Forum Index > Trip Reports > Gunn Pk, finally! 8-5-07
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dicey
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Joined: 11 May 2004
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Location: giving cornices a wider berth
dicey
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PostMon Aug 06, 2007 9:21 pm 
After tossing around a bajillion different plans for the weekend due to wild fluctuations in the weather forecast, Janet, Brian and I decided to gun for Gunn. I thought it might be fun to join NB and JeffR on Merchant in the quest for Ed, but then I remembered how junky that south gully route is and decided it might be too dangerous with a larger group. We agreed to holler at each other instead from our respective summits when we met near the trailhead sunday morning. This actually worked out, as we summited within .5 hour of each other! With two previous attempts at this peak under my belt, the approach 'trail' was becoming like an old friend - or rather, an old friend that I didn't feel like being friends with anymore. dizzy.gif Needless to say, released from the symptoms of giardia and blessed by morning fog to keep the temps reasonable, we worked our way up into the basin without a hitch. Ok, so I tried to follow a waterfall up for a bit, but we backed down off after about 50 feet or so. We were also stalled by some plump blueberries along the way that nearly ground our gears to a halt. Despite these hurdles, we found our way into the upper basin just as the fog began to dissipate. Time for sunscreen, and time to check out the owner of the paw prints we saw in a snowpatch from earlier this morning we guessed. Hello bear! He was up on the hillside above, checking us out. He wasn't alarmed and neither were we. He ambled away after a while and soon, we did too..... and met up with him again about 10 minutes later over the next ridge. This time we watched him until he disappeared before continuing on. How exciting! Twice in one week! I guess my status has changed from bear repellant to bear attractant? Anyways, we stopped for lunch just below the talus fan below Gunn's south face. I kept expecting to run into another group since there was a car parked near the road/trailhead when we arrived, and very recent evidence of passage on the lower trail. Oh well. We headed up large talus to the 3rd class gully. There was a tricky rock move to gain the hemlock pulling above this gully, which is where Janet decided to save this summit for another day. I followed Brian up and across the upper talus field (some moat ratting ensued), to the notch leading to the north side. I was relieved to see that the infamous exposed ledge was snow free - yay!! Easy scrambling in a broad gully brought us to the summit and views all around. We hollered and celebrated for a bit before heading back down. As we began to cross the upper talus field, we heard some hollering from Merchant, and could make out figures on it's summit. I hollered back and they hollered back. We couldn't understand what they were saying, (turns out it was "turn on you're cell phone") so we just waved and yelled, and continued down. Voices in the gully below heralded the arrival of the mystery party that we passed somewhere/somehow on the way up. We chatted with them briefly in the hemlock stand, and continued down to our lunch spot. After filling up on some water, we motored our way down. Well, we motored until we found the blueberries again lol.gif A nice steep trail aids in a quick, if somewhat painful descent, but we arrived back at the car 9 hours after we left it. Dinner at Xtapa in Monroe on the outdoor patio rounded out a nice excursion to the mountains. Thanks to Janet and Brian for sharing their Sunday with me!
Baring with morning fog
Baring with morning fog
A thoughtful and needed gift
A thoughtful and needed gift
What ur humanz doin??
What ur humanz doin??
tricky move in gully
tricky move in gully
Brian on the ledge
Brian on the ledge
a little summit refreshment
a little summit refreshment
On the way out 1
On the way out 1
on the way out 2
on the way out 2

I'm not always sure I like being older but being less stupid has advantages. http://www.flickr.com/photos/32121172@N00/sets/
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Magellan
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Magellan
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PostMon Aug 06, 2007 9:35 pm 
Wow, a black bear that was actually black. How refreshing! Great TR Dicey. Way to get it done! up.gif

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Yana
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Yana
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PostMon Aug 06, 2007 10:04 pm 
dicey wrote:
A thoughtful and needed gift
A thoughtful and needed gift
rotf.gif rotf.gif One (wo)man's trash is another (wo)man's treasure.

PLAY SAFE! SKI ONLY IN CLOCKWISE DIRECTION! LET'S ALL HAVE FUN TOGETHER!
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naturealbeing
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PostMon Aug 06, 2007 10:04 pm 
Glad you guys had as much fun as Jeff and I did. It defiantly was a great day to be up in the mountains. Last year when Randy, Steve F., and I did Gunn we ran into a bear just below the saddle. I wonder if it was the same bear. If you're interested you can check out Randy's TR and pics here. Here's a shot from Merchant looking at Gunn.
Gunn Peak from Merchant Peak 8.5.07.
Gunn Peak from Merchant Peak 8.5.07.
Jeff and N Baring Peak, as seen from rock outcroping 8.5.07.
Jeff and N Baring Peak, as seen from rock outcroping 8.5.07.
BTW, While I was at the summit of Merchant, I took a close up of Gunn and upon viewing it on my computer monitor there was a person standing at the summit. I wonder if it was you guys or the other party.

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dicey
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dicey
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PostMon Aug 06, 2007 10:09 pm 
Janet, I like your perspective shot of Gunn gully up.gif That move was a b*tch to reverse, so you made a good call. I'm still scratchin' too - I didn't even know I had this many bites! NB, it was probably the other party since we were already descending when you guys started whoopin' smile.gif

I'm not always sure I like being older but being less stupid has advantages. http://www.flickr.com/photos/32121172@N00/sets/
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the Zachster
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the Zachster
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PostMon Aug 06, 2007 10:10 pm 
How cool is that, to "talk" to friends from peak to peak! Nice job y'all!

"May I always be the kind of person my dog thinks I am"
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Matt
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Joined: 30 Jan 2007
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Matt
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PostMon Aug 06, 2007 10:52 pm 
Ditto. Cool that you could hear each other. I wouldn't have thought voices would carry that far.

“As beacons mountains burned at evening.” J.R.R. Tolkien
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Guiran
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PostMon Aug 06, 2007 10:58 pm 
Thanks for putting this together, Dicey. Couple more pictures:
Below the headwall
Below the headwall
Moon over a tree
Moon over a tree
Baring
Baring
Crossing some snow (note: giant Gunn Peak mosquito)
Crossing some snow (note: giant Gunn Peak mosquito)
Baring
Baring
Moon over Tailgunner
Moon over Tailgunner
Upper basin
Upper basin
Moat ratting
Moat ratting
Great views
Great views

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Yet
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PostTue Aug 07, 2007 1:23 am 
Guiran wrote:
Moon over a tree
Moon over a tree
What an awesome moon shot. Looks like a Christmas Tree. smile.gif Congrats dicey for finally gunning it. hockeygrin.gif

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trailjunky
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trailjunky
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PostTue Aug 07, 2007 3:44 am 
Congrats Dicey! up.gif Sweet TR.

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Rigafari
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PostWed Aug 08, 2007 11:06 pm 
Always wanted to go up Gunn.....nice work!! Can you hear 2?

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Happy Trail Dog
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PostMon Sep 10, 2007 10:55 am 
Hey Dicey, the bear says hello!
Gunn bear
Gunn bear

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Don
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PostMon Sep 10, 2007 1:32 pm 
Congratulations Dicey! (Ok, congrads to all - but ESPECIALLY Dicey!) That is awesome!! up.gif How is the the creek crossing near the car these days? Edit: I just noticed the date of this TR doof.gif Congratulations rescinded due to expiration date! biggrin.gif

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dicey
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dicey
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PostMon Sep 10, 2007 2:00 pm 
Happy Trail Dog wrote:
Hey Dicey, the bear says hello!
Gunn bear
Gunn bear
wave.gif Thanks for the pic HTD. How was your climb? Any berries left? Thanks Don. The creek crossing is easy on 3 zigzagging logs. I think I remember a second crossing from a few years ago, but now there is only one.

I'm not always sure I like being older but being less stupid has advantages. http://www.flickr.com/photos/32121172@N00/sets/
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dicey
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Joined: 11 May 2004
Posts: 2870 | TRs | Pics
Location: giving cornices a wider berth
dicey
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PostMon Sep 10, 2007 2:08 pm 
Don wrote:
Edit: I just noticed the date of this TR doof.gif Congratulations rescinded due to expiration date! biggrin.gif
bawl.gif tongue.gif

I'm not always sure I like being older but being less stupid has advantages. http://www.flickr.com/photos/32121172@N00/sets/
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