06/13-15/14 Granite Park Chalet

Heavens Peak in the clouds

This hike over the weekend did not lead to a summit, but it was a great hike and weekend up in Glacier National Park.  Lars works in the chalet over the summers and he invited me up to be part of the group that goes up first and opens the chalet, cleans it out, and shovels snow so there is less work when the chalet really opens for the season. 

Lots of snow with more coming down

We drove past the closure at Avalanche on Friday morning and drove up to the Loop.  It always feels special being on the Going-to-the-Sun Road before it is opened over the pass, whether it is by vehicle (with permission), bike, or on foot.  It feels like you are seeing the true Glacier before that section of it gets overrun by millions of tourists in just a 2-3 month period. 

At the Loop, we packed up, geared up for wet weather, shouldered our packs, and started hiking up the trail.  The forecast for the weekend was not great and we expected rain and maybe some snow up at the chalet.  Despite some rain during the drive, the hike started out under overcast but dry skies.  I always remind myself how many miserable hikers I see going up to the chalet late on hot, sunny afternoons when I'm hiking down after finishing hiking the Highline, and with that in mind, a cool, overcast day feels incredible.  A pleasant discovery on the way up was that the trail crew had already been through and cut the trees up to snow line.  I had not looked forward to walking over a couple hundred trees and the trail being clear made our hike up much easier.

Lars, Luke, and Jake digging for the water

We stopped often to take in the views and to keep everyone together (there were 12 of us) and by the time we had stopped at the second switchback, it had started raining.  We could see it coming and knew it was going to hit us, and by this point, we could tell it was going to hit us hard.  We decided to stop in the trees and take cover while we ate a quick bite of food.  Before getting to the trees the downpour started and I stopped to put on my rain gear.  Once I caught up with the group in the unburned trees everyone was eating and crowded under sub-alpine fir.  I ate quickly and everyone started back up the trail as it was getting cold just standing there.

We hiked the rest of the way through snow.  The green trees help to keep the snow protected from the sun and they may even allow the snow to pile up higher than out in the burn.  Either way, in the trees it went from no snow to 5-10 foot drifts and was possibly deeper in spots.  Despite the deep snow the trail was not too difficult to follow as there are orange, ski markers on the trees every so often that helped to keep us on track.  Eventually we made it to the point where the trail wraps around the southern side of the hill the chalet is on and we just cut straight up the snowy hill to the front door of the chalet. 

Looking toward Logan Pass

Looking toward Vulture from Sunset Ridge

Everyone shivered a bit under the porch as we waited for the shutters on the door to be taken off and the door unlocked so we could get inside.  Then just a few went in with masks in case the mice had made a huge mess and the danger of hantavirus was too great.  Fortunately the word was sent out that it was not too much of a mess and we all piled in.  We took the shutters off two windows and opened the windows on opposite sides of the room, and with the open door this allowed the main room to be aired out just in case. 

Mount Grinnell from the east side of Swiftcurrent Pass

It was quite cold in the room before the door and two windows were opened and a fire was one of the first things we worked on.  As the fire grew and started sending warmth into the room we started doing more to make the place liveable for the weekend.  The kitchen was cleaned and wiped down of all mouse droppings as were the tables and seats out in the main room where we would be eating.  While the inside was being readied, others were outside digging snow in the spots that needed it to allow access in and out of key doors and up to the rooms where we would be sleeping. 

Chain of lakes in the Swiftcurrent Valley

Lars said he thought there was less snow than there had been in years past at least around the chalet.  Snow was shoveled quickly and before long there wasn't really more to do.  We had gotten into the rooms where we were going to sleep and wiped them down, although the small mess we found Lars said was from chipmunks and not mice.  After we finished we spent time relaxing and drying and warming up.  Lars and another guy who works there, Luke, wanted to go see the water source and see how much we would need to dig for it the next day.  Jake and I went along. 

