Day 5 of Lupe’s 2018 Dingo Vacation to the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming & Beyond!
Oh, this was going to be a cinch! USFS Road No. 10 had been rough, but the G6 had made it. SPHP parked near the road’s highest point. (11:33 AM, 53°F) When Lupe hopped out, she was at 10,000 feet elevation. She could already see Cloud Peak (13,167 ft.), mightiest of the Bighorn Range, far to the SE.
Hunt Mountain (10,162 ft.), the American Dingo’s immediate peakbagging objective, was only 0.67 mile W of the road. From this direction, a traipse up a gradual, treeless slope to the summit was mere child’s play. Good thing, too. After yesterday’s long march to Dry Fork Ridge and back, SPHP was, well, call it “low energy” today.
A 10 to 15 mph W breeze was blowing as Loopster set out for a small rock outcropping visible a short distance W of the road.
From the rocks, a broad drainage area at the base of a big snowdrift was seen sloping gently to the NE. In order to avoid any wet terrain, Lupe turned SW gaining elevation slowly. Following the high ground, a big arc could be made around to the NW when she got closer to the W edge of Hunt Mountain.
Lupe delighted in frolicking on a snowbank she found in a depression.
The W face of Hunt Mountain drops off very sharply. As Lupe got close to the edge, she found fortification-like rock formations standing along the brink of a line of cliffs.
The summit of Hunt Mountain was still a little farther NNW. Traveling toward it, Lupe could soon see a tall cairn ahead.
The tall cairn had a commanding view of a huge amount of territory W of the Bighorn Range. However, upon reaching it, Lupe could see that this first cairn was not at the top of Hunt Mountain. Another higher cairn was in sight farther N.
Approaching the second cairn, Lupe came upon a sinkhole. Apparently parts of Hunt Mountain were hollow!
The second cairn proved to be the summit of Hunt Mountain (10,162 ft.). With nothing to obstruct the views in any direction, Lupe enjoyed magnificent scenery everywhere she looked.
The view to the NW was of particular interest. Lupe could see Bald Mountain (10,042 ft.) and more distant Medicine Mountain (9.962 ft.), both of which she had been to before. In fact, she intended to visit Bald Mountain again later on today.
Although sparse vegetation gave Hunt Mountain an overall barren look, tiny wildflowers decorated the summit. Orange lichens grew on many of the whitish stones. A knob of stone nearly as high as the summit stood close by to the N. Just for fun, Lupe got up on top of it, too.
In addition to the second tall cairn, Lupe found two survey markers on top of Hunt Mountain. Both were stamped “Hudson” and had arrows that pointed toward a pile of rocks between them.
Hunt Mountain offered an awful lot of scenic bang for the amount of effort required to get here! However, it was rather breezy at the summit. After taking in the sights, Lupe and SPHP retreated down the slope E of the summit to escape the W wind.
Lupe went as far as a rim of rocks overlooking the big snowbank that had been visible from the first little rock outcropping she had come to after leaving the road. A big boulder on the rim provided some shade. Low on water, SPHP packed a couple of water bottles and a jug with snow, setting them out in the sun so the snow would melt.
Lupe and SPHP rested by the big boulder, relaxing while waiting for the snow to melt. Weary from yesterday’s exertions, Looper put her head down and fell fast asleep. Soon SPHP was out of it, too.
When SPHP came to, Lupe was gone! A squeaking noise. Marmots! SPHP scanned the rocky rim of the ridge. There she was! The Carolina Dog had snuck off to go looking for marmots among the rocks. SPHP called her back. She returned marmotless, but evidently enthused and entertained by her futile hunt for them. This was, after all, “Hunt” Mountain.
SPHP packed more snow into the water containers. Better not fall asleep this time, no matter how tempting it was. SPHP started writing in the trip journal. Looper got bored, and passed out again. Time ebbed away.
Suddenly, a distant pop followed by a closer one. What the? Within a minute, another couple of pops. Same deal, except the second pop was much closer. Gunfire! Lupe was awake and concerned. Someone was using the boulder she was resting beside for target practice! Ordering Loop to stay down, SPHP stood up displaying a red shirt and waved.
At first, SPHP didn’t see anyone, but a pickup truck was now in view off to the E parked close to the G6. Oh, yeah. There he was! Off to the SW, someone carrying a rifle was heading for the W edge of Hunt Mountain, but well S of the summit.
Hmm. Maybe enough snow had melted? The gunfire made a convincing case. SPHP gathered the water bottles up. Lupe returned to the summit of Hunt Mountain for a final look around before heading back to the G6. On the way down, whoever it was with the rifle was seen far to the S on a rock platform along the W edge of the mountain. The rifle was now set up on a tripod.
No further incidents occurred. An easy downhill stroll, and Loop was back at the G6. (3:10 PM, 59°F) SPHP drove off, conceding the rifleman complete possession of Hunt Mountain. Too much hunting going on at Hunt Mountain for SPHP’s tastes. The American Dingo was done here, anyway. On to Bald Mountain (10,042 ft.)!
Once back down to Highway 14A, SPHP turned L (W). 9 or 10 miles later came another L turn into the Bald Mountain campground. SPHP parked the G6 at the S end of the campground road. (4:24 PM, 66°F)
Loop left the campground heading SE. Bald Mountain was dead ahead. This would be her 5th ascent! Like at Hunt Mountain, there was nothing to climbing Bald Mountain. Bald Mountain is just a big, rounded hill. This was going to be harder, though. The summit was 2 miles away, and the Carolina Dog would have to gain nearly 1,000 feet of elevation.
A big stand of pines stood S of the most direct route up Bald Mountain. Lupe would like the woods, so SPHP headed for it. Loop crossed a small creek. The ground near the forest turned out to be wet, much boggier than SPHP had anticipated. Yellow wildflowers grew in profusion.
The Carolina Dog did have fun exploring the boggy woods. Lupe found a squirrel to bark at, a surefire source of Dingo happiness. SPHP enjoyed being out of the wind, but it didn’t last. The forest encompassed only a small area. Soon Looper was through it. The ascent of Bald Mountain began in earnest.
The climb was the same relentless uphill trudge as always, but seemed harder. Low energy SPHP was just plain tired from the start. Loopster didn’t like the W wind, which blew harder as she gained elevation. The treeless slope offered absolutely no refuge. By the time Lupe made it to top of the W end of the mountain, the wind was 20 to 25 mph.
There was a reason Lupe was on Bald Mountain for a 5th time. In addition to tagging the summit, SPHP wanted to fix the names. In this wind, the American Dingo wasn’t too keen on either idea. SPHP had success finding the names fairly quickly, but Lupe was not happy about having to wait around for 20 minutes while SPHP repaired them.
Loop was even more disgusted when SPHP made it clear that going on to the summit was a requirement. She soon resigned herself to the idea of this wind tunnel trek, however, and led the way. It wasn’t so bad. Why, this gale was going to blow her clear to the top!
A 30 mph gale swept over the summit of Bald Mountain (10,042 ft.). A birdhouse stood NW of a survey marker. Little blue, yellow, and white wildflowers blanketed the ground. Not a bush or a tree anywhere.
A great view of Hunt Mountain (10,162 ft.), where Lupe had just come from, was off to the SE. Medicine Mountain (9,962 ft.) was only 4 miles NW, while Duncum Mountain (9,831 ft.) was farther N. Unfortunately, lingering to contemplate the fine views wasn’t going to happen under these conditions. Lupe stood bravely in the breeze hoping SPHP would just hurry up.
Loopster was thrilled when SPHP indicated it was finally time to head down. The wind made her wild, and she really took the lead now. Lupe raced here and there roaming a vast plain despite the gale. She passed by her name again, then paused at the W end of Bald Mountain before the steepest part of the descent.
The feral, ferocious were-puppy attacked SPHP twice. Once down off Bald Mountain, she again prowled the boggy forest. By the end, even the were-puppy was tired and hungry. Immediately upon reaching the G6, she devoured 2/3 of a can of Alpo. (7:25 PM, 61°F)
A couple miles N of Highway 14A, SPHP found a dispersed camping spot off USFS Road No. 11 near the edge of the forest. The sun sank below the horizon. Hunt Mountain and Bald Mountain weren’t difficult peaks, but the fabulous scenery and fresh air had been enough for this day.
In any case, the sandman was coming. The wild one curled up, and heaved a bleary-eyed sigh. SPHP drew her blankie over her. Moments later, magically re-energized, the were-puppy bounded off to new adventures in the mountains of Dingo dreamland. Perhaps the restless breeze blew there tonight, too?
Notes:
Hunt Mountain directions: In the northern Bighorns, go W from Burgess Junction on Hwy 14A approximately 14 miles to a L (S) turn onto USFS Road No. 10. Follow No. 10 about 5 miles to the highest part of the road. Hunt Mountain is 0.67 mile E.
Bald Mountain directions: Go approximately 24 miles W of Burgess Junction on Hwy 14A (10 miles beyond the turn to Hunt Mountain). Take a L (S) turn into the Bald Mountain campground. Bald Mountain is 2 miles SE.
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