Lupe left the Mount Zirkel (12,180 ft.) area early on 8-18-15, Day 10 of Lupe’s great Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation. SPHP drove down to Steamboat Springs, and a few miles S of town turned onto Hwy 131. Hwy 131 went SW through pleasant open country with mountains in the distance in almost all directions. Lupe liked it, because there were plenty of cows and horses to bark at along the way. She was having fun.
At Phippsburg, SPHP followed a road heading SW. It was marked with a sign that just said “Forest Service Access”. In two or three miles, this paved road led to an intersection with the Flat Tops Scenic Byway, which heads 82 miles W to Meeker. Lupe was only going to go about half that far before turning SE to get to Trappers Lake in the Flat Tops Wilderness Area.
The eastern half of the Flat Tops Scenic Byway that Lupe got to see was all gravel road. She went over Dunckley Pass (9,764′), past Vaughan Lake, and over Ripple Creek Pass (10,341′).
A few miles beyond Ripple Creek Pass was the turn to head SE to Trappers Lake. The road went up a large valley, through an area where the trees were nearly all dead. SPHP drove all the way to the very end of the road. There was a big gravel parking lot, and trailhead for a trail around Trappers Lake. Nearby was a picnic ground, if it can be called that. The entire picnic ground seemed to consist of a single picnic table overlooking Trappers Lake. Lupe and SPHP immediately laid claim to the picnic table, and had lunch with a beautiful view.
After lunch, the plan was for Lupe to head up to either Trappers Peak (12,002 ft.) or Big Marvine Peak (11,879 ft.). SPHP was leaning toward Big Marvine Peak, since the topo maps showed a trail to a lookout at the top. Trappers Peak was closer, but there wasn’t any trail to it. Lupe set out from the nearby Wall Lake Trailhead at 12:36 PM. It was 60°F, clear (except for a smoky haze from distant forest fires), and breezy.
As Lupe started on the Wall Lake Trail, there was a strange high-pitched wailing or whistling sound. It soon turned out that it was the sound made by thousands of dead trees in the wind. SPHP immediately dubbed this portion of the Wall Lake Trail the Ghost Trees Trail instead. Lupe, being a fearless, strong Carolina Dog, showed not the slightest concern about the possibility of meeting any tree ghosts, even if there were thousands of them.
The Ghost Trees Trail went E of Anderson Lake heading S. Past Anderson Lake, the trail lost elevation until it reached an intersection near the lower end of a large canyon to the SSW. At the intersection, Lupe stayed on the Wall Lake Trail. Soon the trail led Lupe up into a living forest, marking the end of what SPHP could reasonably call the Ghost Trees Trail.
The Wall Lake Trail went through the forest heading SSW up the canyon. Eventually it started climbing the canyon’s W wall. Once Lupe had gained enough elevation to get above most of the forest, there were some pretty nice views, marred only by the persistent smoky haze. The trail reached the high ground above the cliffs at the S end of the canyon.
Lupe had gained about 1,400 feet of elevation, and was now at 11,000 feet. She came to a junction in the trail almost immediately. Wall Lake Trail went to the left (E) and Oyster Lake Trail went to the right (W). SPHP’s maps showed that she needed to go to the right on the Oyster Lake Trail to get to Big Marvine Peak.
The high ground was gently rolling with lots of open heather. There were scattered forests and ponds, too. A big mountain was in view to the S. This was Trappers Peak. SPHP had gotten so fixated on Lupe going to Big Marvine Peak, that at first SPHP thought Trappers Peak was Big Marvine Peak. After about 30 minutes, when the Oyster Lake Trail seemed to be heading continually away from the mountain, SPHP realized the mistake.
So where was Big Marvine? SPHP knew it was some distance away to the W, but it wasn’t even in sight yet. Lupe wasn’t worried, she loved running around on the heather and exploring the forests. She drank from the ponds. Lupe was pretty much in Dingo Paradise.
The Oyster Lake Trail wound around to the SW, passing near a series of small ponds. From one of the ponds, SPHP spotted Big Marvine Peak for the first time.
Yikes! Big Marvine Peak looked like it was a very long, long way off. SPHP suddenly wished Lupe had gotten a much earlier start. At least following the trail along the gently rolling high country went pretty fast. Lupe and SPHP hurried onward.
The last of the ponds Lupe passed was also the largest. It was the southernmost of the Twin Lakes. Although Lupe had clearly made progress towards Big Marvine, it still looked like quite a trek remained.
After passing the Twin Lakes, SPHP started looking for a junction with the East Marvine Trail. The East Marvine Trail would head NW to pass a bit to the E of Big Marvine, while the Oyster Lake Trail would continue SW on to parts unknown. (Oyster Lake might be a good guess.)
Suddenly, SPHP heard someone shouting. A woman was hailing SPHP from S of the trail. Lupe ran over to investigate. It turned out there were two women there, along with a 12 year old brown dog named Aquila. Aquila was easy to spot wearing a red jacket. There wasn’t any trouble. The women were just being friendly. They were on the 3rd day of a 5 day backpacking trip, and hadn’t seen another soul all day.