Moss campion on the east side

There was a lot of snow and we walked down to where the water spigot was.  We stood there on the snow wondering where it was and how much snow actually covered it.  As Luke and Lars were most familiar with its location, Jake and I let them do the deciding where to find it.  Lars made on guess and spot on the snow and Luke made another.  Jokingly I asked Jake what he thought--he had never been up there.  He went and put an "X" on the snow.  As we were ahead of schedule we didn't need to start shoveling that afternoon, but Luke really wanted just to check it out a bit. 

Granite Park Chalet in a spot of sunshine

Luke and Lars shoveled mostly, starting pretty much where Jake had left his mark.  I took the big chunks of snow thrown out of the hole and started making a snow cairn, which turned into a snow wall.  Eventually Jake jumped in and as he was digging asked how much anyone would give him if he hit the spigot.  Not five minutes later we heard a ting.  He had broken through a soft layer of snow and had hit something.  His spot had been right on and he was the one to hit it.  He uncovered part of the box near the pipe and then I asked--feeling guilty for not digging yet--to be let in to dig a bit.  I uncovered more and found the actual pipe that was spouting out quite a flow of water.  We had done it.  We had finished pretty much everything needed in the whole weekend on the first day. 

Grizzly bear snow sculpture made by Cole, Matt, and Mike

We went back up to the chalet and all enjoyed a hearty pasta dinner.  After eating, Luke, Dan, Matt, and I went back out and walked over to Sunset Ridge.  The clouds had been clearing a bit and we wanted to look north and hopefully see some wildlife, bears namely.  We made it to the ridge and it was dry on the rocks.  There we sat and took in the views as we looked for wildlife.  Before we left we found some tracks I believed to be coyote that were heading north.  We followed them a bit until the snow became too steep and looked for it but never saw it.  Eventually we turned back to the chalet for the evening. 

The next morning we were up for breakfast and it was cloudy again.  It had rained through much of the night.  The snow that had fallen the day before was very wet and starting to melt.  Throughout the day we did little odd jobs around the chalet and hung out around the fire.  There was a little more shoveling that took place, but it was also finished quickly. 

Granite Park Chalet

In a cloud the third day, Chalet third building on far right

In the afternoon, Luke, Dan, and I went out for a hike.  It was cloudy and sometimes it would lift a bit and then it would drop and we would be in the cloud and have very limited visibility.  We decided to go out anyway.  I really thought perhaps we could find some animals if we were lucky.  At first we started toward Swiftcurrent Pass.  Then we found more canine tracks.  I thought they were the same coyote tracks we had seen from the day before, but Luke thought they looked fresher than our tracks did from the day before.  We followed them toward Sunset Ridge.  I was pretty certain they were the same, but it was just fun being out and traveling through the snow. 

Chalet in a cloud

Eventually Luke was ahead of Dan and me and said he thought the tracks now looked fainter and probably were the same from the day before.  I said that since we were so close to the ridge we should head out to it and see if we can see north.  We did and we couldn't see north.  We took it all in for a bit and then decided to carry on with our original plan to go up toward Swiftcurrent Pass. 

Water pipe

Travel was very easy heading up the main drainage toward the pass.  I had forgotten how close the pass was and we were there in no time.  The trail and the large cairn on the pass were clear of snow and we stood there, on the Divide, for a bit.  Luke really wanted to see if it was clear on the east side so we headed down a bit.  We ran into some soft snow and stopped.  We could see the edge and then it would get covered by a cloud.  We stood there for a bit and contemplated if we should go on.  Just as we were about to head back over the pass to the chalet we decided to go a bit further to the rocks we could see in and out of the clouds. 

Back of Trails' Cabin

We walked that way and found a different ridge that was clear of snow.  From here we could see that it was mostly clear on the east.  There we could see ridge after ridge, clear of snow and in the sun heading east.  We even caught glimpses of Mount Grinnell and the Swiftcurrent Glacier.  We could see down to the chain of lakes that led out the Swiftcurrent Valley toward Many Glacier.  We sat there for awhile using binoculars to look for animals.  All we saw was one snowboarder and his friend--not snowboarding or skiing--as he hiked up for another run below the headwall and glacier.  It was a bit disappointing to just see humans and no wildlife, but we felt good they didn't see us and we were much higher than they were. 

