Prairie Creek Peak - 10138'
Location: 43.74391°N, 114.66916°W
Pano of the northeast ridge from Big Lost Lake. The Peak is on the far left of the photo. (Click on image for larger picture)
Stats
Date: 07/09/2009
Distance: 7 miles
Elevation gain: 2500'
Class (difficulty): 3
Time: 5 hours
Range: Smoky
Prominence: 558'
Partner(s): None
Report:
I was at Baker Creek camping with a large group of family and friends. I wanted to get out and hike a peak and had several options within a 15 minute drive. Based on time and scenery, I chose to go with Prairie Creek Peak, as it was surrounded by lakes and I figured I could fit it in and get back to camping in a few hours. Without a watch, I woke up at what I thought was an early hour. I had breakfast, hung out for a while, then headed out. It was 11am when I got in the vehicle! Oh well, the weather seemed to be ok.
I started at the Norton Lakes trailhead. I had read an account of the northeast ridge of Prairie Creek Peak from this trailhead via Big Lost Lake. I read the map and it appeared to make more sense to head to Upper Norton Lake. In the spirit of compromise, I decided I would do the middle choice and hit it from Lower Norton Lake. So I hiked to Lower Norton Lake in 1 hour, gaining 1200’ and feeling good. The weather was holding, so headed northwesterly on the hill above the lake on cross country terrain to a ridge that overlooked Big Lost Lake and from where I could see the summit of the peak. It seemed really close and I was only 600’ of gain away. I knew the ridge was a tricky scramble, but I was thinking I would be on top in 30 minutes. Later on this ridge I could peer over into Upper Norton Lake.
As I started up the northeast ridge, my progress slowed to a crawl. The ridge was fun, but I was spending a lot of time scrambling up a tower, down to a ledge, through a crack, etc… Most of the route is either on the southeast side of the ridge or directly on the ridge. The route had some class 3 sections and minimal exposure. During this challenging scrambling, I started to hear thunder to my west, but I couldn’t really see what was going on as my view was blocked by the peak. Knowing that thunder echoes through mountain canyons, I wasn’t too worried. I continued up.
About 200 feet below the summit, the ridge relents a bit. There is still climbing, but the ridge is flatter and the rock is tighter. The northeast side becomes the path of choice. It started raining at this point. Not hard, but those big drops that always seem to precede a thunderstorm. The peak bagger in me took over and ignored all of this and pushed on to the top on terrain I could make fast time on. After 5 minutes of fast climbing, I was on the summit. My ears were buzzing badly. I remembered back to Sean Duffy’s experience the month prior on Cobb Peak with a lightning storm. He talked about buzzing ears. My mind quickly determined my ears were buzzing from physical exertion (this has happened to me before), not static electricity. I was still nervous about lightning, I had my camera out and was going to take some quick photos, but before I did I wanted to take my pack off. As I unbuckled it and maneuvered it off my shoulder, I grabbed my ice axe attached to the pack to set down the pack with. When I grabbed the axe, it was buzzing and gave me a shock. I threw the pack down and sprinted to a low area beneath some rocks just south of the summit. I quickly assessed the situation. It was very dark to the west and a storm was raging with thunder roaring every 20 to 30 seconds. The storm appeared to be moving away though, but was probably the cause of the rain around me. To the north, was a smaller, yet still black storm. It appeared to be moving my way and growing quickly. To my south was a large storm that seemed to have formed in a few minutes. It was moving right at me as well.
Instead of just sitting in this exposed spot, I decided to make a run for it. I snapped 5 or 6 quick photos and ran to the top of the peak to grab my backpack. I hiked as fast as I could down the ridge. I was still exposed and the tallest thing on the ridge for the first 200 feet of descent. I reached back and felt the ice axe a few times and it was still buzzing a bit, but not nearly as bad as the summit. At this point the storm to my south opened up and started booming away. It appeared to only be cloud lightning, but that didn’t stop me. I felt better once I got to the area of the ridge that had towers, as I was now at least 30 feet below higher objects with a few trees around me for added insurance. I decided at the point I was going to head down to Big Lost Lake via a steep scree chute instead of work my way on the ridge. The storm had begun to relent by this point. Once I got to the lake and hung out for 5 minutes the sky cleared completely. I looked at my watch and it took me 15 minutes to descend the 1000 feet from the summit to the lake.
With the now nice weather, I enjoyed the views of Big Lost Lake. I didn’t know where the trail to the lake was as it wasn’t on the topo map, but I guessed it was at the outlet (most of them are) and I was correct. I followed the trail to Smoky Lake. Smoky was an incredible turquoise color. However, at Smoky Lake, I could hear another storm moving in. It was time to get back to the truck. I followed the trail from Smoky Lake back to the Norton Lake trail and eventually back to the truck. This was a great tour of the lakes in the area and a great loop hike. I wish I had more time to take in the views from the summit, but in hindsight, I think things went well and could have been considerably worse!
At camp, they had experienced a nasty storm with lots of lightning hitting close by. They were worried about me.
Here are some general lightning safety tips I found online. My response is in parenthesis next to each item:
1. Go to an area of lower elevation. (Easier said than done on class 3 terrain)
2. Keep away from metal objects, including bikes, golf carts, fencing and machinery. (Ice axes aren’t on their list, but seem to make for excellent lightning rods)
3. Immediately move away from solitary trees, open areas, hilltops, pools, lakes and other wet areas. (Are pointy peaks considered hilltops?)
4. Look for the nearest shelter. A car, with the windows rolled up, is an excellent shelter. If lightning strikes the car, it will travel along the outside surface and into the ground. (The valet was late getting my car to me, I had to fetch it myself, but did lose elevation en route)
5. If you feel a tingling sensation, your hair stands on end or you smell sulfur, lightning might be about to strike. Immediately crouch down and cover your ears. Don't lie down or place your hands on the ground because a lightning strike might momentarily electrify the ground beneath you. (I was crouched in a position similar to this suggestion, but only because I was shitting myself :-))
Getting There:
From Ketchum, drive north on Highway 75 for about 16 miles until reaching Baker Creek Road. Turn west (left) and follow this improved dirt road south for 6 miles until reaching the turnoff for Norton Lakes.
Follow this road about 2 miles to the a major trailhead area. Passenger vehicles can make it to the trailhead.
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