Thursday, November 1, 2012

(OK-) Texas: Guadalupe Peak

While still in New Mexico on work I also had the chance to swing by Texas on a "calm" day. Guadalupe peak is a gorgeous mountain with an impressive prominence in an otherwise calm area over looking salt flats and having sight such as Carlsbad Caverns nearby.


The hike up the mountain is a nice, albeit dry, hike on a well maintained trail. The hike is short and decently steep for a good workout and a quick progress up the Mountain to reach early vistas of the surroundings. Brian W. joined me for the hike to the top of Texas.


The trailhead is conveniently located near a major road so access is real easy and part of the road can be sene in the photo above. Much of the trail had very prominent rock crystals visible in large crystaline peices. Which were osme of the most clear rock crystals I've ever seen out hiking.


On the top there is a small monument. The shear prominence of the peak will often lead to high winds as the weather tries to nagigate the topography. Thus one cools down very quick while enjoying the top for a few minutes.



In the background from Guadalupe peak one can see the peak "El Capitain" which is a nice peak with a very significant drop-off to the south. So not for the faint of heart when it comes to vertigo.


Eve the hike up Guadalupe peak  offers some nice safe exposure as the trail hugs the mountian side and pass a small bridge along a cliff. seen in the photo below.


The area offers mostly desert-like vegetation with cacti, and wild flowers that can clad the whole mountain and surrounding valley with beautiful colors year around.


Delicious Prickly Pears can be found high up the mountain and further down the valley we were treated to sights of the threatened Texas madrone, which is characterized by its bright red berries and distinctive orange bark.


All in all we were treated to blue skies, quite good visibility and a nice cooling breeze on the hike up. A visit to Guadalupe Peak is recommended for Texans and non-Texans alike and offers a different side of Texas, while still keeping true to the Big and Impressive motto...

Stats:
State: Texas
High point: Guadalupe Peak
Elevation:  8 749 ft (2667 m)
Date: October 14th, 2012
Total elevation to date: 248 285 ft (75 677 m)
Access: hike, class 1, moderately strenuous
Difficulty rating (of 10): 4
Potential Difficulties: strong winds, high temperatures, dehydration

Oklahoma: Black Mesa (-TX)

Oklahoma's highpoint Black mesa is indeed the top of a mesa as the name indicates, although fittingly enough it is also one of the largest mesas in all of US. The trek is about 4.2 miles one-way along a well signed path that starts below the mesa and after about 2 miles turn up to the plateau. 


The lanscape along the path shows many interesting rock formations and smaller table-top mountains such as the one seen below.


Once you reach the top of the plateau the only minor obstacle is that it is deceptively flat so figuring out where the high point really lies is not too easy. Just following the trail though you get to the marker for the highpoint eventually.


I went with Brian and we decided to try to bushwhack a bit on the way back to save a few minutes (or half a mile), that is kind of risky though due to the abundance of cacti, especially dried out dead cacti which easily pierce shoes with the needles. We made it back in one piece though, but the time saved was probably quite negligible.


A USGS marker pointing out it is unlawful to molest (?!?) marks the elevation and highest spot in the state of the Sooners.

Stats:
State: Oklahoma
Elevation: 4 973 ft (1 515.8 m)
High point: Black Mesa
Date: October 13th, 2012
Total elevation to date: 239536  ft (73 011 m)
Access: hike, class 1
Difficulty rating (of 10): 3
Potential Difficulties: getting lost on top of the mesa. Cactus needles...

Sunday, August 12, 2012

(UT-) Montana: Granite Peak

Montana's Granite peak might be the most technical of the state highpoints that are not glaciated. It was not until the 1920s that it was climbed for the first time. To have a good chance of reaching the peak I decided to sign up for a trip guided by Sam of Jackson Hole Mountain Guides. Before starting the 4-5 day hike I met up with guide Kenny and two more climbers (Lisa & John) for a climbing school covering ropeclimbing on rock and simul-climbing and some other useful techniques.


We met up in Cody, and traveled to close to Buffalo Bill dam where we climbed on a nice location which required walking through a couple tunnels with traffic. The site was quite popular and several climbing parties were there to practice skills and test the different routes available. We climbed on a nice piece of rock with low difficulty, but with a lot of variation in stone and moves.


After we all managed to climb up connected to a single rope we also had some time to enjoy the view and practice being lowered by the guide. Weather was great with slight wind which we hoped would last for another couple of days.


On Saturday we met in the morning at the trial head at west rosebud lake. Our guide Sam divided some food  and shared items among our packs while he carried most technical climbing gear including the rope. Once everything was packed my 85 L pack was quite full, but I managed to keep everything including the sleeping pad inside the pack, and only had the mandatory group bear canister attached on the outside of the backpack. Starting weight was about 55 lb, but it quickly moved down in weight as water was consumed together with food.