Eventually we headed back over the pass and down to the chalet, where we had another nice dinner and enjoyed the evening before going to bed. 

Front of Trails' Cabin

The next morning we cleaned up and readied ourselves and the chalet for our departure.  While some were still in bed I headed down to the Trails' Cabin to check it out.  The clouds seemed thicker than they had been the whole weekend.  I wanted to see a bear but knew that if I did it meant we were very close to one another.  The cabin still had snow up to the roof in the back and had tons of snow around it.  It was fun to see the place I had spent many nights so covered in snow and still looking so much like winter. 

Back out of the snow

I headed back and helped to clean up and close down the chalet until someone else would be back up.  Then we headed back down the trail.  It was a quick section as we slid down the snow to the burn, where we came out of the snow.  Even then the trail was a quick descent back to the cars.  We thought the clouds would clear as we were leaving, but thankfully they didn't.  We didn't get rained on, but it was overcast and we couldn't see the summits of the peaks.  When we made it to the Loop there were many bikers on the road.  This reminded me that it was a Sunday.  On the way back to the gate at Avalanche we passed many more bikers, most of them giving us dirty looks for being in vehicles.  It had been a great weekend in Glacier National Park.

01/19/14 El Yunque 3496' and Los Picachos 3175' #13

In the tropical rainforest

You will notice I have only one number for two named summits.  Los Picachos is not considered a ranked summit.  This is a hike I did with Carrie on the 19th of January on our trip to Puerto Rico January 7-22.  This entry is taken directly from my travel journal.

We were among the first cars in the forest.  The trail we wanted to do left from near the Palo Colorado Visitor Center.  We were able to park easily, with our choice of most of the spots, in the small, visitor-center parking lot.  We changed, brushed our teeth (seeing a warning about rabid Indian Mongoose in the forest), and headed up the trail.  Immediately we stopped to see the Baño Grande, which was just a large rock pool that caught the creek water—it had been a public pool up to the 1970s or so.  We then struck out on the El Yunque trail. 

Bags of fill for trail maintenance

The trail was paved for the first 50 meters or so and then turned into a nice, well-maintained gravel trail with a nice grade.  The rocks were wet and loose and there was some mud, but the grade was great.  We had come into the hike in the only tropical rainforest in the United States Forest Service system expecting trails like we had hiked in Africa, or maybe at least some of the steep trails of the Great Bear, but we were pleasantly surprised. 

Pink flower

The maintenance they seemed to rely on most was proper drainage and fill.  The fill was all stationed in large, neat piles of gravel in clear, tough plastic bags, resembling sandbags.  In spots where they needed to make up some grade they would stack as many gravel bags as was necessary.  It seemed like perhaps they covered them with gravel to disguise them, but we saw many exposed and being walked on.  Another oddity in the maintenance was that the many lateral drains led to a drain across the trail to allow the water off, and most of the drains had large stepping stones or even a couple gravel bags in the middle, not only making the step nice and easier than needed, but also blocking the drain and making it useless.

We carried on despite the confusion over new kinds of trail work.  The forest was beautiful, full of greens of every shade in the trees and the moss and the moss on the trees.  Flowers bloomed up close to the trail in pearly whites and soft yellows and further from the trail near the running water in pinks, bright against the greens and browns.

White flowers

The day was a little overcast with broken clouds moving in and out, but in the forest it was always a little dark and very few views that were not fully obstructed by giant leaves and trunks of trees.  As we neared the top we broke out of the dense forest and found a rocky outcrop.  The views down through the forest were impressive.  We could see out to all the towns and development along highway 3 and caught brief cloudy views to the Atlantic Ocean.  Los Picachos was just in front of us and below us and the summit of El Yunque was right behind us.  This was my first view of the towers and I knew this would be no remote, jungle summit.

