LoJ: #118 (Pre-LiDAR #117) / 13,780' "Magdalene Mountain" Silver King Peak/Magdalene Mtn. Formerly UN 13,762/Silver King Peak

From the 4WD trailhead about a third of a mile north of Clohesy Lake, walk south on the roadbed into the woods a little and take the left (east) fork trail labelled for Missouri Mountain. The trail wanders through the woods some, climbs a steep switchback then climbs less steeply as it heads south. In about .7 mile it comes to the intersection for the trail to Missouri Mtn. At this point, you've gained over 400 feet in elevatio. Now you must lose most of that as you continue south and drop back down to near lake level, but well south of Clohesy Lake and the private property. Continue on the trail for the next couple miles to the pass between the two drainages. Over the next couple miles, the trail diminishes from an old vehicle track to just a one-lane trail. One thing that stands out about this trail from our multiple uses of it is how frequently small streams/rivulets cross it and the boggy mess that creates for much of the hike through the forested section. As the trail approaches the upper reaches of the valley, it moves out more to the valley center and into the willows. Though it's not difficult to pass through this willow section, it could get hikers rather wet if passing through right after a rain. The wide open basin of the upper valley feels very isolated. It is filled with tundra, lush grasses and scattered boulders. The trail will begin to fade in and out. If you lose it, simply head toward the pass and you'll likely come across it again.

At the pass between the two drainages, follow the remains of the old vehicle track down through tundra to Pear Lake, losing about 400 feet. Contour around the north end of the lake to the eastern side and continue contouring south at about the 12,200 foot level or slightly above, for the next .8 mile or so. This contour will require crossing some minor drainages so there will be some ups and downs, but keep trending upward toward the 12,400 foot level. Most of the terrain will be tundra and/or embedded rocks. Once you're basically west of Magdalene's western summit, choose a route to head up. We followed up just to the south of a long, skinny snowfield in a shallow gully. This aided in avoiding some of the loose rock. The first couple hundred feet of ascending was not too bad, but once the snow and tundra played out, the hiking turns to almost all talus/rubble. In fact, the entire side of the mountain is basically all rubble - medium sized rocks & boulders. Keep slugging away at the slope until you reach the western summit. From there, the difficulty relents some as you drop to a saddle on mostly tundra with rocks sprinkled here and there. Finish on larger rocks as you approach the summit. The summit is a fairly large are with a mix of tundra and rocks. Enjoy a nice view down into the inviting Pine Creek area and of Mt. Harvard to the east.

For the return trip, basically just follow the entire approach route back out. You may want to stop and cool and soak some tired feet at Pear Lake! Unfortunately, you will have to do some re-ascending to get back over the pass and to follow the trail back around the Clohesy Lake private property.