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| Browns Peak |
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| Telegraph pole on Med Bow Peak? |
- Encampment has gas and tiny stores, Saratoga has a Family Dollar and supermarket. FR443 is west of Encampment and goes for miles with camps that have Verizon. The west side of Medicine Bow Peak has camping on FR103 at mp 46 on the highway. That is tricky for cars but I saw some in there. At about mp 31 is FR101 and it has camping then FR329 branches off and has Verizon and cars make those. Posted 2024
- MEDICINE BOW PEAK el 12013 has two trails up. I did a traverse from the south TH at Lake Marie all the way to Browns Peak then down to the Lewis Lake TH. The trail goes up to the south sadde el 11550 of the peak at an old lookout. Telegraph poles run north from that to ? The topo goes astray there showing the trail staying close to center where the poles are but it really goes left of center. Just stay with the large cairns. The trail goes over the summit then down to Lewis Lake, but I stayed on the crest to N41 22374, W106 18107 then dropped down a tundra slope. At around 11200 I moved right to the ridge then down to the main saddle and then up the ridge to Browns Peak. I kept going to 22635, 16098 then down tundra to Lost Lake and picked up a trail along the west shore and walked it to Lewis Lake where the parking lot was full and 50 cars lined the road on the way in. My bike was still there from the hike the day before around Browns Peak and it took me 20 minutes to ride to the start. 6 hours, 9.5 miles and 2500 gain, rarely steep. Nothing harder than class 2 but late season only when snow is gone. Another loop could be done by going up the trail from Lewis with no shuttle required. Posted mid August, 2024.
- BROWNS PEAK LOOP- a 12 mile loop can be done around the peak on trails starting at either Brooklyn Lake or Lewis Lake. I cut it to 8 miles by parking at Brooklyn and riding my bike to Lewis via FR332. I walked north thru the pass to North Gap Lake and stayed left at a fork and on to Cutthroat Lake then stayed right at forks to get to Brooklyn. 3 and a half hours, 8 miles and 1000 easy gain. The bike ride was 6 miles and one hour. Good lakes and tundra. The topo is off in places but not an issue. I left the bike in place for the peak traverse the next day. Posted 2024.
- ROCK CREEK KNOLL el 11125 has an easy route from FR101. I walked FR326 then veered off a tenth mile to FR326C at N41 24684, W106 13612. I walked it to the end then elk trails to 24453, 13989 where I cut back on a trail to get on the ridge. I walked the left edge to 24396, 14137 and turned toward the summit. The last tenth mile was pure talus but easy. 3 hours, 1200 easy gain. ATVs go in on FR326, what about bikes? ROCK CREEK PEAK was in view to the east, but the main attraction is the bald south ridge. I took FR329 for nearly 5 miles then walked to a clearing at 24028, 09278 then up to a saddle on the ridge at 24102, 09784. I went on to peak 10429 then back. 1 hour, 500 easy gain. Cars can make all these roads. Posted 2024.
- KENNADAY PEAK el 10810 has 12 miles of dirt roads all the way. Just inside the west forest boundary on highway 130 is where FR100 goes north and graded. At about 6 miles is a sign for the peak. A car might go another mile to a meadow but then it's high clearance and maybe 4wd. Or ebike it. The lookout on the summit is kaput. Posted 2024.
- BLACKHALL MOUNTAIN el 10979 has a road to a lookout on top. At the east end of Riverside is a sign for Blackhall Mtn Rd. It goes graded a dozen miles to a main fork. Go left then at the next main fork go right. The last 3 miles is easy 4wd and ebikeable. The last tenth mile is for jeeps. Signs make it hard to get lost on the drive in. The lookout is for rent starting in mid August. Posted 2024
- VULCAN MOUNTAIN el 10786 is mostly easy tundra. I took highway 70 to mp 50.2 and turned on FR443 and followed that a dozen miles to FR434. That road is easy 4wd for a couple miles to N41 12643, W106 59690 el 9880 where I started hiking. There is a small parking spot there. I walked to elk trails at 12533, 59829 and followed those up to 12502, 59970 and had tundra the rest of the way to the summit then came back over the north summit. A mine cabin is in the saddle in between. 2 hours, 1200 gain. I could have drove a car in the first 7 miles or so then ebiked the rest. FR440 is another way in but I didn't check it. Posted 2024
- BRIDGER PEAK el 11012 has a 4wd road to the top, FR412. But the weather was crap so I skipped it. People camp where the road departs from highway 70 at nearly 10000 feet. Posted 2024
- ENCAMPMENT RIVER TRAIL is just south of town. The lower part can be done one way starting on the Purgatory Gulch Trail. That trail starts along the Blackhall Mtn Rd. A 4wd road goes down the gulch like the topo shows then becomes a trail leading to the river trail. Cars can park along the Blackhall road and high clearance vehicles can go little more to a saddle. Then it's downhill for 7 miles to a BLM campground and then a 10 mile drive back to the start. I did this in reverse using a pedal bike to shuttle but I won't make that mistake again. It's steep as hell on the climb out. It ain't called Purgatory for nothing. The campground has a hand pump well near site #2. I put a track on peakbagger under peak 8480. Posted 2024.