Los Picachos

Carrie climbing summit tower

Past the rock outcrop we turned on the trail and worked our way back onto a forested side of the mountain.  Not long after we came to the end of the trail.  It ended at a forest service road.  There were towers and a couple small buildings.  One green building had a small car parked in front of it and a man inside, with door and windows wide open, watching his television.  We said hello and continued up the road towards the highpoint.  At the highest point of the road there was a little tower.  It had a room with a fire place in the bottom and a flight of stairs that wrapped around to the top.  We sat and enjoyed the top of El Yunque.  I pulled out a coconut and cracked it on the concrete.  We collected what little we could of the milk and then began to eat the coconut.  It was a pleasant way to celebrate on a summit in the rainforest. 

Rainforest summit treat

After snacking we headed down and started seeing people once we were back on the trail.  We turned off and took the side trip over to Los Picachos, which was another nice vantage.  When we made it down to the junction with the Mt. Britton trail we decided that we would save time and not go out to it—we could see it from El Yunque and it didn’t look like anything but another stone lookout tower on a point on a ridge.  When we were down far enough we looped up our hike by taking the Baño de Oro trail back to the road 50 meters from the car.  In all we had seen at least 60 people on the trail.  We were glad we had the early start and were the first to the summit, unless the man watching TV drove up there at the beginning of his shift at the communications building.  He would have then had to get out of his car and climb to the top of the stone tower to get to the USGS marker.  We were probably the first that day. 


Elevation gain:  1560'     Total gain:  19,980'

01/25/14 North Table Mountain 6575' #14

The true summit of North Table Mountain

I stopped in Golden on my way from Denver to climb North Table Mountain on the 25th of January.  I parked near the North Table Mountain Trailhead and followed a nice trail up to the top of the table.  From that plateau, I could see the high point.  I thought I was going to have to go off trail to get to the true high point, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a very nice trail heading up that way.  The trail had a name and a sign, but I forget it now.

View north to the peaks west of Boulder

I followed the nice trail all the way to the top of the large and closest rock outcrop.  As the morning was sunny and clear, the views were great.  I especially enjoyed the views north to the peaks outside of Boulder as they were my old stomping ground.  My map had a bench mark labelled as Table Mountain on the northeast side of the table top and I wanted to go there.

I reversed my route back down the trail and to a trail that cut across the plateau.  This was very easy to follow and would make for great trail running or biking if you were so inclined.  I worked my way along trail to the extreme northeast and found the high point.  I left the trail and ascended to the top, where I found the bench mark.  The views were great here as well, especially of Denver.

View to Denver

I enjoyed my time and the sunny morning and then headed back to the trail.  From there I followed the same trail back to the junction with the summit trail and then the first trail I had climbed back to the car.  This had been my first peak in the Golden area and is a great one for a half-day or post-work hike.

 Elevation gain:  740'     Total gain:  20,720'

01/29/14 Unnamed 7430 and Sheep Mountain 7555' #15 and #16

Unnamed 7305, Unnamed 7900, and the Cache La Poudre River

On the 29th of January I set out heading back up the Poudre Canyon.  I started very near to the spot I started the hike on the 19th of December.  I parked at the gate closing the Narrows Campground.  I walked briefly through the campground next to the Cache La Poudre River and then angled up to the road.  I crossed it and had to walk near it shortly before finding the old road I had seen on the earlier hike.

Unnamed 7430 from knob above saddle

I took this old road, which climbed steeply toward the crest of the ridge of Unnamed 7430.  It was a beautiful, sunny day and the views back toward the two peaks climbed in the Cache La Poudre Wilderness were enough to make me stop and take photographs often.  The steep climb brought me right to the ridge crest and I was surprised to see the old track heading toward the summit.

The ridge leading to the summit was not as steep and I quickly found my way to the top of Unnamed 7430.  This peak had been particularly easy as it was open.  There was only short brush growing and very few trees.  This also allowed for great views in every direction from the top.  I enjoyed those views and snapped some photos and studied the route over toward Sheep Mountain before carrying on down the south ridge.

