Saddleback Mountain (7,944), UN 8660, Twin Mountain (8,831), & Leg Benchmark (9,055) by Brian Schultz Thursday July 18, 2019

Saddleback Mountain:

Roundtrip mileage: 2.10 miles
Elevation gain: 810'
Start to finish: 1 hour 10 minutes

From Cheyenne, Wyoming I exited I-80 onto Hwy 218, which turns into CR 102 (Harriman Road). A short distance later I opened the gate on Road 205 and drove until the road became faint tracks in the grass. I parked and began hiking at 10:00 AM, keeping a bearing that ascended a hill before descending to a road crossing. This road appeared to be a long driveway leading to a property on the left but there weren't any private property signs as I crossed the road and headed toward to the summit. This same road had a cut-off road from the right that led up to the summit and perhaps I could've driven that road. It was north of the road that I drove in on but I didn't mind the extra hiking. The weather was sunny and warm as I headed up to the summit.

There were signs on a fenced-in area near the top warning to stay out but the summit was behind that area and was easy to get to by simply hiking around the fences. For a low elevation peak there are nice open views from the top. I stopped briefly on the way down to take some pics of cactus plants in bloom before reaching the truck at 11:10.

UN 8660:

Roundtrip mileage: 1.25 miles
Elevation gain: 450'
Start to finish: 1 hour

I got back on I-80 and drove west to exit 323. There is a nice rest area here with a statue of Abe Lincoln towering over the interstate. I followed Forest Road 705 (Blair Wallace Road) to Forest Road 707A, and then turned south on Forest Road 707AF. A nice parking area put me only a half mile away from the peak and I found a trail that led to the west ridge. Then the route finding began. This peak is rated class 5 on John Kirk's LOJ site and I wondered how difficult it would be as I started up the ridge. I found a class 5 area that I wasn't comfortable with doing alone and backtracked to begin a traverse below the ridge toward the summit. That wasn't looking so good either. Just as I headed back, two fellows, Greg and Jim, showed up and now with more eyes we could hopefully find a way up.

We went back to the class 5 area that I tried earlier and when we climbed up it, we didn't see a feasible route up from there. Down we went, and once again traversed below the ridge to a point just below the summit. The summit was less than a hundred feet above us but sheer cliff walls negated a direct route up. So we headed back and surprise, one of the guys found a weakness in the wall that was only class 3 and quite easy! In short order we were on top and enjoying the views (photo 1, photo 2).

The descent went quickly. Even with the back and forth route finding, total time from start to finish was only an hour. This was a super fun peak!

Twin Mountain:

Roundtrip mileage: 1.15 miles
Elevation gain: 465'
Start to finish: 1 hour 30 minutes

I didn't have to drive far for this peak. From UN 8660, I drove back up Forest Road 707AF to Forest Road 707A. I headed east a short distance, then turned south on Forest Road 707AD and parked off the road just west of the peak. I began at 2:50 PM, again under sunny skies, and set a bearing for the peak. The bushwhack had plenty of downed trees and it was steep but no harder than class 2+. It was great to reach the summit (photo 1, photo 2) after about 40 minutes but I didn't spend much time up there other than to take a few photos, including the benchmark which identified the peak as Sherman. I wonder what the story is behind that? I got back around 4:20 with enough time to climb another peak.

Leg Benchmark:

Roundtrip mileage: 3.70 miles
Elevation gain: 730'
Start to finish: 2 hours

From Twin Mountain I headed back up to Forest Road 707A and drove west to Forest Road 707. I followed Forest Road 707 north to the trailhead for Leg Benchmark, where a large area has plenty of room for parking. I began at 4:45 PM on a good trail that switchbacked a couple long stretches before heading toward the summit. Once near the summit it was a tough bushwhack for the last .15 miles. I kept my stay on top short because I was hoping to get one more peak in. I arrived back at the trailhead at 6:45 and drove out to the interstate rest area. I followed the Pilot Hill road hoping to finish the day with a climb of Pilot Hill but when I got to the end of the road, a gate with a private property sign quickly prompted me to turn around. I didn't feel like chancing a confrontation with an angry owner. All in all, this was a great day.