Sukakpak Mountain, Brooks Range, Alaska (8-13-16)

Day 15, Part 2 of Lupe’s Summer of 2016 Dingo Vacation to the Canadian Rockies, Yukon & Alaska.

Dead ahead!  There it was – the most famous mountain along the Dalton Highway in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska – Sukakpak!  Lupe was thousands of miles from home, over 90 miles N of where the Dalton Highway crossed the Arctic Circle.  Sukakpak Mountain (4,459 ft.) was one of the top highlights Lupe had come all this way to see.

After all the many months of planning and long miles, it was still hard to believe Lupe was really, actually here!  SPHP drove slowly past the mountain, to see it from various angles.  After crossing the Dietrich River near its confluence with the Bettles River, SPHP parked the G6 at a pullout near milepost 207.  Lupe went over to the Bettles River for a drink, and to admire Sukakpak from the N.

Of course, being an American Dingo of the peakbagging variety, Lupe was here to do more than just admire Sukakpak, she was here to climb it!

It was already late in the day to consider climbing such a large peak, but Lupe and SPHP were full of enthusiasm.  The weather was good, 60°F with thin white clouds, and only a light breeze.  Furthermore, this far N the sun wouldn’t go down until very late.  Even twilight would last a long time.

SPHP had a copy of a trip report from Peakbagger.com written by Richard Carey, who had climbed Sukakpak more than 21 years ago on July 30, 1995.  It would serve as a guide.  Lupe and SPHP returned S to a pullout near milepost 203 located W of Sukakpak Mountain.  It was the obvious, easiest place to begin any ascent of Sukakpak, and was where Carey had started from.  At 1:11 PM, Lupe left the G6, and headed E for the mountain.

The plan was to head SE toward the S end of Sukakpak, as recommended by Carey, but that route proved to be marshy as Carey had indicated.  It seemed easier to head straight E toward the mountain following higher, drier ground until Lupe got above the marshlands.  Lupe gained a fair amount of elevation just getting close to the rock base of Sukakpak.

When Lupe was high enough to be above all the swampy ground, she turned SSE, still climbing steadily.  As she got closer to the S end of the mountain, she was approaching a steep chute that looked like it might be a shortcut.  Carey had recommended heading toward a gash caused by a landslide at the S end of the mountain.  Maybe this chute was what he had been talking about?  Lupe headed for it.

Lupe and SPHP started climbing up the chute.  To the S was a wall of rock, to the N, the massive S face of Sukakpak.  The chute was steep, full of boulders and small trees, but not too hard a climb.  The view back to the W was steadily improving as Lupe gained elevation.

The hope was that Lupe would be able to easily pass around the S side of Sukakpak from the top of the chute.  However, the chute was higher and longer than SPHP anticipated.  When Lupe finally reached the top, the situation was more complicated than expected.

Not far away to the SE was a boulder field, and beyond it a forest.  Both rose toward the E, and were clearly viable paths along the S end of Sukakpak.  Unfortunately, there was a minor drop-off to get over to that terrain.  Lupe wouldn’t have any problem negotiating it, but despite not being very high, the drop-off looked treacherous to SPHP.

Maybe it was possible to climb high enough to get beyond the drop-off?  It looked like a reasonable proposition.  Lupe and SPHP left the chute traversing SE toward the easier ground, climbing steadily while looking for a way over to it.

The climb was steep and getting steeper.  It kept looking like the slope would diminish just a little higher up the mountain, but it didn’t.  Over every little rise was another disappointment.  Soon SPHP was hanging onto bushes and anything within reach for support.  Lupe was fine.  She kept appearing above SPHP, looking down with a questioning look on her face.

SPHP wasn’t getting any closer to the safer ground.  In fact, things were getting worse.  The situation became unnerving.  Above, only a scary steep rock slope could be seen.

Loopster, we can’t keep going this way!  Sorry, puppy, but we are rapidly getting into trouble.  I can’t do this, and a mistake would be terrible.  We have to go back down, now!

Slowly, carefully, all the way back down to the chute, then back down it, too.  Lupe lost hundreds of feet of elevation.  What, close to two hours wasted on the chute?  Seemed like it.  However, long it had taken, the chute had been a real setback.  Either Carey’s momma was a mountain goat, or there was a better way.

Was there still time to climb Sukakpak, today?  SPHP wasn’t certain.  May as well try it, though.  Lupe could always turn back, if it was getting too late.  Below the chute, Lupe and SPHP slowly traversed the boulder field to the S.  Lupe finally reached the forest, where it was easier to turn E and start climbing again.

After a considerable climb, the ground leveled out as Lupe topped out on a ridge heading S from Sukakpak’s S face.  The view from the top was discouraging.  SPHP had thought this ridge would lead directly to the easiest way up Sukakpak.  To the N, though, there was a very steep rock slope.  Farther E, across a deep drainage, was another ridge like the one Lupe was on, except it was considerably larger and higher.

Lupe took a little break while SPHP consulted the Carey trip report.  Ugh!  This must be the first ridgeline.  Yeah, Lupe was just above tree line.  Carey said it was possible to go up from here, but easier to contour around the creek drainage to get to the main ridge.  Up from here looked really hard.  No way SPHP could do that.  Lupe would have to go to the main ridge.

Lupe was already so high, and the terrain at the N end of the creek drainage so steep, there wasn’t a lot of contouring to be done.  Before climbing even higher up to the main ridge, Lupe was going to have to lose a bunch of elevation again crossing the drainage.  No other reasonable choice.  OK, whatever.  Puppy, ho!  Onward!

At least navigating through the drainage wasn’t difficult.  It was all straightforward.  Down and around, then up.  Long and tiring, but not scary or impossible.  Lupe made it to the main ridge.

The main ridge was interesting.  It was large, long, roomy, and gently rounded at the top.  It stretched for 2 or 3 miles to the SSE, gradually losing elevation.  Lupe found sizable rock formations at the top, but most of the ground was even and covered with small rocks and plants of the tundra.  On the other side of this main ridge, Lupe had a huge sweeping view toward the E of the broad Bettles River valley and many mountains beyond it.

Just N of where Lupe reached the main ridge, it joined the steep, rocky S face of Sukakpak.  The only way up from here was N.  Nearly all vegetation was about to be left behind.  The slope looked steep, but it wasn’t as bad as going up from the lower ridge to the W.  There was a sort of trail, too.  It wasn’t maintained in any way, or really of much help, other than as a general guide as to where to start.

The route up was plenty steep, especially near the start.  The trail was often braided and full of loose rocks.  Up and up, Lupe went.  The panoramic views of the Brooks Range were becoming incredible.  The sense of being at a great height grew steadily.  Completely unfazed, the Carolina Dog led the way up the mountain, gaining hundreds of feet of elevation.

Gradually, the slope lessened.  Lupe arrived up on a roomy, rounded area that wasn’t completely flat, but not steep at all either.  Close at hand to the W, SPHP did not see, but only perceived, the presence of towering cliffs.  The terrain to the E was also mostly unseen, but perceived to be an incredibly steep slope dropping a thousand feet or more.  Very close to the NNE was a small ridge, not high at all – 10 or 20 feet, which could be easily walked up.  The ridge led up to the W, connecting to a nearby high point immediately to the N.

What would Lupe see on the other side of that small ridge?  Suddenly filled with both hope and apprehension, SPHP followed the unconcerned American Dingo up onto the little NNE ridge.  Unmistakable, half a mile to the NNE, there it was – the true summit of Sukakpak!  It wasn’t all that much higher, a few hundreds of feet. Lupe was almost there!

Off to the NW, a slightly lower S summit was in view, too.  Lupe was closer to it.  A faint trail was visible traversing the barren, upper E slope below the S summit to a saddle between the two high points.  The trail continued all the way to the true summit.

Climbing W on the little ridge to the closest high point, perhaps only 50 feet higher than where Lupe was now, was clearly the only route from here toward the trail below the S summit.  Lupe and SPHP started up.  The ridge narrowed as Lupe got close to the top.  Right on up went Lupe, but SPHP crouched down before the final few steps, ultimately collapsing against the rocks a foot or two below the absolute top.

Just as tightly as SPHP gripped the rocks, fear gripped SPHP.  Lupe came close, to see what was the matter.  Petting her helped a little.  The views were daunting enough.  What was only sensed, but still unseen was terrifying.  To the N, the steep slope of the E face of Sukakpak dropped away ever more steeply many hundreds of feet into the abyss.  That could be seen.  Just 2 or 3 feet W of Lupe, were perceived, but unseen precipices of towering height.

A narrow, level ridge, a couple feet wide, extended to the NW for 20 feet to a rise only inches high.  To the R (NE) of it was the start of the long slide into the abyss.  To the L (SW), the unseen precipice.  Close by, nothing could be seen beyond the little rise 20 feet away.  Farther off, the ridge clearly continued for quite a distance, rising ultimately to the false S summit.

Taking the narrow, level ridge would be like walking the plank.  What was beyond the little rise?  SPHP feared a drop-off of some sort.  Climbing straight down a wall of rock even a short distance from such a narrow perch was virtually unthinkable.  Lupe and SPHP were only day hikers, not mountaineers!  There was nothing at home in the Black Hills like this to compare with.  What was Lupe doing up on this little point of rock in the sky N of the Arctic Circle!?

Minutes ticked away.  At a vast height, Lupe and SPHP sat immobile, surrounded by fabulous wild mountains of the Brooks Range in the Arctic.  Yet, courage could not be summoned.  The monster, Fear, only grew.

I’m sorry, Loop.  I’m truly sorry!  I can’t do this.  It’s too much.  I know you could have made it, and you are so very close, sweet puppy, so very, very close, but I need to go down.  Let’s try to get a photo or two, first.  It’s over.

A few quick photos at the top, and Lupe and SPHP started back down.  If Lupe was disappointed, she didn’t show it.  Fifty feet lower, back where Lupe had first climbed onto this part of the ridge, SPHP had her pose with the true summit of Sukakpak in the background.  It was to be her souvenir photo showing how very close to success Lupe had been.

Only a couple of steps down off Point Fear, a tremendous sense of relief flooded into SPHP.  Yeah, it was too bad Lupe didn’t get to finish her climb of Sukakpak, but not doing something stupid was just smart.  She had gotten to see the mountain, and make 90% of the climb.  Just being here, seeing Sukakpak, getting this far, and seeing these awe (not to mention, terror) -inspiring views was a tremendous accomplishment.  It was something Lupe and SPHP would always remember.

Even SPHP didn’t believe that crap.  For 10 minutes, SPHP apologized profusely to Lupe.  She paid close attention, but only seemed bewildered.  She licked SPHP’s hand, trying to make it better.

After the souvenir photos were taken, Lupe and SPHP left the little ridge and went back down to the roomy, rounded area.  To the S was the increasingly steep slope leading way back down to Sukakpak’s main ridge extending SSE.  Time to descend.

SPHP hesitated.  Lupe gazed up wonderingly.  She was smiling.  What was the hold up?  What was going on?  There was a problem.  SPHP couldn’t go down.  Fear lay in that direction, too – a fear that was growing fast.  Not the fear of falling, but yes, still the fear of doing something stupid.

Fear of regret, fear of failure, were both waiting to ambush SPHP only a little farther down the mountain.  And SPHP knew it.  If SPHP went down any farther, it was certain Lupe would never be back to claim success.  Yes, Lupe and SPHP would always remember being here, on glorious Sukakpak Mountain so close to triumph – and SPHP would always remember being a coward.

Lupe was more than 3,000 miles from home.  She had come all this way to Sukakpak Mountain to climb it.  The summit of Sukakpak, the most famous mountain along the Dalton Highway, way up here N of the Arctic Circle, had been the most coveted of all the mountaintops SPHP had hoped Lupe would be able to reach on her long Summer of 2016 Dingo Vacation.  It was to have been her crowning glory.

A mental war raged.  SPHP hadn’t even seen the feared drop at the far end of the “plank”.  Was it even real?  Conditions were perfect for climbing Sukakpak – no wind, no snow, no ice, comfortable temperatures, blue skies and little white clouds.  Carey hadn’t mentioned any technical aspects to the route in his trip report, surely he would have if there were any, wouldn’t he?  Maybe not.  Carey had been to Nepal, climbed Denali and Kilimanjaro.  No doubt Sukakpak was mere child’s play to him.