Sheep Mountain from knob above saddle

There were still signs of the faint track but it was not always the quickest or easiest route so I followed it where I wanted and needed and took other ways when it seemed more feasible.  The travel was made easy by the open slopes and the southern aspect and that meant there was little snow to cross.  I made it to a low spot and then climbed up to the knob that was just above the saddle with Sheep Mountain.  From the knob, I studied the route up Sheep once more.  From the saddle, I would have to ascend steeper, north-facing slopes.  This meant they were mostly snow covered.  There were also trees on this slope, especially closer to the summit and that would provide some more challenges to route finding.

View down the Cache La Poudre from Sheep Mountain

After feeling confident in a route I dropped down to the saddle and started climbing up Sheep Mountain.  It was definitely steeper but there was a section with a lot less snow that helped me to get most of the way up the first steep slope.  Once past this, the snow was deeper and I had to work my way toward the summit, bypassing a small, sub-summit on the east and working into the forest.  Other than the deeper snow and the initial steep slope above the saddle there were really not many difficulties in getting to the summit of Sheep Mountain.

Unnamed 7900 in Cache La Poudre Wilderness from Sheep

Once on top, I enjoyed the views and took some photographs.  Sheep sits in an interesting spot in that it is directly north and above the Narrows section of the canyon.  You cannot directly see the Narrows from the summit but you can tell that the canyon gets much tighter.  Sheep was also in a great spot to view the ridge walked from Unnamed 7305 to Unnamed 7900 in the Cache La Poudre Wilderness.  It specifically has a great vantage on Unnamed 7900 and I thought back to all the fun I had climbing those two peaks a little over one month earlier.

Descent gully

After enjoying my time on the summit I decided to turn back and head down.  It was getting a bit cloudy and the sun had been blocked and I began getting a little colder.  Walking would help to warm me.  It was quite easy following my tracks through the snow back to the steep slope and then down that to the saddle.  From the saddle I dropped down the gully between the two peaks that I had scouted from the car before starting my hike.  This was a bit steep, but I followed it down easily enough and it deposited me down by the road not far from my car.  It had been a great loop hike with two peaks climbed.

Elevation gain:  1880'     Total gain:  22,600'

02/06/14 Unnamed 7231 #17

Unnamed 7231 from the Hewlett Gulch Trail

On the 6th of February I drove up the Poudre Canyon.  Having climbed the peak next to it in December with Carrie I wanted to come back and climb the other peak on the west rim of Hewlett Gulch.  This particular day was very cold and I remember the temperature hovering around 0 degrees and was probably on either side of 0 depending on where I was on the mountain and the time of the day.

View up canyon of the Cache la Poudre

I left the trailhead and followed the trail to the spot Carrie and I had come down Unnamed 6485.  I followed that drainage up the hill toward the saddle between the two peaks.  There were deer tracks crossing the bottom of the gully from both sides.  As I neared the saddle I aimed a bit more toward Unnamed 7231 and ended up on the slope above the saddle.  In the crisp air everything could be seen very clearly and I took many photos of the snowy peaks on the east side of Hewlett Gulch in the clear, cold light.

Not far above the saddle I saw a group of bighorn sheep.  They watched me for a bit and when they saw that I was headed higher they turned and ran into the next drainage to the west.  I carried on steadily climbing as that was all that would keep me warm.  Everything was too cold and the snow I walked through was not melting on my shoes and making them wet.  This was a nice thing about the extreme cold.  My feet were dry.

Even the dead trees looked cold

After about 1000 feet of climbing from a bit above the saddle I reached the summit.  I took in the views and snapped photos for as long as I could handle the cold.  There were many peaks I had climbed and even more that I wanted to climb that I photographed.  After a short time I decided I should continue on my journey.

Greyrock Mountain from Unnamed 7231

I had chosen not to just go up and down the mountain.  Instead I wanted to hike a ridge from the summit out to the end of the Hewlett Gulch Trail and walk that trail all the way back to the trailhead as I had not hiked more than about half-a-mile of the trail.  I followed a ridge east off the summit as I descended and then followed as the ridge turned northeast.  At the bottom of the ridge I was deposited out onto the trail very near its northern terminus.

