Trip Report
Alpine Scramble - McNeeley, Antler & Dege Peaks
Wonderfully fun four-peak adventure!
Nancy Lloyd
- Fri, Sep 13, 2024
- Alpine Scramble - McNeeley, Antler & Dege Peaks
- McNeeley, Antler & Dege Peaks
- Scrambling
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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MRNP's Sunrise Visitor Center parking lot had plenty of available parking at 8:30 on a beautiful sunny morning. The Sourdough Trail saw few hikers and was in its usual good shape; however, obvious off-trail trampling had occurred over the summer. We met a handful of hikers coming up the Huckleberry Trail as we descended into the basin to begin our scrambling adventure on the McNeeley's. We spotted a few surviving wildflowers, but their prime had ended.
I originally planned this trip for Saturday, 9/14, but changed it to Friday the 13th to avoid rain and grab a brief sunny window. It was indeed our lucky day! We started in cool temps under a clear blue sky. Our first stop was McNeeley Peak-West. Now informally named "McNeeley Junior." This little peak was a last minute addition to the trip and offers a short fun scramble with a great view:
Hello Junior!
Our next stop was McNeeley Peak (Senior). We had a blast ducking under, climbing over, and finding ways around the trees, brush, and rocks along the way to McNeeley's true summit:
After a relaxed break and snack, we retraced our route down McNeeley, descended into the Huckleberry Basin, and hiked back up to the Sourdough Trail. After a little over a mile we left the Sourdough Trail and made our way up to Antler Peak. There is no clear route to the summit rocks. However, my fuzzy memories from a previous trip combined with two more pairs of sharp eyes got us to the summit in short order!
Thank you, Kristen, for the amazing shot from your cell phone! Clouds were moving in quickly, so we headed down to the Sourdough again and hiked another mile to our final summit. Dege Peak was last on the list with a good trail the entire way. By this time, clouds and fog were thickening. Visibility deteriorated and we were thankful to have had clear weather for our three scrambles before reaching Dege.
Our day's adventure was about 7.5 hours including breaks, slightly less than 8 miles rt and 1,800' gain. It was a fantastic, fun day with wonderful companions!