One of the things bugging SPHP was the feeling that maybe Lupe wasn’t really on the correct route.  It seemed like she had to be, but mountains can be tricky.  Did the cliffs to the SW of Fear Point exist, or was there an easier way up from that direction?  Lupe and SPHP went over near the edge of the roomy, rounded area to take a look.  Still nervous, SPHP got only close enough to see that those cliffs were real enough.  No way in hell would anyone go up that way.

Loopster, let’s try again.  No guarantees, but let’s take another look.  I’ve at least got to see what it is I’m afraid of.  Maybe I can do that much now.  Lupe was game.  She always is, for anything not totally nuts.

The second time up was easier.  Fear made SPHP crouch again a little near the top, but did not pin SPHP to the ground.  SPHP walked out onto the fearsome “plank”.  Two or three steps, then … JOY!  Jubilation!

Loop, LOOP!  You’re going to make it, sweet puppy!  We’re on our way!  OMG, to think we almost left!  It would have been an epic fail!

What SPHP saw beyond the inches high rise at the end of the plank was a slight dip, nothing more.  There was no big drop.  That was all a figment of SPHP’s imagination.  A step down or two, that was it!  A clear, though seldom-used trail stretched NW along the narrow ridgeline, on the way toward the S summit.  Lupe and SPHP made rapid, joy-filled progress.

Nearing the S summit, Lupe did reach one significant drop.  The drop was about 10 feet down from a ledge, but near the end of the ledge were a few naturally well-positioned big rocks.  SPHP climbed down carefully, but easily enough.  Lupe jumped down from one rock to the next.  Lupe was now quite close to the S summit.  The path to the true summit was wide open and unobstructed ahead.

The trail didn’t go up the S summit, instead skirting it to the E.  Lupe stayed on the trail.  Soon she was beyond the S summit.  To the N was Lupe’s long sought objective, the true summit of Sukakpak.  To the W was a long line of giant cliffs.  No matter, the trail just stayed a little to the E.

The whole trek from the “plank” to the summit of Sukakpak Mountain was amazing, easy, full of joy, happiness, and breath-taking views.  A short scramble up a slope of loose dirt and rock brought Lupe to the top.  Success, wonderful, stupendous, glorious, success!  Lupe was here, at the summit of Sukakpak!

There were cliffs immediately to the W and N of the summit.  The cairn sat at the top of the mountain on a tiny area with little extra room.  Lupe and SPHP relaxed a foot or two below and SE of the cairn.  The unfamiliar feeling of having conquered fear added to the joy of being here.  All around were mountains of the Brooks Range, bathed in the slanting sunlight of the far N.  Lupe was really here, way up on Sukakpak in the Arctic!

SPHP praised Lupe and stroked her soft fur.  She listened very carefully.  She was soothed so much, she soon dozed at SPHP’s side.  Wonderful, tired puppy!  All around were tremendous views Lupe and SPHP would most likely never see again.  SPHP thought about the long journey that brought Lupe here, adventures from long ago, adventures yet to come, the relentless, unmerciful passage of time.

45 precious, beautiful minutes ticked by.  It was getting late.  Lupe was ready.  A few more pictures were in order before leaving the splendor of Sukakpak.

There was no other plausible way back, other than the way Lupe had come up.  The return trip was incredible, and still a little scary, but Lupe and SPHP had no problems.  It was a fun, happy, spectacularly beautiful time together.

Once down at the start of the higher, main SSE ridge at the base of the S face of the mountain, all the scarier parts of the return trip were over.  Lupe just had to go W down into the drainage, then back up to the lower S ridge she had been on much earlier in the day.  From there it was downhill all the way.  Lupe and SPHP passed through forest, boulder fields, and finally, way down below, the swampy ground leading to the G6 (12:08 AM).

After midnight, still light in the sky!  The Arctic was such an amazing place.  What a day it had been – the Dalton Highway, crossing the Yukon River, Finger Mountain, reaching the Arctic Circle, and finally – the never to be forgotten moments of fear, cowardice, courage and joy climbing Sukakpak Mountain!

Many thanks to Richard Carey, whose Sukakpak Mountain trip report on Peakbagger.com both inspired and helped make this Lupe adventure come true.

Related Links:

Next Adventure                               Prior Adventure

Lupe’s Last Mile North, Brooks Range, Alaska (8-14-16)

Dillon Mountain, Brooks Range, Alaska (8-15-16)

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