Tucki Mountain, Nelson Range

18-May-91

By: Fred Camphausen

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The designation above is taken from the somewhat older 15' Emigrant Cyn quad. and the Tucki summit may actually now be officially named. It came up in talking with Barbara Reber the prior weekend when I said I wouldn't mind climbing it again, but no way would I do it from Skidoo. In 1973 the Scout was new and it and I checked out the road shown on the 15' leading close to the peak. At that time, finding its start in Emigrant Wash was tricky, even after a Wildrose station ranger carefully described it to me. An encouraging start was soon followed by the road disappearing in a washout, and I had to be satisfied with climbing the peak from Telephone Canyon.

It turns out that this road has improved over the years and it now can be driven to its end by a or any rear-drive vehicle with 15" or larger wheels. Drivers of VWs will require caution at one short boulder section in the otherwise almost level roadbed.

Two miles from the intersection with Hwy 190. Where the Wildrose Road enters the Emigrant Canyon narrows, an unmarked track leads east into the wash. Follow the Track, turning left on the far side where it leaves the wash and goes north, until after 1.2 miles, it joins with the road shown on the quad at about the 2400' contour. (The historic road shows on the map as originally starting at Hwy 190 below the Emigrant ranger station.) After turning southeast, an abandoned Model T is passed, with its four fenders standing upright but with the body Missing. The next eight miles is a gradual steady climb with no hardships except for the one boulder area previously mentioned.

Near the end of the drive, which lasted about an hour, we came to the highest altitude, 4880', at a flat area where the canyon begins to descend east into Tucki Wash. We would have parked here, where the normal Skidoo cross-country route passes through, but we saw another road going up the ridge to the north, and we took it in 4WD to get to P5532. Tucki was visible, about three miles away and its summit cairn could seen with binoculars. The road we were on drops very steeply off the north side (along with a convenient stretched out winch cable) but we made no attempt to drive it down. Our Scout, sitting on the hilltop, could be seen during most of the climb. We reached the Tucki summit after three hours. One-way distance was about 3.6 miles and with 2000' of total climb. As we were leaving we heard a call. It was Vic and Sue Henney, Ron Grau, and Evelyn Chadwick, arriving after climbing up from Mosaic Canyon!

VABM 7701 "Nelson Mtn" 19 May

We needed to do a wimp peak on Sunday, as tradition dictates. and Nelson was chosen among a field which also included Argus Peak because of its 0utstanding wimpiness.

We took Barb's Toyota truck up the mine road-the third one, with the two long switchbacks. After getting started up the slope above the cabin we watched a vehicle convoy arrive. It was Patty Kline with her group which bad climbed Telescope Peak the day before. Once again the day was clear, and from the Nelson summit we observed a skyline of peaks so far away as to be confusing. The presence of the clean but almost unfurnished mine cabin at Nelson factually, there are two at different places) reminded us of the one we chanced across the day before near Tucki. Built in the 19705. apparently by a British Columbian who returns every year. this place was the most fully equipped and provisioned remote cabin we had ever seen. Its location is called 'Martin Crossing' described in a very complete logbook and is named after one Revor "Moon" Martin, a British adventurer.


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