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East Booth Pass-Druid Pass Lollipop Loop

October 7, 2011 in North

Left Booth Lake TH at 4:55am. Dark and a light rain. The rain intensified within the 1st 30 minutes. I put on my Gore-tex pants and found myself quite cozy. Somewhere between the falls and the turn for Druid and West Booth Passes rain turned to snow and dawn brightened things up-just a little. The first snows do a great job of highlighting trails, even the ones that are barely there. The wildflowers were fighting to hold their ground. Purple Bellflowers looked strong and healthy. Sedges and grasses were also striking with the blanket of fresh snow. I had a day ahead of me so Booth Lake was brief. The tarn below E.Booth Pass held my attention for a few minutes. As did West Partner and Outpost Pk. Looking forward to the ski season. The grassy ramp to the pass was slick. I kept close to the rock on climber’s left. The trekking pole was proving its worth already. After 4h15m I reached last winter’s snow meeting this winter’s snow on E.Booth Pass. As I switched to my mountaineering boots, I reminisced about July’s Peak H trip and the thieving marmots in the valley below.

The descent to Upper Piney Lake was slow, but enjoyable. Lots of loose rock and dirt and snow. I followed what appeared to be goat tracks down the steep chute. I appreciated the line that the previous descender had chosen. It was about 10:15am when I reached the shores of Upper Piney Lake. Lunch time. Bagel, pepperoni, and string cheese. I had decided before leaving the house to pack my big thermos with lemon ginger tea-a favorite with chocolate-as I do on most of my ski tours. Good call. I guess I sat for 45 minutes or so. The clouds played on the ridges and peaks as the snow lightly drifted down from above. I contemplated Spider and Web for a good while. The sitting didn’t keep me warm, but the tea helped me to linger. Anticipation of Crater Lake and that side of Druid Pass finally motivated me to head out.

Rounding Spider was simple enough. Once I got passed all the ponds the trail was visible. Its a familiar area and I’ve been on the wrong side of a pond or two before. I did catch myself a little high on the traverse at one point, but I quickly climbed down out of a boulder field just before the trail showed up. Once things opened up in the marshy area, I headed east at about 11k’. I have seen Crater Lake many times, but this was to be my first up close and personal. The weather started ramping up. The trees leading up to the bench and lake provided nice shelter. Druid Pass looked inviting as I made my way to the lake. I looked back at Spider and the summit was gone. By the time I finished making water, all the summits were gone, as was the pass. Interesting situation. Fortunately, I had a good enough look at the terrain leading to the pass. It was still a bit concerning to be climbing steeply towards a pass I only believed to be there. I couldn’t see shit. I looked back after about 10 minutes of climbing and the lake was gone.

I nailed it. Split the uprights. Somehow there was more snow on the south side of the pass. I felt like I was home-at night with the lights out. I knew where I was, but I needed to take my time. It was still steep enough to slip and bust my ass. It took about an hour or so to get to the “west booth ck” trail. It was so easy to follow with the snow highlighting it through the timbers and numerous dead falls. I finally stopped for another lunch-about time.

When I hit Booth Creek and the Booth Lake Trail I was struck by the idea that, when I passed by this point earlier, I hadn’t thought much about the fact that this was where the loop part would start and end. Just above the falls, I stopped to get back into my comfy trail runners. The colors that weren’t visible during the early morning darkness were now going off. The clouds finally made way for some of that famous Colorado blue sky. A perfect ending to a perfect fall day in the mighty Gore Range.

“The Spider” (12,962), “The Fly” (12,630)

August 30, 1998 in Central

Approach from Booth Lake Trailhead

Never judge a peak by its elevation. “The Spider” was one of the toughest – and most fun – climbs of the summer and it’s not even a thirteener! I’d been wanting to climb Spider for a long time ever since se

eing it from Piney Valley. “I took this picture one year ago when I attempted Peak “C”. “The Spider” totally dominates the head of the Upper Piney valley and entices climbers and hikers. Yet, it’s a seldom visited peak. When I arrived at the top, I noticed that the register had been placed in 1988 and wasn’t even close to being halfway full. In fact, only 25 people at most have signed it. Most were instructors at the COBS, or Colorado Outward Bound School.

I approached Spider from the Booth Lake trailhead, which is the opposite side from where this picture was taken. A slightly easier route is to hike up the long Upper Piney Valley. Anyway, from Booth Trailhead, after two miles of hiking up the trail, I arrived at Booth Falls which features two large drops – one about 30 feet and the other around 60 feet. Most hikers stop here. However, another two and a half miles of hiking will bring you to picturesque Booth Lake. I set up camp above the lake and had the entire place to myself.

The weather this weekend was absolutely fantastic. The sky was perfectly clear, the temperature was warm, and there was no wind. There was a rather large population of mountain goats living up around the lake who were very interested in me. They frequently approached the tent to investigate. At night, after eating a fantastic hot meal, I turned in. I was so tired from hauling my backpack all the way up to the lake that I fell asleep within minutes.

However, about two hours later, a curious sound caused me to stir. It sounded like something was grabbing the grass outside the tend and pulling it up. I realized right away what it was: the goats! They had returned to feast on the grass and flowers around the tent. Well, after about 10 minutes, I both shouted and clapped my hands and the goats ran off frightened. But they soon regained their confidence and returned. Thus began about a two hour ordeal where the goats continually returned to the tent to eat. Eventually, I put on my boots, grabbed my flashlight, and left the tent. Instead of scaring them where they’d simply run for cover behind a nearby boulder, I turned on my flashlight and chased them to the opposite side of the lake! After that, I was able to get back to sleep and they didn’t bother me for the rest of the night.

The next morning, I woke up late – 8 o’clock! I started hiking up the steep slopes towards the Spider. One of the reasons that this route is more difficult is that you have to climb “The Fly” first. The entire route is 3rd class scrambling. In fact, from the lake, the entire route is practically 3rd class scrambling that will test your routefinding skills. The measly one mile climb to the peak takes quite a bit of time. At the top of the Fly, I had quite an in-your-face view of the remaining route.

From the top of Fly, I descended down the east side of the north ridge and began climbing up the Spider. The Spider was different than most difficult peaks I’ve done. On those others, there was typically always a well-defined route to the top – even on tough mountains. On this peak, I had to frequently leave the ridge for easier terrain. At one point, I was faced with a vertical 100 foot wall on the ridge. Certainly I wasn’t going to scramble up that, so I had to drop down to the west face and traverse under the cliffs then climb back up to the ridge.

Finally, I made it. I rested on the summit for quite a while and enjoyed the perfect weather and all the mini dissertations that were written in the register.

(above) “The Spider” rises to the northwest of Booth Lake

I decided to bypass Fly on the way back and scrambled down the west face and then back up a couloir to a saddle on the west side of the Fly. I think this took just as much time to do and it was a lot more difficult because the narrow, sinuous route kept traversing above steep cliffs. Either way, it was pretty exhausting. After about three hours I arrived back at camp. There was still no one at the lake (it was pretty late anyway – nearly 4 pm) so I decided to go swimming! It was awesome – very cold, but not as bad as you’d expect. I swam around for about 15 minutes then basked in the sun. Relaxed, I then began packing up and started a non-stop march back to the car at the trailhead five miles away. I was really tired from this trip but thought that this was perhaps the best trip of the summer.

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