I had some interesting side business to take care of on Saturday and my usual hiking partners were really worn out from last weekend so I hooked up with Bill and Johnson whom I’d hiked with numerous times in the past.  Johnson was interesting in hiking in the Gores so obviously I tagged along.  Bill and I went out to meet him at Shrine Pass on Saturday evening to camp out the night before the hike.  I was planning on suggesting that we try to climb “East Partner Peak” and Peak “W” which are at the end of the Pitkin Creek Valley.  It turned out though that Johnson had been up there the day before.  So we decided to hike up Bighorn Creek and attempt Grand Traverse.

After a good nights sleep that featured a good amount of rain, thunder, and lightning, we set out for the Bighorn Trailhead.  We started hiking by a little after seven.  The trail started up steeply as usual but wasn’t as bad as Pitkin or Booth.  The trail also passed through a giant aspen grove that must be just amazing in fall.  As we approached the first views of the Grand Traverse I noticed that Bill and Johnson were slowing down a good bit.  It sounded like they were going to try to climb the peaks but they might just run out of time because of their speed.  They were sort of expecting me to go on alone but I didn’t want to attempt that ridge alone.  So, I decided this would be just a scouting trip so we decided to hike up to the cabin and then see what we wanted to do there.

The trail description at the Bighorn Trailhead mentions a cabin about 3 miles up the trail.  It didn’t take us that long to arrive at the cabin which is halfway between Grand Traverse and North Traverse Peaks.  The description mentioned how the door was kept unlocked so that hikers could use it if necessary.  It made the cabin sound like it was in good condition.  Not so.  Although you could camp inside it, it’s very dilapidated and the roof is very short.  There was a couple of tarps and candles in there.  I’d take a tent any day over the mice and ghosts that are certain to roam around in there!

After hanging out at the cabin for a while, we headed up the valley.  Johnson said he wanted to hike up to the next shelf.  So, I stashed my pack off the trail and brought only my camera along.  We hiked around and the trail started to fade fast.  At a large meadow that was full of Parry’s Primrose, the trail completely stopped.  We kept wandering around.  As we approached some of the upper tarns, a prominent 12er at the end of the valley began to look appealing.  I suggested that maybe I could go on ahead and try to climb the 12er.  They said they would try to follow. Just before I took off, we saw some people on the saddle between this 12er and North Traverse Peak.  Amazing!  I never see anybody up here. I went on ahead and spied my route.  I would climb a short scree gully then traverse across grassy ledges to the ridge then head to the top.  The scree gully was a real pain.  It was very loose and because I wasn’t planning on hiking very far, I left my trekking poles way back down by the cabin.  Oh well, I continued on and emerged on to the more comfortable grass slopes.

The hikers coming down were yelling down at Bill and Johnson trying to have them point out the best route down from the saddle.  Going straight down the saddle led to cliffs so they had to traverse.  Because they were asking directions, they must have come from the other side.  The clouds looked really really dark emerging from the other drainage.  Not hearing any thunder or feeling rain, I continued up and arrived on the ridge.  As I approached the summit, I realized that I would see Keller off in the distance.  At this point I had great views of East Thorn, Willow, and Mount Valhalla, the latter of which is a very prominent mountain.  I got a shock on the summit – there was a higher mountain right in front of me barely 100 yards away.  I realized that I was indeed on Keller! The day before I was planning on going up Pitkin Valley so I brought the Pitkin map…so I didn’t have the chance to really look at the map of Bighorn Valley and Johnson’s map cut off early.  At the top of this peak, which was actually a shoulder of Keller, I took my remaining pictures.  I took a lot of panoramas, picking out the peaks in the heart of the Gores to the Northwest and then the southeastern section.  I went up to the southern summit of Keller.  At first, I thought this was the true summit but after looking at the map later, I realized the true summit was still a ways off although it was only thirty feet higher than the summit.

I was almost positive that Bill and Johnson turned around so I started back down. I caught up with the other hikers at one of the snowfields at the head of the valley and they informed me that they were still up there.  I don’t know how, but I passed them.  The other hikers were 5 college students who had hiked from Rock Creek to Bighorn, a pretty short but neat shuttle hike.  We stayed at the cabin for a while then they headed out.  About forty five minutes later, Bill and Johnson showed up.  Johnson ended up staying in the valley but Bill had climbed to the top of the 12er.  As we hiked out, we got rained on and the dark clouds made the scene pretty gloomy…but it was really neat to hike in and a reprieve from the hot sun.  This was a really fun hike.  I’m hoping to return here and camp out near the cabin the attempt the Grand Traverse the following day.

[Show as slideshow]

Finally – a trip in the summer/fall of 1999 to the Gore Range. I spent the majority of the summer hiking the fourteeners, reaching a count of 39 with a hike of Mount Yale at the end of September. This trip to Keller Mountain was with the Colorado Mountain Club so, thinking that the peak would be covered in a layer of slick snow this time of year, I figured it was safest to go with the club. I also convinced my friends Ken and Kirk to go along too. Ironically, it turned out to be the nicest day of 1999. It was very warm, sunny, and there was virtually no wind.  Winter also got a very late start in 1999; there was still no significant snowfall in the mountains yet – and we were well into fall.

The trip started from the Rock Creek trailhead which, contrary to my suspicions, was quite easy to find and drive to. I think there were approximately 10 people in our group. The first part of the trail is apparently an old road and it’s very wide and smooth for a long way. Not long after the trailhead, you pass the Gore Range trail running north and south, perpendicular to the Rock Creek trail. After a mile or so, the trail narrows to a footpath, passes through some nice meadows then begins contouring along the north side of the valley. Eventually, you arrive at the Boss Mine, which is a gigantic pile of tailings that really spoils the natural beauty of this valley. In any event, it’s hard to miss it (although the leader did!) and at this point you head up the tailings along a very steep trail. The trail fades in and out above the tailings. Eventually, you need to bushwack to gain the east ridge of Keller Mountain.

Above treeline, it’s easy to see where to go. At this point, Keller Mountain looks more like a bland rockpile. Well, it’s true at this point but once you attain the point that you can see from the east side, the fun scrambling begins. Before we began hiking up the ridge, the female member of the group got tired and decided not to continue. The leader as well as a couple of the older members of the group stayed back. About five of us continued, including Ken and Kirk. Since we didn’t have to wait on anyone we made great time.

At the top of the point, we could see the rest of the route. It’s probably a little under a mile to get to the true summit of Keller and the majority of it is 3rd class although we chose a harder route just for the fun of it. It was such a nice day so we decided to make it at least 4th class. It took us well over an hour to reach the true summit but it was an absolutely delightful scramble. We spent about 20 minutes on the summit eating and taking pictures then headed back over the ridge and to the group waiting below.

The hike out was uneventful although I did have my second wind and zoomed in front of the group. I arrived about 15 to 20 minutes before the rest of the group did. This was a really fun trip – especially for a CMC trip. Ken decided that it was his best climb to date. Even Kirk liked it as well and decided that he ought to return to the Gore Range sometime.

[Show as slideshow]