Day 6 of Lupe’s 2017 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon & Alaska!
(5:21 AM, Summit Lake at Summit Pass, Stone Mountain Provincial Park) The second time SPHP woke up sunlight was just beginning to shine on Mount Saint George. The light quickly grew in intensity. In minutes, the mountain was aglow, radiantly beautiful all pink and yellow. SPHP knew it wouldn’t last long, but couldn’t muster the energy to grab the camera until it was too late. The moment had passed.
Yesterday, up on Mount Saint Paul, Lupe and SPHP had been all excited about her success there, and eagerly looking forward to climbing Mount Saint George today. But by the time it was over, yesterday had been a nearly 13 hour expedition in rugged territory, and had taken a toll. SPHP felt it. Apparently Lupe did, too. She was awake, but all bleary-eyed. Clearly, “ambition” wasn’t her middle name this morning.
For several minutes Lupe licked SPHP affectionately, as if to apologize for not wanting to dash off up the next mountain at the crack of dawn. It turned out she was hungry. She devoured a chicken treat, a milk bone, a generous bowl of Taste of the Wild, and lapped up a huge drink of water before rolling over to resume snoozing.
Clouds moved in. Mount Saint George vanished. It started to rain. Shucks! If it didn’t show signs of clearing up before SPHP’s breakfast was over, it would make more sense to drive on instead of sitting around here. Lupe still had a long way to go to get to where she had more adventures planned in the Yukon and Alaska. Still, it would be a pity not to even get an attempt on Mount Saint George in. If only yesterday’s beautiful weather had held out one more day!
Nothing one can do about that. It was what it was. A wind came up. It rained harder. SPHP piddled around to see what would happen. Breakfast, catch up the trip journal, get water at the campground, pitch out the trash, straighten out the G6, study a few maps. At 8:00 AM, the moment of truth arrived.
The breeze had died down. The rain had stopped. The sky remained overcast, but not darkly. Mount Saint George still couldn’t be seen. Maybe it would clear up? Prospects seemed 50/50. Lupe had been awake for a while now, looking no worse for yesterday’s wear. The Carolina Dog was ready for action again. Was it worth it, or was it smarter to drive on? Decisions, decisions.
Kind of now or never, Loopster. What do you think? Who knows if we will ever be back here again? We’re a mighty long way from home already.
Oh, I’ll be fine either way, SPHP. Yesterday was great fun, so I’m happy enough with an easy day watching scenery from the G6 if you want to drive on. On the other paw, I’d be happy to climb Mount Saint George now, too, if you’d like. Even if you don’t get your precious views, I always enjoy sniffing around and a good romp.
Hmm. Not that helpful, Looper. You’re as wishy-washy as I am.
Well, tell me what the weather is going to do, and I’ll tell you what to do.
I was hoping with your keen Dingo senses you knew. I can’t tell what’s going to happen. Maybe it’s best to delay making a final decision? We could start for Mount Saint George, but if the weather doesn’t clear up by the time we reach where the Flower Springs Lake trail leaves the road to the microwave tower, we could try going to Flower Springs Lake instead. If the weather gets all socked in and it starts to rain again, we can just beat a retreat and drive on.
Fine with me, SPHP! So are we going then?
Thus went the discussion, with no real resolution until 8:15 AM when at the edge of vision far to the W, the deciding factor appeared. A tiny speck of blue, blue sky. Hope blossomed. Maybe the weather really was going to clear? Maybe an hour from now, Lupe would be in brilliant sunshine? That blue speck was enough. Mount Saint George (7,402 ft.) was a go!
Lupe and SPHP crossed a paw bridge at the Summit Lake stream outlet which was where a sign at the campground indicated the Flower Springs Lake trail began. Immediately across the bridge, the trail divided three ways. No sign here. Left, right or straight?