As it was getting later and since I had descended into the shade the temperature must have dropped below 0 degrees.  I now had to hike the nearly three-mile trail before it became dark.  It was a nice trail and I was able to see many of the spots that were impacted by the September 2013 floods.  It was impressive what water could do--it seemed whatever it wanted--and how the land or anything in its way had little if any say in the matter.

Feeling cold back at the trailhead

The trail traveled near the creek and even crossed it a few times on its way down the gulch to the trailhead.  I was able to stay dry on the crossings due to the creek not being too high.  Some spots there was plenty of ice to walk across and others I found rocks or downed trees to use as "bridges."  I made it back to the car before dark and had thoroughly enjoyed the grand tour of Unnamed 7231 and Hewlett Gulch.

Elevation gain:  1535'     Total gain:  24,135'

06/09/14 Bear Creek Overlook

Sky Pilot

This is a hike that did not lead me to a summit, but it helped me add many peaks to my list of peaks I would like to climb.  I went out with Kate and Aron and their dogs, Danya, Bruiser, and Sinsi on the 9th of June.  We drove down the Bitterroot Valley and found our way to the trailhead for the Bear Creek Overlook.

The flowers were in bloom in the forest and as we climbed we eventually came to snow on the trail.  It was patchy and not as consistent as I thought it would be given the elevation.  Aron and I were just hiking in our Chacos so our feet were a bit cold, but it really wasn't that bad.

The hike is a short one at about 2 1/2 miles one direction and it puts you on an incredible overlook with great views into the Bear Creek Drainage.  Like I said, I now have more peaks that I would like to climb, and I also had a great view of some peaks I already wanted to climb, like Sky Pilot.

Cliffs around Bear Creek Overlook

The day was lovely with lots of sun.  It was windy up top and swallows were playing in the wind and occasionally buzzing the overlook.  They looked to be having as much fun as we were.  After enjoying the top and taking many photos we headed back down the trail.  My feet were rubbed raw in a couple of places because of this being my first long hike in the Chacos.  We returned to the car and drove down to Lake Como and barbequed some food for a great dinner before heading back north to Missoula.

View from the Bear Creek Overlook

02/07/14 Unnamed 7814 and Unnamed 8660 #18 and #19

Centennial Cone from the ridge going up Unnamed 7814

I set out early in the morning on the 7th of February to try to climb three peaks.  I had been looking at a map I had at the Centennial Cone Park up Clear Creek Canyon.  I figured I could climb three peaks in a day and make it to Denver to hang with some friends in the evening.  I drove to Golden and then up Clear Creek Canyon and parked at the trailhead for the Mayhem Gulch Trail.

I followed the Mayhem Gulch Trail up to the junction with the Juniper Trail and took the right, staying on the Mayhem Gulch Trail.  I took that to the first ridge I made it to and decided to follow that ridge up to the top of the first summit for the day.  It was an easy walk through snow and over some rocks to the top of Unnamed 7814.

Unnamed 8660 from Unnamed 7814, Douglas Mountain in back

Along the way, I enjoyed the views as I climbed, but the views really were better from the top.  From there I had a good look into the Clear Creek Canyon and at all the hills around it.  The view over to Unnamed 8660 was good, but I was very impressed with how Centennial Cone looked, as I was all day.  Centennial Cone was to be the big peak of the three to end the day.  I couldn't stop taking photos of it.  I couldn't wait to climb it, but I had chosen to climb the two lower peaks first and to end with Centennial Cone.

I moved off Unnamed 7814 on a different ridge headed for the other junction of the Mayhem and Juniper Trails.  This I found and walked the trail to the upper parking lot and the beginning of the Elk Range Trail.  I could have started at the upper lot, but I don't feel right climbing a peak with very minimal elevation gain when I can feel like I actually climbed it by starting at a lower point, especially if that lower point is a trailhead as well.  By starting lower I felt like I actually climbed Unnamed 7814.

Centennial Cone from Elk Range Trail

I took the Elk Range Trail to a spot where I could see up the next summit.  I went directly for it crossing a dirt road several times as I went straight up the open slopes.  As the boundary of the park came near the summit, but the summit was not technically in the park I hit the high point and did not linger as I was probably not supposed to be up there.  I stayed only a short time, left nothing, and took only photographs.

