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| Hiking | 7.00 Miles |
3,200 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.00 Miles | 7 Hrs | | 1.04 mph |
| 3,200 ft AEG | 15 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | I couldn't live with myself if I didn't summit this before the year was out. I would have like to have done it while still dry, but it was a really nice day even with the ice and snow. The Little Bear Fire closure has the trails normally used to access the area closed, as well as the ski area-Ski Apache, but I came down that after dark. I don't think walking through the burned forest would have been that nice anyway, so I think I had a preferable hike. It was all off trail, and rough in spots, so I won't do a write up for this peak.
I parked at a side road that leads to Buck Mountain near 10,100, dropped down to the creek at 9600, crossed that and hiked to the summit across a steep wooded slope. I lost and regained a lot of elevation on the ridge coming up to the peak, and a GPS would have been great to track that. Oh well. I do not know if I would do that route again, as I think there might be better ways to access this off trail. Judging by the vegetation, it would be poor for a snowshoe summit, as the snow likely blows off, and the steep forest section reminded me a lot of La Plata Canyon in Colorado last winter, which was terrible for snow shoeing.
Great summit views, but I came down the north ridge and it was icy. Not fun without the right gear. Down through the ski area to one of the snow water lakes, and back to the car. Lots of up and down, and far colder than I hoped for. I might come back this winter to snowshoe in the spruce forest, but I am unsure of summiting the peak. Partly due to the nature of the ridge, but partly due to the ski area and what I have heard about access. There are other peaks, so I can still do something, but it won't be a Humphrey/ Peaks replacement.
This mountain feels a lot bigger than you might think, but it has been a while since I was up high. The drop off to the west is immense at nearly 8,000'! It was nice being back on volcanic rock. I would have liked to see the area before the fire, but what can you do. It is not as convenient as I had hoped, taking almost 2 hours for me to get to the area, and with the closure, access may be an issue for a while. I was reminded of how friendly and inviting the Peaks are, but they are too far away for a day hike. How often will I come up here? Only time will tell, but I doubt it will be a new Humphrey. Maybe more like a Fremont. |
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