Lupe tried going R along the shore of Summit Lake. She quickly came to places where the trail had collapsed into the lake. This couldn’t be right, could it? Perhaps this wasn’t even a real trail? (Note: Consulting maps later on, SPHP discovered this really was the Flower Springs Lake trail.) Loop returned to the junction by the bridge. This time she tried the middle trail which went up a hillside into the forest.
After Loop had gained some elevation, a small sign said she was on the Ridge trail. Appropriately enough, it climbed to the top of a ridge where it leveled out. The Ridge trail now passed through a forest dense with bushes. Everything was wet from the earlier rain. The bushes soon had Loopster sopping wet, too. She was one soggy doggie, but her spirits weren’t dampened in the least.
The Ridge trail wasn’t terribly long. After crossing the ridge, it led down a forested embankment to meet up with a road. SPHP knew this road led to a microwave tower perched on a hill at the base of Mount Saint George. Somewhere along the way the road ought to provide Lupe a convenient access point to the mountain. The American Dingo followed the road SSW going uphill.
A bit of a trek brought Lupe to a sign identifying the Flower Springs Lake trail where it crossed the road. This area was open terrain, the forest having recently been left behind. The sky was still overcast, but the speck of blue sky to the W had grown considerably. A W breeze held promise that the clouds might soon sail off to the E. With this encouragement, all thought of settling for the Flower Springs Lake trail was banished. On to Mount Saint George!
Shortly after passing the Flower Springs Lake trail, the road made a big switchback climbing W before leveling out. Lupe was now headed straight W toward the microwave tower, which could be seen atop its hill, High Point 5469 (1,667 m), more than a mile away. To the S, seemingly right at the base of Mount Saint George (7,402 ft.), a green 200 foot high ridge paralleled the road.
Lupe followed the road W halfway to the microwave tower before SPHP decided she might just as well begin her ascent of Mount Saint George. Lupe left the road and climbed S up onto the big green ridge.
Up on the green ridge, Lupe and SPHP stopped briefly to rest. Looking back, part of Summit Lake where Lupe had started from was in view. The Carolina Dog had already gained many hundreds of feet of elevation. Beyond the lake Looper could see Summit Peak (6,611 ft.). Only yesterday, Lupe had stood on top of Summit Peak on her way to Mount Saint Paul (6,985 ft.).
Lupe continued SW across the green ridge, which was very wide, toward the base of Mount Saint George. At first, heading right on up the wide NE arm of the mountain looked like it would be a snap. As Lupe got closer, though, it became apparent this was an illusion. A deep valley draining to the SE was between the American Dingo and the mountain.
Dang it all, anyway! SPHP didn’t feel like descending into that deep, steep-sided drainage. A glance to the W revealed that the highest part of the drainage was way over near the microwave tower. Climbing onto this big green ridge had been a waste of time. Lupe should have just stuck with the road until she was at the base of the hill the tower sits on. It would have been faster and easier to turn S there.
Live and learn. Lupe and SPHP turned W traveling along the ridge toward the microwave tower. This pleasant level stroll was made even easier by an old jeep trail Loop found on the way. As Lupe started getting closer to the tower, she left the jeep trail angling SW to look for a good route down into the drainage.
Mount Saint George has three N arms or ridges. A large valley comes down between the middle and NE ridges that joins the drainage Lupe needed to get across only a little E of that drainage’s high point. As Lupe drew closer, she could see a sizable gash at the lower end of this valley.
That gash looked like a good spot to begin Lupe’s ascent of Mount Saint George. Once opposite the gash, the bottom of the intervening drainage wasn’t all that far below the green ridge, and the slope leading down into it wasn’t so steep. Lupe and SPHP descended into the drainage, and crossed over to the gash.
As expected, the terrain in the eroded gash was nearly all rock. A stream so small it could be conveniently crossed almost anywhere tumbled down a series of small waterfalls into pretty pools below. Lupe explored numerous nooks and crannies while SPHP trudged up the gash.
