Forum Index > Trip Reports > slodal - 2011-01-23
 Reply to topic
Previous :: Next Topic
Author Message
iron
Member
Member


Joined: 10 Aug 2008
Posts: 6391 | TRs | Pics
Location: southeast kootenays
iron
Member
PostSun Jan 23, 2011 10:04 pm 
after perhaps the most confusing and discombobulated trip planning attempt ever, the original party size of 3500 people ended up being just four: me, hotpantz, hollywood, and kj. apparently changing weather forecasts at the last minute to rain in january discourages intelligent hikers. anyway, we did stefan's 5740 trip, found here. we're dubbing it slodal for obvious reasons. due to time constraints later in the day, we got an alpine departure from seattle of 4:30a. drizzle and the thought of getting wet in the trees on the drive out had us pondering continuing onto dickerman. alas, the MLH had too deep and slick of snow for hollywood's RAV4. back to the merrybrook road FS4096 went we. we were able to drive to approximately 2200', encountering only bits of snow on the road. any snow below 2200' on the road will be gone by the time you read this. at about 2300', snow on the road was deep and slick, so we parked and walked up. snowshoes went on right away to prevent annoying postholing on the road with the super soft and wet snow. travel was easy. we came across a trail sign for bedal, chokwich, and goat lake. the trail looked in good condition. i would love to hear more info on how these trails tie into the various locations if anyone has it!
need to explore this trail
need to explore this trail
we crossed bedal creek with a decent amount of water and continued on the road to just west of the clear cut area shown in stefan's map. up we went on steep, sometimes icy or slick terrain. the forest is great with colorful trees, lots of baby deer fern, and tons of devils club. snow didn't become consistent 'til we topped out on the ridge at 3600'. brush is nearly nonexistent on this terrain.
bedal creek
bedal creek
crossing bedal creek at the "trail" junction
crossing bedal creek at the "trail" junction
walking on what exactly?
walking on what exactly?
stefan's route up to ridge
stefan's route up to ridge
cut trees everywhere ranging from 4-12" dia
cut trees everywhere ranging from 4-12" dia
starting off in the forest
starting off in the forest
the ridge continued on with its steepness. snow was sticky, but not too bad. around 5000', it deepened and became slow and tiring --- perhaps 4-8" deep with an annoying icy/slick crust beneath that challenged even the mighty MSR snowshoes and their excellent traversing grip.
great colors on the tree
great colors on the tree
typical ridge scene in one of the flatter areas
typical ridge scene in one of the flatter areas
green 'n hairy
green 'n hairy
slick, heavy, and wet snow on icy crust
slick, heavy, and wet snow on icy crust
nearing the top of false summit 2
nearing the top of false summit 2
we went up and over false summit 1, which could've been traversed on the north, but was no big deal. we made it to false summit 2, thinking it was the true summit; we quickly realized we would not reach the true summit because of in-town commitments and a slower pace than expected. overall, it's a great ridge run once you're up there, and i'm sure the views are stellar on a clear day. we'll be back to tag the true summit and get more than just a few suckerholes as we did today. it was, however, a most enjoyable day in that the rain held off the entire day of hiking and the only precip we encountered was that of the dripping melting snow from the trees above. if you like big trees on broad ridges, this is your trip. plus, the overall feel of this spot, while close to a road, felt forgotten. perhaps that's how they named that peak across the way...
clearing on the road walk out
clearing on the road walk out
never forgotten
never forgotten
hollywood's gps say: 8.5 mi, 3900', 4:30 up, 3:00 down, lots of good times. also, note that he's included the road for your future reference since it's not shown on USGS maps.
most excellent views
most excellent views
hotpantz and kj on falsie 2
hotpantz and kj on falsie 2

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Sadie's Driver
Sadie's Driver



Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 1763 | TRs | Pics
Location: Welcome Pass
Sadie's Driver
Sadie's Driver
PostSun Jan 23, 2011 10:16 pm 
As one of the 3500 who bailed out on you . . . . nice job!!! Dang, you even got some blue sky. I'll save this one for a sunny day!!! up.gif

Four-paw buddy lets me tag along!
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
iron
Member
Member


Joined: 10 Aug 2008
Posts: 6391 | TRs | Pics
Location: southeast kootenays
iron
Member
PostSun Jan 23, 2011 11:18 pm 
fwb2 wrote:
How was the drive on the MLH? Drivable for regular cars?
we almost made it to barlow pass in a decent clearance SUV. the AWD and tires seemed quite slick on the wet and packable snow and we were running out of clearance. i'm pretty sure the MLH is still closed from the south near silverton for the mudslide.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Snowdog
Member
Member


Joined: 21 Jul 2006
Posts: 1027 | TRs | Pics
Location: on (& off) the beaten path
Snowdog
Member
PostMon Jan 24, 2011 10:48 am 
Another of the 3500, nice TR Iron- as one who does like big trees on broad ridges, I will hit this on a blue bird day. Was excited about having the trail nicely broken for us though........... biggrin.gif

'we don't have time for a shortcut'
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
   All times are GMT - 8 Hours
 Reply to topic
Forum Index > Trip Reports > slodal - 2011-01-23
  Happy Birthday speyguy, Bandanabraids!
Jump to:   
Search this topic:

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum