Sugarloaf Mountain, Oklahoma
N 35° 01.613 W 094° 28.102
15S E 366047 N 3877009
The highest point in LeFlore County, Oklahoma. Sugarloaf Mountain is home to a benchmark and a geocache as well.
See the geocache: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=c23778e3-ec35-4fa1-ad36-be565f099d2e
Waymark Code: WM5J
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 08/17/2005
Views: 121
It is there for you to find, though don’t take this one lightly – this was a challenging hike, to say the very least. The mountain is ringed with bluffs that make it impossible to ascend in any vehicle, on a four-wheeler, on a motorcycle, or even on a horse. This one must be done - in all of its remote, stark glory - on foot. Almost a mile, straight up.
Sugarloaf Mountain is a rich treasure trove of folklore and superstition. Like many places in Oklahoma, it is reputed to have been a popular hideout of Belle Starr and other wild west outlaws. It is rumored that some local guys found a cave a few years ago that contained saddles and guns. The back of the cave - believed to have housed loot - had collapsed. There also was once a hotel near where you will leave the road and begin your climb. By "Hotel" I mean "shack where gangsters hung out." The foundation is still there alongside a spring that provided many a thirsty outlaw with refreshment.
A friend and I climbed Sugarloaf Mountain on Saturday. To reach it, we found Gilmore Road to the east of Poteau. We turned off Gilmore Road onto Durant Hill Road. Durant Hill Road eventually veered right and became a dirt road. We forded a creek (it's not too deep for an SUV) and followed the road to where we parked at:
N 35 02.236 W 094 28.748
A better vehicle could climb even higher and save you a few steps, but I doubted my two-wheel-drive Jeep Liberty could go much further.
We walked up the road to this point before turning into the woods and beginning our long ascent:
N 35 02.181 W 094 28.398
From there, it is all sweat and heartache. We had one snake scare, scaled two sheer cliffs (about 20 feet high in the best spots) and saw some of the roughest – and most gorgeous – terrain we ever imagined. It was a wonderful climb.
Altitude in Feet: 2833
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