Forum of Lists

Does anyone know whether the prominent point at 10,897' in the central Elkheads should be referred to as Meaden Peak or Sand Mountain? By all accounts, the quad is in error where it labels this peak as Meaden Peak, because Meaden is actually the 10,561' peak to the west (something that you can confirm at the USGS's GNIS site). Scott Patterson on SummitPost calls 10,897' "East Meaden". If you look at the 100K series, it looks like the name Sand Mountain might have been intended to encompass three summits: 10,879', 10,714' & 10,847' (and on the 250K series, the name Meaden Peak is nowhere to be found). Any opinions?

This reply is from memory not from looking at the map.
As I recall the placement of the name Meaden Peak on the 7.5 minute map is incorrect.

Looking at the decision card from 1932, the quad section is '5', which means the 7.5 minute quad is correct showing it as the 10,879' location, and the 10,561' location is not Meaden.

This is from Joseph D. Kramarsic's book on the Elkhead Mountains:





Locals who make the distinction between the two usually call them West Meaden and East Meaden, though locally 10,879 is also sometimes known as McFaddin Peak. Sand Mountain is definitely the one to the south and is named for the sandy escarpment on the east side. 10,879 is not Sand Mountain.

Personally, I don't like the name "North Sand Mountain" on LOJ for 10,879. It just introduces a fourth name (the other three being Meaden Peak, East Meaden, and McFaddin Peak) to what the peak is already known and the name is never used locally. If a mountain already has three established and used names, even if non-official, I see little reason to create yet a forth one (more confusion!).

I used the name East Meaden on Summitpost and explained that the peak is sometimes named McFaddin Peak. Here is what I wrote on summitpost concerning the name of the peak:
http://www.summitpost.org/meaden-peak-e ... #chapter_2

Thanks Scott.

Since the 1932 and 1975 dates Joe K mentions line up with GNIS official dates, and the lat/lon is updated, it seems reasonable to assume Joe is correct. I've adopted the "McFaddin" unofficial name since that name is in print in his book.