The first day involved hiking some 4 000 ft of elevation difference along about 7 mile of trail. We started up to the dammed mystic lake feeling pretty good in the nice weather as can be seen from the smiles displayed by Lisa and John below.


Mystic lake (below) provided some nice campgrounds and rest places before we would need to hit the switchbacks up from the valley. The dam itself is actually 85 years old completed in 1927 as a hydro energy plant!


Going up the switchbacks towards the froze-to-death plateau was the real obstacle the first day, we made good progress though and once you reach the man-sized cairn at the top of the switchbacks it is only a small distance further to reach the first good camp sites on the plateau.


Previous campers have build solid windshields of stone as can be seen below where me and Sam pitched our tents at approximately 11 000 ft elevation. The nearby snow field seen in the background provided a convenient source of fresh melt-water.


The sunny weather the first 2 days actually caused the tents to be too warm to stay in them just up to when the sun started setting behind the mountain ranges, although the air was only about 60 degrees, the sun was very strong and exposed skin without sun protection is a good recipe for disaster at this altitude.


The night was somewhat chillier going down to 30s and 40s. The water stream from melting snow started freezing up during the night and created quite interesting ice formations that could be seen the following morning.

The next day we had a shorter day and packed up camp around 10 am, and started hiking up towards the second camp which would be our starting point for the push to the top. Once again we had fantastic weather. And it was almost hard to believe that the last time John and Lisa were here together with Sam they were essentially snowed in on the froze-to-death plateau ruining any good chance to climb the peak, and that was the exact same time of year (early august)...


Once we got to within a mile of the high-camp we got our first glimpses of granite peak in the sunshine. The shot below shows Granite peak as the highpoint on the left in the picture below.


The higher camp was a bit more arid but also here one could find water in the form of melting snow.  A number of wind shields provided the protection from the elements that was much appreciated. compared to the first camp the wind was quite a lot more prominent higher up, even though it was still quite a mild and good weather.


We woke up on the third day around 4 am and left camp for the climb shortly before 5am. Weather forecasts had warned about a 30% storm chance. and with the nature of the sharp granite peak even a mild thunderstorm is an insurmountable obstacle that force you to turn around if close to  the peak. The morning/night started clear though and strong stars and moonlight even made it possible to hike completely without headlamp even tohugh the hiking is more rock hopping than following a trail this close to the peak.

Once the sun rose the peak and the path looked very impressive and we hurried up quickly to get into the warmer sunny weather and to hopefully reach the peak before weather would turn foul. It took about 30 mins to climb to the top f the trail near tempest peak ,and then dropping down for close to an hour to the saddle between tempest and Granite peaks. The Route up from the saddle was class 1-2 hiking where a hiking pole was a welcome tool for balance.


Once we reached the notch just before the steep snow bridge we put on harnesses, and roped up and put on other protective gear.


The snow bridge was fine to cross and the warm weather had heavily reduced the distance we needed to travel on the snow. The climbing sections were led by Sam with John, then Lisa and finally me last on the 200ft rope. most sections were ascended using simul-climbing where we moved as a single long rope team with the rope taut between each person. Using the varying rocks to provide critical friction on the rope in case anyone would suffer a fall.



The ascend went fine with no falling incidents although some care had to be taken especially at some trickier sections like a technical move to move up a rock, and some climbing up narrow chimneys. The top consisted of a jumble of large rocks as seen below.


The peak was reached around 9 am shortly before the clouds would move in as we soon found out. We spend a brief break on the top not wanting to push our luck with the weather. We were the first group of people to reach the summit that day and felt happy to avoid any slow traffic on the way up. Below is me posing together with Sam on the top.


I believe I could probably have climbed up solo in the best of conditions, however the path finding and security of the rope surely helped, and for the decent it was a pure necessity, as I would not have wanted to attempt a down-climb without protection. And the prospect of a rescue action due to taking on took tricky of a climb is definitely a scenario to avoid! Also route finding was sometimes hard when it was hard to see the rock surface going down. Most of the views were magnificent showing tranquil lakes, rugged mountain ranges and snowfields among other things.


As can be seen below the weather was inclement and we tried to make out way down as quickly and efficiently as possible, using the rope to lower/rappel down dome of the more vertical sections when no other climbers were direct beneath us.


The snow bridge looked more harrowing from above than I remembered it going up. A good shot can be seen below.


To make things worse the snow bridge was also guarded by a couple of mountain goats! Luckily they were quite shy and by the time we approached they decided to go in another direction. John found a loose stone close to the snow rbidge and we got a first hand demonstration of just how fast a person might accelerate on the steep snow and ice to later crash into the rocks below in massive loud crashes. Luckily the rope and safety gear meant we kept safe!


The Goats were otherwise most notable around the camp sites where they would streak around hoping for some food. But also in desperate search of salts which they lack  in the harsh climate on the alpine tundra. This phenomena is mostly seen in the fact that the goats would magically appear when one had to pee, to then try to lick up alll the salts that the urine contains...



