Peak, or Hawkins Peak.