After crossing the stream once, Lupe and SPHP stayed on the E (L) side of the gash the rest of the way up. The water in the creek was cold and clear. SPHP tried it. Delicious! The water SPHP had gotten from a pump back at the Summit Lake campground this morning tasted terrible. SPHP dumped it all to fill 3 water bottles with fresh creek water.
At the upper end of the gash, Lupe discovered a lovely waterfall higher than any of the others. It plunged noisily over a tilted layer of rock.
Above the final waterfall, Lupe followed the creek quite a distance. Here it raced swiftly and smoothly over intact exposed layers of bedrock. Nearby slopes were mostly green with low vegetation. Gradually the creek bent around toward due S.
Lupe eventually left the creek to turn E toward Mount Saint George’s huge NE ridge. Loop aimed for a large black rock prominent among whiter stones high up along the ridgeline. A considerably lower black rock provided an intermediate goal.
Surprisingly, Looper found a narrow, but very definite trail that passed only a short distance below the lower black rock. The trail continued climbing ENE from here slanting up along the side of the ridge. Lupe reached the ridgeline somewhat below the upper black rock, which was now hidden from view.
Lupe was now on the lower slopes of Mount Saint George’s NE ridge. Way down here, the ridge was rounded and extremely broad. Small rocks interspersed with low vegetation dominated the terrain. Up until a short time ago, a W breeze had prevailed, driving the cloud cover off to the E, and bringing blue sky and sunshine.
The wind was shifting, however. A light E breeze was now forcing clouds back this way. Summit Peak was almost completely hidden from view, and Summit Lake was disappearing fast.
Despite the approaching clouds, Lupe and SPHP turned S and began climbing the vast ridge. The breeze might easily shift again, and Lupe had already come a long way. The Carolina Dog wasn’t going to give up on Mount Saint George so easily! Clouds enveloped the ridge. Everything except the immediately surrounding terrain disappeared.
For a long way, Lupe and SPHP continued up the NE ridge in fog. At least initially, the climb wasn’t as steep as Lupe’s ascents of Summit Peak and Mount Saint Paul yesterday. Sometimes Looper even came to relatively level stretches.
Slowly, though, the situation changed. The rocks increased in size. Vegetation became scarce. The terrain grew rougher and steeper. Lupe was climbing sharp boulder fields. In places, SPHP was scrambling instead of walking. The ridge was clearly narrowing, though it was still broad.
Lupe climbed a series of 100+ foot high benches of jumbled, broken rock. SPHP had to use hand holds. At the top of each bench, the terrain ahead usually leveled out some and became easier to traverse, but another bench every bit as difficult as the last one always appeared ahead.
Up and up went the Carolina Dog, over one obstacle after another. Time passed. It seemed like Lupe had been at this a long time. She must have gained a lot of elevation. Hard to tell how much, though. The fog might be distorting all sense of time and distance.
The fog was sometimes dark and thick. If it had stayed that way long, it absolutely would have been time to give up on Mount Saint George and head down. It didn’t though. After a few minutes, it would lighten up again. The fog swept in waves over the ridge. And every now and then, if Lupe looked up, the gray was tinged with blue. Maybe Lupe would climb above the clouds?
And then it happened. A genuine patch of clear blue sky appeared directly overhead. Lupe was in sunshine! It didn’t last. The fog reasserted itself. The hole closed. Lupe kept climbing.
More and more often, there were hints that Lupe was going to get above the clouds, or that they might simply blow away. The fog grew lighter and darker with increasing frequency. Blue tinged fog was seen more often overhead. In the meantime, the terrain was getting easier. The rocks were much smaller again. Lupe seemed to be past the boulder fields and benches. SPHP could walk instead of scramble. Lung, heart and leg power were the limiting factors instead of broken boulder fields.
Finally, finally, a bigger hole in the fog. Blue sky! Lupe could see farther up the ridge. The view was disheartening. SPHP had thought she would be closer to the top. The truth was, the American Dingo still had a long way to go.
Puppy ho! Onward! Yes, it was still a long climb, but so what? The terrain wasn’t bad, steep yes, but not terribly so. This was cake! Just a matter of one paw after another. Lupe could get to the top of this NE ridge. No obstacle was in sight that could stop her.