The young goats were quite adorable and especially after having reached the peak they were quite entertaining to spot and observe togtheer with a bunch of other four-legged animals such as marmots and pikas.


Coming down from the peak we took some last minute photos as the clouds and rain moved in. By 2 pm we had reached camp again and decided to pack it up and move down to lower camp the same day to hopefully have better weather for the night, and some much needed rest!


The down hike on the fourth day (which could otherwise have been used as an alternative peak day in case of bad weather on the third day) we saw the valleys and nature form another perspective showing some of the water falls, and beautiful lakes in and around the valleys.



The trail near mystic lake actually pass only about 1 ft above the water level of the dammed mystic lake, however if the water rise any further it would just pour over the dam wall so the chance of flooding the trail was quite minimal, and the small size of the lake meant waves were not really a problem either. The fourth day was once again mostly sunny and as we descended towards the trail head the temperature quickly crept upwards.


All in all it was a wonderful experience, with good company. John and Lisa deserve a big congratulations on reaching 49 states and not giving up despite their previous horrible experience on Montana's highest mountain. Likewise, the guide Sam provided expert advice and crucial route finding both on the froze-to-death plateau as well as on the main peak. Over all I had no complaint's whatsoever on this trip especially considering the strenuous nature of the climb!

Stats:
State: Montana
High point: Granite Peak
Elevation: 12 799 ft (3 901 m)
Date: Aug 6th, 2012
Total elevation to date: 233 013 ft (71 495 m)
Access: Hike
Difficulty rating (of 10): 7
Potential Difficulties: weather!, route finding on froze-to-death plateau and upper climb of mountain.

Utah: King's Peak (-MT)

Utah's King's Peak was the first of 2 high western peaks to be attempted in early august. Work provided a good excuse to leave with no access to my original office due to reconstructions. So to raise productivity after this inconvenience what better way to do so than getting the batteries recharged with some high altitude training...


The Henry's fork trail follows a valley slowly uphill towards King's peak, mostly following the river Henry's fork, before it start reaching arctic tundra and rock hopping trails near the peak. The apprach to the trailhead is an extremely well maintained gravel road rivalling some highways in width and smoothness. after some 30 miles it reaches a small turnoff to henry's fork trail head, which also have a separate trail head for horse trips.


Once the terrain opens up one can catch glimpses on King's peak after some 3-4h of hiking. Here Kings peak is the smaller peak in sunshine to the right of the peak in center picture (the pass on the left is gunsight pass which the trail passes through).


I camped about 8 miles in along the trail at about 11 000ft elevation near dollar lake.  Dollar lake offer some nice secluded fishing and wonderful campsites without crowding even on this relatively poplar trail.


Dollar lake also offers some animal company mostly in the form of Uintas ground squirrels (see below), but there are also tame sheep grazing the plains and sometimes horses which people can use to travel some of the longer trails.


The next morning the thunderstorms during the night in combination with some light-headedness due to elevation made me have a very slow morning and I didn't leave camp until just before 8am. Once the hike started it soon started the uphill climb towards Gunsight pass which is where I took the photo below looking down the valley which the trail ascends.


After reaching Gunsight pass one can save quite some distance by contouring around the 13 000 ft sub peak at about 12 000 ft elevation rather than following the trail down the valley after Gunsight pass and then back up towards Anderson pass again. After that last pass the hiking turns form rock hopping to scrambling and mostly class 2. If one goes off route to the west edge of the ridge the exposure gets very intimidating quite quickly. After some effort though I safely reached the top together with about 10 others also reaching within about the same half hour.


The route down is somewhat slow especially if inclement weather rolls in which is common around midday. I had 2 hail and rain mixes hitting me on the way down, but the high thin air dried out stones quite quickly making the hiking much easier once again.

One of the main features of the valley is a very diverse mix of rocks and stones. Many looking striped just like tigers. Below is a stone which resembled wood somehow which a very intriguing break and erosion line separating it from other rocks.



Some samples of the giant tiger boulders are also shown here, the scale of them are from about 5 ft diameter (1.5m) to about 15 ft (5m) diameter below. They were all dislodged from about 1000-1500 ft higher up on the valley walls.


After making it down from the top I reached camp about 3 pm after some short cuts on the way down. So I decided to pack up camp and hike all the way out for a day of close to 20 miles of hiking and scrambling. A fresh shower and soft bed was also badly appreciated after a thunder riddled night at high elevation in the tent.

Stats:
State:  Utah
High point: King's Peak
Elevation: 13 528 ft (4 123 m)
Date: Aug 1st, 2012
Total elevation to date: 221 764 ft (67 594 m)
Access:
Difficulty rating (of 10): 4
Potential Difficulties: routefinding, inclement weather