W0C/FR-130
Laramie Mountains HP
3359 m / 11020 ft
Aug 29, 2016

By KX0R

The Laramie Mountains High Point is a relatively easy, fun SOTA peak in the Laramie Mountains of Northern Colorado. This route description is for hiking up the mountain (see notes about road access below).

• Roosevelt National Forest
• Highest summit in the Laramie Mountains
• Interesting, moderate hike
• Several interesting adjacent peaks
• Nice scenery – fine views of N CO and S WY
• Fine HF site
• 2WD forest road close to the peak
• Almost a drive-up summit, if you choose
• New communications site on the peak
• Google Maps do not show the roads and trails in this area adequately
• ~ 8.0 miles round trip, via Killpecker Trail route detailed here
• ~ 9.0 miles round trip, including side trip to Middle Bald Mountain
• ~ 1850 vertical feet, via Killpecker Trail route detailed here

Driving access:

• Drive to Fort Collins
• Continue northwest about 21 miles on Highway 287
• Turn west on Highway 74E at Livermore
• Drive to Red Feather Lakes
• Continue west about 1.5 miles
• Take CR 86 “Deadman Road” – do not follow CR 73C north
• This road is a pretty good 2WD dirt road, except for wash-boarding
• Follow CR 86 for about 7 miles to the North Fork of the Cache la Poudre River
• Look for an obvious parking area and marked trailhead just east of the North Fork Poudre Campground
• Park at the trailhead – parking is free

The Hike:

• The route is via the Killpecker Trail 956
• This trail leads up along Killpecker Creek and climbs all the way up to Middle Bald Mountain
• Trail 956 is not shown on Google Maps
• The USFS map shows the campground, the trailhead, the forest roads, and Trail 956 – but not the W0C/FR-130 summit.
• The trail provides a nice hike and is worth the effort

• Follow the maintained Killpecker Trail up south, along the beautiful creek coming down the north side of the mountain
• After about 2 miles the trail leaves the creek and climbs through open forest
• The trail crosses Forest Road FR-300 three times

• After the third road-crossing, the trail ascends straight south up a moderately steep hill to about 10,960 feet elevation
• At the top of this hill, the trail curves slightly eastward
• Leave the trail near the eastward bend, and hike approximately west to the SOTA peak.
• The peak stands in the forest about 700 feet west of the bend in the trail.
• The actual summit isn’t visible from Trail 956
• The point where you leave the main trail isn’t marked.
• GPS is helpful navigation at this point
• The correct off-trail route runs west, slightly downhill along a gentle forested ridge to a saddle
• Then follow the ridge southwest up to the High Point.
• There are hints of an old trail along the ridge.
• There’s a little cairn and a register in a jar at the summit.

• You may not see the radio tower until you reach the peak
• The correct SOTA peak W0C/FR-130 is the highest summit among several high, widely-separated sub-peaks, several of which are near or above 11,000 feet, all part of a high massif of at least two square miles!
• Be sure you climb the correct summit! See details below:

Details:

The last part of the hike is an interesting navigation exercise. You need a topo map of the area, and/or a GPS unit with a waypoint showing the location of W0C/FR-130.

There are possible points of confusion:

1) Trail 956 ascends to about 10,960 feet at the top of the hill where it curves east. It would be easy to assume that you’re on the Peak.
2) The actual summit is almost hidden from view from Trail 956
3) Past the 10,960 foot hill, Trail 956 descends south and along the west side of impressive Middle Bald Mountain, which is 11,002 feet high and really looks like a SOTA peak!

4) North Bald Mountain stands out to the northeast at 10,982 feet, and is just as impressive!
5) South Bald Mountain stands out to the southeast at 11,003 feet, along with its sister peak at 10,884!
6) There are other rocky bumps up there that could be taken to be the summit, but they’re not.
7) The location of the trail near the High Point is incorrectly shown on the USGS 7-1/2 minute quadrangle “Deadman, CO”. The trail is farther east.

The bad news is that the saddle northwest of Middle Bald Mountain is much too deep for that summit to be in the SOTA Activation Zone! This also applies to North Bald Mountain and South Bald Mountain.

The good news is that the saddle immediately east of High Point W0C/FR-130 is just within the SOTA Activation Zone. This means that the Activation Zone includes that saddle, as well as some of the broad hill at about 10,960 feet to the east. Also included is the rocky point 400 feet south of the High Point; this sub-peak’s elevation is within a few vertical feet of the actual summit.

If you hike to the High Point, several different places are available for setting up radio gear in the large activation zone. These spots include the area near the radio tower, the actual summit just to the northeast, the scenic rocky point 400 feet to the south, or a place some distance away. I did my activation along the ridge about 200 feet east of the tower. I found a sunny, sheltered clearing with good trees for my pole and wire. I couldn’t see the tower, and I felt like I was deep in the wilderness.

I was concerned that there might be some RF noise from the comm site, but the RF noise level was very low. W0C/FR-130 is an excellent HF site, with wide-open coverage in all directions. It’s surely a good VHF/UHF site as well, judging from the numerous antennas on the tower. Coverage of northeast Colorado, southeast Wyoming, and parts of the eastern Plains is probably good.

While it’s a shock to see a new communications facility on a peak, it’s certainly an ideal site. The development was done carefully to minimize environmental issues. The summit cairn was not disturbed. The scenic crags just south of the tower were not altered at all – I went over there to look at the impressive view off the south side of the peak – this is recommended!

The communications facility was built by Larimer County, after years of planning and negotiation. When I was there, the site wasn’t posted or fenced off. It appears to be a very professional facility. VHF, UHF, and microwave antennas are on the tower. It looked new when I was there, and I’m not sure if it was operational.

After activating the High Point, I followed Trail 956 south to Middle Bald Mountain, and enjoyed the short climb up its high, open slopes. This rocky, cliffy summit is far more impressive than the High Point!

The peak falls away to the east, with vast views in all directions, including far out across the Great Plains, up into Wyoming, and west to the Medicine Bow Range. It’s also a good place to see the other craggy peaks in the massif. It’s a nice destination for the pleasant hike up Killpecker Creek!

If the access road isn’t gated or posted, the High Point might be a drive-up summit. FR-300/517 is a good-quality 2WD dirt/gravel road. It leads up from Deadman Road and runs almost to the top of the massif. Google maps show this road OK, but not the new access road to the comm site; see the satellite image. Also see the Roosevelt National Forest map for details on FR-300 and FR-517.

The Google satellite image shows most of the details of the peak, the radio site, and the hiking route to it. You can also see the access road, which runs up the west side of the mountain from FR-300/517 below. I have no information on vehicle access, or future plans for the site.

Even if the comm site is eventually posted or fenced, there should be no problem operating within the SOTA Activation Zone, in the National Forest east of the peak, or near the top of the 10,960-foot hill where the Trail 956 crosses east of the High Point.

73

George
KX0R

 

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!! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and bold mountaineers... there are no old-bold mountaineers. Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required - enjoy!