Lupe and Aquila sniffed. SPHP chatted with the women. Their tents were pitched partway up a forested ridge to the S of the trail. The tents could be seen just above a scar on the ridge. The women seemed surprised that Lupe still intended not only to go climb Big Marvine, but then return all the way to the Wall Lake Trailhead near Trappers Lake. It was already late afternoon.
As nice as Aquila and the two women were, Big Marvine was calling. Lupe had to go. Everyone said goodbye. Then Lupe and SPHP were off. Before long, Lupe reached the junction. She turned NW on the East Marvine Trail. The East Marvine Trail featured a long line of big rock cairns with posts sticking out of them, a good thing since the trail itself soon faded away. For quite a distance, the ground was all open and treeless, so it was easy to follow the cairns. And Big Marvine was always in view. Lupe was getting steadily closer.
The maps showed a trail heading WSW to Big Marvine Peak from the East Marvine Trail. Lupe didn’t stay on the East Marvine Trail long enough to reach the junction. Instead she left the East Marvine Trail heading directly for the NE end of Big Marvine. There were small forested ridges to cross along the way and many bushy areas. Lupe liked exploring the maze of pathways through the bushes. To her, the bushes were practically a forest themselves.
As Lupe got close to Big Marvine Peak, SPHP ran into segments of the trail heading WSW toward it from the East Marvine Trail. There were some more big rock cairns with posts sticking out of them, but not many. SPHP followed the intermittent trail where it was present, and just headed for Big Marvine when it wasn’t clear where the trail went. Lupe ran this way and that, just excited to be roaming such wonderful territory.
When Lupe arrived at the NE end of Big Marvine Peak, SPHP saw no sign of a trail. The topo map showed a trail here switchbacking its way up the mountain to gain the ridgeline, and then continuing all the way to a lookout at the far W end of the peak. SPHP saw nothing, but a steep grassy slope. It definitely looked like this was the easiest, and perhaps only way up. Lupe and SPHP started going straight up the slope.
Things always seem steeper when you are really there. SPHP had to keep stopping to rest, but hadn’t gotten too far up the slope when suddenly SPHP ran into a switchback. There was a trail after all! It was faint, narrow, and evidently seldom used, but it was there. The trail was easy to follow, and did make things a lot easier for SPHP.
Lupe didn’t need to use any trail. She ran all over the place exploring this and that while SPHP trudged up along the switchbacks. Lupe frequently came over to check on SPHP’s progress and offer encouragement. “See, it’s easy, just do this” and she would bolt off in some new direction to play wild Dingo.
The switchbacks ended when the trail reached the ridgeline at the extreme E end of the mountain. At first the view to the W was blocked by the rising ridge, stunted trees and rock outcroppings. It didn’t take long, though, to head W past all that far enough to see what lay ahead – the broad ridge sloping up to the western summit of Big Marvine Peak.
This was the easy part, a more gentle slope up to the other end of the mountain where the summit was. Lupe only needed to gain another 200 to 300 feet of elevation, and she would be there! When Lupe started getting close to the top, it started getting breezy. Up on top, it was just plain windy. Lupe didn’t care for it. Her stay on Big Marvine Peak was going to be short.
The annoying smoke haze was still around, but other than that, there were some fabulous views from Big Marvine Peak. The surrounding territory featured big canyons, distant peaks of similar height, and lots of open high ground with scattered trees and ponds at about 11,000 feet elevation. On top of Big Marvine, Lupe and SPHP were nearly 900 feet higher at 11,879 feet.
After SPHP had spent 20 minutes enjoying the views from Big Marvine Peak, Lupe wanted to get out of the wind. It was time to go. There was maybe a little over an hour left before sunset. Lupe headed down off the windy peak. She was soon out of the worst of the wind and having a good time again.
Lupe had to retrace her entire route to Big Marvine to get back to the G6. The sun was down by the time Lupe reached the Oyster Lake Trail. The two women backpackers with their dog, Aquila, were sitting up on the ridge near their tents when Lupe and SPHP came by. They shouted down to SPHP, asking if Lupe had enough food, water, and a source of light. SPHP assured them everything was fine.
Lupe went on. Soon it was dark. The flashlight came out. Lupe wanted to stop. She was hungry. In addition to Taste of the Wild, SPHP shared a Cliff bar with her. Stars now shone above. The meal re-energized Lupe, and she pressed on.
Time passes slowly and trails seem longer in the black of night. Finally Lupe reached the Wall Lake Trail. She led the entire way down the big canyon, still sniffing and exploring everything, but now staying on or very close to the trail. It was 11:04 PM and 52°F out when Lupe reached the G6.
Maybe it would have been better to have just gone to Trappers Peak? It certainly would have been quicker and easier, but SPHP was glad Lupe had visited Big Marvine.
Links:
Next Adventure Prior Adventure
Want more Lupe adventures? Choose from Lupe’s 2015 Wyoming, Colorado & Utah Adventure Index, Dingo Vacations Adventure Index or Master Adventure Index. Or subscribe free to new Lupe adventures.