Clouds and fog continued to sweep by sporadically, but less and less often. Lupe pushed on. She was going to reach the top of Mount Saint George’s NE ridge in brilliant sunshine!
Suddenly Lupe was there! She had reached the N end of Mount Saint George’s summit ridge where the middle N and NE ridges meet. This was the high point of both of those ridges. The views were incredible!
Looking NW, Loop could see the huge McDonald Creek valley. To the W, beautiful silvery mountains stood in sunshine. Off to the E and S was an amazing sight. A soft ocean of purest white stretched beyond vision. The ocean wasn’t much lower than where Lupe stood now.
One view was of greater importance than any other. Lupe had made it to the N end of Mount Saint George’s summit ridge, but this was the lower end. Not an awful lot lower, no more than 56 meters (184 ft.), relative peanuts compared to how far she’d come, but certainly enough to make a difference. Lupe couldn’t claim a peakbagging success yet. Unfortunately, the topo map showed the true summit was somewhere way over near the far SW end of the long ridge. How hard would it be for Lupe to get there?
The whole summit ridge was in view now. What Lupe saw was disconcerting. It appeared she could travel safely a long way, but near the SW end of the ridge where the summit was, the rock turned dark and it looked dicey. Really dicey. It looked like Looper might encounter drop offs or walls of rock she couldn’t climb or go around due to virtual cliffs next to the ridgeline.
On a brighter note, Lupe could almost certainly reach a high point about halfway along the ridge that looked higher than anything else except the summit. According to the topo map, High Point 7320 (2,231 m) was only 82 feet (25 m) lower than the true summit. Not really close enough to claim a peakbagging success, but still a major accomplishment on a day like today.
The true summit was too far away to tell for certain from here if Lupe would be able to climb it or not. After a short rest dazzled by the views at the N end of the summit ridge, Lupe and SPHP headed for High Point 7320 (2,231 m).
At first, all was well. The stroll along the ridgeline was easy. Lupe made great progress. She even found a delightful patch of snow.
The easy trek was soon over. Even at some of the lesser high points along the way, the terrain became too rough to stay right up on the ridge. Lupe had to down climb a bit to get around them, negotiating a way through collections of large boulders. Slow going, but at least possible. Loop always stayed toward the less steep NW (R) side of the ridge.
The incredible scene to the S of dark mountaintops jutting up from an ocean of white reminded SPHP of photos in airline magazines. Lupe has never been in an airplane. She probably never will be. This might be as close to having that airliner kind of view as Lupe would ever get.
Before Lupe even got to High Point 7320 (2,231 m) something happened that they never show in airline magazines. All of a sudden, that bright white ocean of clouds flooded up in a swelling tide, completely swallowing Mount Saint George in a matter of seconds. Lupe was engulfed in fog again.
Nope! Loopster wasn’t turning back. Foggy or not, the American Dingo had come too far, and the summit of Mount Saint George was too close. One way or another, she was going to find out if she could get to the top or not. Sadly, there wouldn’t be any views now, even if she made it. No matter. Reaching the summit in fog would still count as a legitimate peakbagging success.
Maybe it was smart to hurry things along, though. SPHP didn’t like the notion of being way up here in fog for hours on end. This time it didn’t seem likely the clouds would dissipate. Onward!
Lupe reached High Point 7320 (2,231 m), but didn’t bother going all the way to the top. She passed only 20 or 30 feet below it, again staying to the R. Beyond High Point 7320 was a relatively flat area of small brown stones leading to the next somewhat lower high point nearby. Beyond that next high point, Lupe was seldom right on the ridgeline. She stayed NW (R), skirting past one high spot after another.
It was slow going, scrambling among large rocks and boulders on steep slopes the entire time. Such limited visibility made things more difficult. Lupe came to drop offs that couldn’t be seen soon enough to avoid having to retrace some hard won gains to down climb and go around them. After each down climb, Lupe tried to regain her lost elevation.
