There was a winter storm watch in effect for later in the day… hard to believe in light of the unusually warm weather in the morning. To get another SOTA peak on my record before the next snow arrives, I picked an unnamed peak WØC/FR-198 (798Ø) in the Poudre Canyon. The peak is located between Young’s Gulch, a popular hiking/biking area, and CO Rd 27 (Stove Prairie Road). It is part of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains  and is managed by the Roosevelt National Forest.
Since there is no trail to the summit, I had been wondering about the best way to bushwhack my way up there. There is private property on the south side of the mountain and the approach from the Canyon is too steep (well, it’s a Canyon after all). The approach from the west (Stove Prairie Road) seemed to be short but steep and appeared to be in wooded area. The approach from the east however seemed to be more open and it allowed me to use the hiking/biking trail into Young’s Gulch (along a creek) for a while, with some bushwhacking later in the trip over the south-easterly ridge. Even-though this route was substantially longer, I opted for it, specifically considering the approaching winter storm with forecast high winds out of the west – I would be better protected. Winter storms in the Rockies and Foothills can be fast and furious.

Trailhead: 5848 ft / 1782 m
Summit:   7980 ft / 2432 m
Elev. gain: 2851 ft / 869 m
Roundtrip: 7.5 mi / 12.1 km

Compare this summit with my other activated summits

How to get there:
Take US287 N from Fort Collins towards Wyoming. Go west  at Ted’s Place on CO14. You will find a sign for the Young’s Gulch TH around mile 13 into the Canyon on the south side of the road. The section between CO14 and the parking lot is in very bad shape. Luckily it’s only about 100-200 yards but some of the pot-holes are  huge. The parking lot is quite big and was completely deserted.  The usual TH signs, warnings and maps can be found, but no potable water, toilet etc.

Parkinglot/Trailhead

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Red Tape:
It’s a very dog friendly trail, one of the few trails in the Poudre Canyon where you are allowed to let your dogs run off leash. That’s one of the reasons why this trail is very popular on week-ends. Be prepared  to encounter quite a few people/dogs/mountain bikers in summer and on week-ends.

The Ascent:

The first part was easy to navigate since there is a trail, following a shallow creek. I had to cross the creek every once in a while (approx. 20 times). The (very) low water level in winter keeps your feet dry. The larger problem was the fact that the trail was quite icy. This time of the year the sun can’t reach the ground in the narrow gulch anymore. I was happy that I decided against using my mountain bike for the first part and that I carried my hiking poles – they saved my behind several times.
I was looking for the ridge I determined on Google Earth to start the bushwhacking portion of the trip. The dense forest did not really help and I finally headed uphills, thinking that I clearly identified the correct spot. Looking at the GPS tracks back home, I missed it by a narrow margin and I sure payed for that mistake. As soon as I got out of the trees, I crossed large areas of mountain mahogany which disappeared higher up leaving me with steep rock outcroppings and the ground covered with cacti and other poky stuff. The views were great though…

I was not willing to give up all the elevation gain and pressed on uphills, looking for a route through the outcroppings – which I finally found. From up there I could see the summit for the first time… and it was still a lot of ground to cover. The good news was that the weather was still nice and warm and that the terrain was free from large trees and other obstacles. Another 1.5 miles of bushwhacking and two more false summits brought me to  WØC/FR-198.

The Summit:
The summit is large enough to host several activators if necessary. The views are limited due to the relatively low elevation. Some nice/unusual views can be had towards the north-east, looking down into the Canyon. I found some nice trees close to a large drop towards the east to help me guy the antenna. I spend most of my time on 10m until John (WB3LTT) relayed a message from Phil (NS7P) – a very active SOTA chaser/activator – indicating that he cannot copy me on 10m. So I reconfigured my Buddipole antenna for 20m for some more QSOs. Just around 1PM (MST), the wind picked up suddenly as if somebody had turned on a switch. I saw that as a sign that the winter storm was approaching fast and since all the chasers seemed to be satisfied, I started to pack up and head down.

The Descent:

I was looking for a better route to avoid the steep rock-outcroppings I had encountered on the way up. I found the ridge I was planning to take on my way up and forced my way through dead trees and thick brush – nothing I really enjoyed. Not sure whether it would be an better alternative to get to summit – maybe the westerly approach is no so bad at all. After a lot of swearing (if a man swears in woods and nobody is there, does it still make a sound?) I reached the bottom and followed the little creek towards east – the direction where I expected to meet the Young’s Gulch trail – which I eventually found. The way back to the trail-head/car seemed to be a lot longer than on my way up –  a clear sign that I was tired after five hours of bushwhacking but I got my SOTA point and another first.

BTW, the winter storm arrived during the night as predicted and left us with a foot (~30 cm) of fluffy snow  in Fort Collins :)

Some video impressions:

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzaWovHJ0IM

If you would like to leave questions or comments, please do so through Youtube.

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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!