Trip Report
I was in the Big Lost River/Trail Creek Road/Chilly area for a second day of peak bagging. The previous day's report.
The day started out in Mackay. As I drove towards the Trail Creek Road turn-off, the temperature dipped to -5 degrees below zero. However, it was sunny so I was happy.
The first peak on my list was Peak 7810, which sits between Pinto Creek and Burnt Creek and along Trail Creek Road. The day before I had checked out the east ridge and determined it was doable.
As I arrived at the beginning of the hike, the temperature had warmed to 2 degrees above 0, but the wind was blowing fairly hard... even drifting snow across the road.
I quickly got my snowshoes on and headed up the ridge. At first my ears got cold in the wind. Then I solved that, but my hands got cold. Then I solved that, but my left foot was cold. Oh well, I kept moving to warm-up. Suprisingly, the higher I got, the lower the wind.
The lower 500 feet were a slog on mostly breakable wind crust. Then came an immaculate section of perfect snow that got me 300 feet. Then another battle through 300 final feet of junk to the top.
The top was rocky with great views of the Pioneers and Big Lost drainage. To my east were views of the Lost Rivers from Al West Peak through King Mountain. It was warm sunny and windless on top, so I was able to take in the views.
The descent brought me back into the cold and wind down low, but I was moving much faster and the car was there in no time.
I then drove to the start of my last peak of the trip. Peak 6869, which is located just off Trail Creek Road about 5 miles from US 93.
This was a quick little snowshoe with only 400 feet of gain. The peak is rugged though, so I wasn't sure an easy route could be followed.
I basically walked the flats to the base of the north ridge and cliffs, then traversed right (west) and basically followed the base of the cliffs up to the top. There was an amazing amount of animal trails doing the same route. A few short sections of climbing (in snowshoes no less) led to the top.
The top of Peak 6869 was another spectacular vantage point. It looked down on the frozen Big Lost River. Views of the Pahsimeroi, Lost Rivers, and up the Big Lost River drainage were impressive.
On the way down, I found several caves in the cliffs and even a arch amongst the rock.
It was a great end to a fun 2 days. I had one other peak on my list, but left it for another day.
|
|