The fog also made it impossible to see how much progress Lupe was making. She had gone what seemed like a considerable distance beyond High Point 7320, when suddenly the fog thinned. For a brief moment it was possible to see farther along the ridge. Dark rocks. Higher ground ahead! Lupe was getting close to the summit! It wasn’t that far away! The fog closed in. The view vanished.
There was a problem. Lupe was on a platform of light gray rock. 15 feet ahead the platform ended abruptly at a drop of unseen proportions. The platform narrowed toward the end. It was like walking a plank. SPHP peered over both sides of the plank. To the L was a cliff. To the R talus fields of darker rock could be seen well below where Lupe was. They were steep, steeper than anything that had come before.
This would be the biggest down climb yet. Loopster would have to retrace more of her route to even start it. She would then be on that very steep talus slope. Yet if Lupe could get past this point, maybe she could quickly reach the summit?
The view ahead had only appeared momentarily. Maybe what SPHP had seen wasn’t really the summit, just another of multiple high points on the way? Maybe she couldn’t even get to the top of what had been so briefly glimpsed?
Standing there wondering in the enduring fog on the plank, the situation was starting to feel intimidating. Unnerving. Lupe seemed fine. So close, yet …
A low rumble, muffled and distant. Thunder? Oh, brother. Not up here!
It was the straw that broke the camel’s back. If a storm was coming this was no place to be. Close or not, whether Lupe could have made it or not, it was time to get out of here. Enough playing with fire. Time was up. Lupe and SPHP turned back. Within moments, thunder again, more distinctly twice in quick succession. Closer, but still a way off. It was coming from the W or SW. Hurry, hurry!
On the retreat, Lupe passed so close to the top of High Point 7320 (2,231 m), that SPHP had her scramble briefly to its summit. This was it! As high as Lupe was ever going to get on Mount Saint George. A couple of photos, then time to flee. No views in the fog, anyway.
On the way back to the N end of the summit ridge, thunder was heard with increasing frequency. Still distant, but louder and louder. The storm was moving this way.
Lupe and SPHP had only barely started down the NE ridge when Lupe became frightened. The thunder was getting unnervingly loud. The Carolina Dog begged SPHP to stop and hide. Not possible. No place to hide existed. Way too high and exposed on the mountain, down as fast as possible was the only answer. SPHP urged Lupe onward.
No lightning was seen, but the thunder continued at regular intervals. SPHP tried to reassure Loopster as she worried over each fresh rumble. After a particularly loud roar, SPHP reached down to pet Lupe and got shocked twice. The Carolina Dog’s fur crackled with static electricity. Now Lupe wasn’t the only one truly alarmed.
A shock happened once more, but not as strongly the second time. Down, down, down forever. It started to rain. Out came the rain poncho. Poor Loop got soaked. The thunder finally faded. The storm had moved off in another direction. Two thirds of the way down the endless NE ridge, the fog lifted. For a while it continued raining, but only lightly now.
The waterfall down at the gash had tripled in flow! For a few minutes the sun came out, shining briefly on the Carolina Dog now busy sniffing and exploring like on any other day, the fearsome thunder only a memory. By the time Lupe was back on the microwave tower road, the fog had returned.
What a crazy day! Memorable for sure. So close, but denied!
Could Lupe have gotten to the summit of Mount Saint George (7,402 ft.) under more favorable conditions, or had she been destined to failure no matter what from the very start on a mountain that was simply an impossible challenge?
We’ll never know. Puppy ho! Onward! (7:20 PM)
Related Links:
Summit Peak & Mount Saint Paul, Stone Mountain Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada 8-4-17
Stone Mountain Provincial Park, British Columbia, Canada
Want more Lupe adventures? Choose from Lupe’s 2017 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon & Alaska Adventure Index, Dingo Vacations Adventure Index or Master Adventure Index. Or subscribe free to new Lupe adventures.