On the way down my knee started to bother me.  It had bothered me in years past, but this was the first time this year it had hurt.  It was also getting later than I had planned and with the knee and the time, I knew I probably shouldn't do Centennial Cone.  I felt okay with this as I can always come back and climb it.  Also, if I'm not alone, climbing Centennial Cone is a much easier sell than two unnamed peaks.  I snapped photos to help to remind me to come back and headed back on the Elk Range Trail to the two other trails.

Centennial Cone from Unnamed 8660

At the junction, I decided to take the Juniper trail down as it wrapped around the west side of Unnamed 7814.  This would give me even more exposure to the trail system in the park and give me a few different views on my way back to the car.  I was pleased with my decision and eventually came back to the Mayhem Gulch Trail and took that back down to the car.

Elevation gain:  2200'     Total gain:  26,335'

02/15/14 Mount Wuh 10,761' #20

Mount Wuh from the open slopes of Flattop Mountain

On the 15th of February I headed out with Zach and Mandy up to Rocky Mountain National Park.  The goal for the day was to snowshoe to the summit of Mount Wuh.  It was a bit overcast and quite windy, but we were warm enough, especially when we were moving.

Heading toward the saddle

I hadn't been up to Bear Lake in the winter in quite some time and I was shocked at how much snow was up there.  Rocky Mountain National Park had gotten a lot of snow over the winter and this was probably the most snow I had ever seen at Bear Lake.  It sure made for some good snowshoeing.  We followed the trail above the lake and around the ridge coming down off of Flattop Mountain following only a few tracks in front of us.  The trail was easy to follow--even if there hadn't been tracks--until it came to the large, open slope on Flattop.  At that point there was no sign as to where the trail crossed the slope or where it might reenter the trees on the other side.

Wind blasting the summit

This was of no concern to us because this was the point we chose to leave the trail for Mount Wuh.  Not long before leaving the trail we had run into a ranger and found out we had been mispronouncing the name of the mountain.  She told us it was pronounce like "woo," but we still liked calling it "wuh."  We headed for the saddle between Mount Wuh and Joe Mills Mountain and Round Pond that sat in that saddle.  It was fun not following any tracks and finding our own way through the forest.  I wasn't sure if we would actually come to the saddle or just start up the mountain because of our route, be we seemed to find the saddle and Round Pond without any difficulties.

From Round Pond we continued making our own way up toward the summit.  Once there, and more exposed to the elements, we were really blasted with wind.  We stayed as long as we could taking in the views toward Trail Ridge and the Mummy Range, along the Continental Divide, and over to Glacier Gorge and Longs Peak.  After we had endured as much of the wind as we could handle we followed our tracks back down.

Trail Ridge and Forest Canyon

At some point in the forest, before we had gotten back to the trail, we ran into a group of about five guys snowshoeing up our trail.  We asked where they were headed and they said they were trying to get to Lake Helene.  I explained to them that the trail they were on was our trail to the summit of Mount Wuh.  They had heavy accents and really only one guy talked with us.  They sounded European.  They walked a little ways and then stopped to pull out their map.  The guy we had been talking to was explaining to the group what we had explained to him.  Before we could leave they decided to carry on following our trail.  I still wonder if they made it up Wuh.  It could have gotten dark on their return if they went the whole way.

Longs, Pagoda, and Chiefs Head from left to right

Before long we were back on the open slope and easily found the trail where it entered the trees.  We then followed the trail back to Bear Lake.  Before we could leave Zach wanted to go stand out in the middle of the lake.  It's always a bit odd standing on an icy lake.  It takes a bit to wrap my mind around it, but it was neat standing out there and watching the snow wisp up and blow across the lake right into our faces and then race behind us toward the shore of the lake.  It was also nice to get a view from the middle of the lake as most people, especially when the lake is not frozen, just get a view from the shores.  We had an adventurous day and had a little fun before getting back in the car.

Elevation gain:  1300'     Total gain:  27,635'