Park
at the trailhead next to the Bighorn Campground. Walk or bike the main
road towards Ya Ha Tinda ranch. When the road heads north along Scalp
Creek, follow it a short distance until a good service road dips down
heading west to cross the creek; ford the creek. From there, several
trails lead to Well Site Trail which runs SW to NE between Stud and
Scalp Creeks along the foot of Well Site Mountain. Around 947340,
ascend the south-facing slopes of the south-eastern arm of the
mountain. The summit plateau is easily gained.
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Useful trail maps are available along the way.
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Hike:
5.5 up. Last weekend's sleepover on the mountain was such a delightful
experience, I wanted to replicate it. Since I'm not in the habit of
doing repeats, I chose an objective I
had been saving for this time of the year. There wasn't any information
on Well Site Mountain but Google Earth clearly demonstrates good access
and a possible easy ascent on a broad treeless ridge; that's all I
needed for incentive. I packed my camping gear and left Golden in the
afternoon. I spent the night at the trailhead and left the following
morning. I followed the well-marked trails to my
objective, passing by numerous horses grazing freely. I hiked in little
snow following coyote prints for a long time, I didn't feel alone! The
south facing ascent slopes were pleasantly open allowing a good view
towards Warden Rock, the Front Ranges and Ya Ha Tinda's ranch lands. As
the day progressed, clouds moved in, wind increased and visibility
greatly reduced. My plan was to sleep at the summit cairn in the wide
open. When I arrived at the top, the wind was relentless, I knew I had
to build a decent shelter if I was to bivy here. I tried to dislodge
frozen rocks on the ground but that was a futile effort so I moved
rocks from the cairn to build a windbreak, that wasn't enough to create
shelter from the nagging wind. After taking pictures, I changed my plan
and retreated to treeline for shelter. I spent a really pleasant
evening tucked in my cozy bivy bag. By now it was snowing pretty hard,
I guess the decision to descend to treeline was primo after all... I
relaxed, wrote stuff in my notebook and enjoyed the elements in perfect
zen. During the night, I heard the snow fall on my bivy sac. The
next morning, a good 20 cm had fallen! I dug up and packed my gear.
Visibility was nil; once oriented, the descent was straightforward and I whooshed my long way back to the truck. At the
trailhead, I noticed that the Ya Ha Tinda staff had cleared the windows
of my truck to see if there was a person inside; I felt bad for not
leaving a note. At the same time, it was nice to see that there's
still some caring people out there, kuddos to Ya Ha Tinda staff! The
drive out was neat, first tracks in deep snow and chased by Bighorn
Sheep that would have licked the salt off my truck all day long if I had stopped for that long. I love
that area.
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After walking along the road beyong the trailhead, I come to a sign with the objective on its right. |
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I continued along the road
towards Ya Ha Tinda's ranch for a short distance before dipping down on
this service road; here, I'm looking back (east).
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Crossing frozen Scalp Creek.
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Following a service road towards the trail that skirts the mountain and runs SW to NE between Stud and Scalp Creeks.
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On the trail that runs along Well Site Mountain to an old well site, go figure...
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Before reaching the old well site, I ascend the south-facing open slopes.
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Charred trees allow views along the way.
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The summit ridge is in sight. |
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Poor weather in moving in rather fast.
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View over Ya Ha Tinda ranch lands.
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Losing visibility to the west.
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Cresting over the south-eastern arm of the mountain.
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Making my way to the highpoint on the very broad summit plateau.
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A brief moment of visibility south-west of me, Warden Rock in the center.
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Very easy walking on the summit plateau.
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Looking back.
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The summit cairn stands out on this otherwise featureless horizon.
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Not much of a view but still a pleasant day out.
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Rocks are
frozen to the ground so I reshaped the cairn to make a windbreak; this was a futile effort, won't be spending the night here...
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It starts to snow and the weather system is creeping over to the east.
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Retracing my steps.
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Visibilty is reduced to the east now but I can still make out the ranch lands.
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Choosing a spot to spend the night just below.
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The next morning, having to dig up my gear under 20 cm of freshies.
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Still snowing, no visibility but I'm heading down a no-brainer route.
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The difference a day can make!
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Back on Well Site Trail.
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Plowing through deep snow. |
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Taking the South Scalp Trail for my return.
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Long, straight and uneventful, plenty of time to reflect...
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Horses greet me near Ya Ha Tinda ranch.
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The truck also gets first tracks on the way out.
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Bighorn Sheep run towards the truck as I stop to take pictures.
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I'm surrounded, lick, lick, lick, lick, lick.....
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