Junction Peak is a thirteener

Thirteener

In mountaineering in the United States, a thirteener is a mountain that exceeds above mean sea level, similar to the more familiar "fourteeners," which exceed...

 in the Sierra Nevada. Joseph Nisbet LeConte

Joseph Nisbet LeConte

Joseph Nisbet LeConte was a noted explorer of the Sierra Nevada. He was also a cartographer, a photographer and a professor of mechanical engineering. He often went by J. N. LeConte in photographs and articles...

 chose this name in 1896, noting that it marks the point where the Sierra Crest crosses the water divide of the Kern

Kern River

The Kern River is a river in the U.S. state of California, approximately long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfield. Fed by snowmelt near Mount Whitney, the river passes through scenic canyons in the mountains and is a popular destination for...

 and Kings

Kings River (California)

The Kings River is a major river of south-central California. About long, it drains an area of the high western Sierra Nevada and the Central Valley. A large alluvial fan has formed where the river's gradient decreases in the Central Valley so the river divides into distributaries...

 rivers. Today it also is the boundary between Inyo

Inyo County, California

-National protected areas:* Death Valley National Park * Inyo National Forest * Manzanar National Historic Site-Major highways:* U.S. Route 6* U.S. Route 395* State Route 127* State Route 136* State Route 168* State Route 178...

 and Tulare

Tulare County, California

Tulare County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Fresno. Sequoia National Park is located in the county, as are part of Kings Canyon National Park, in its northeast corner , and part of Mount Whitney, on its eastern border...

 counties, and of the John Muir Wilderness

John Muir Wilderness

The John Muir Wilderness is a wilderness area that extends along the crest of the Sierra Nevada of California, USA for , in the Inyo and Sierra National Forests. Established in 1964 by the Wilderness Act and named for naturalist John Muir, it contains...

, Kings Canyon National Park

Kings Canyon National Park

Kings Canyon National Park is a National Park in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of Fresno, California. The park was established in 1940 and covers...

, Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California, in the United States. It was established on September 25, 1890. The park spans . Encompassing a vertical relief of nearly , the park contains among its natural resources the highest point in the...

.

Botanist Edwin Bingham Copeland and partner E. N. Henderson were the first climbers known to reach Junction Peak's summit, on August 8, 1899. They pioneered the South Ridge route, following the exposed ridge from Diamond Mesa to the top of Junction. Over the course of nearly a century, several more class 3 and 4 routes were established. The first winter climb was made by the West Ridge, culminating on March 21, 1973. The first technical climb recorded on Junction was the grade III 5.7

Yosemite Decimal System

The Yosemite Decimal System is a three-part system used for rating the difficulty of walks, hikes, and climbs. It is primarily used by mountaineers in the United States and Canada. The Class 5 portion of the Class scale is primarily a rock climbing classification system. Originally the system was...

North Buttress route.