Day 5 of Lupe’s Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation started out just great. The G6 wouldn’t start. It wouldn’t even try. It just clicked when turning the key. Other than that, it was another glorious morning in the Medicine Bow Mountains of Wyoming. It wasn’t long before kind people came along willing to give the G6 a jump start. The jump fried the tire pressure detection system, but the G6 was running!
Although the plan had been for Lupe to climb Kennaday Peak(10,810 ft.) near Saratoga, suddenly there was a new plan. Lupe was going to get a tour of Laramie, Wyoming! Lupe enjoyed the trip to Laramie on Hwy 130. Once out of the Medicine Bow Range, there were fields with cows to bark at. Lupe hadn’t seen cows for several days. She leaped up and down, back and forth, barking furiously the whole time. By the time Lupe reached Laramie, she needed a big drink of water. She panted happily and seemed quite satisfied with herself.
SPHP found a Wal-Mart in Laramie on Grand Boulevard. Although they were busy and booked up, the Wal-Mart guys tested the G6’s battery almost right away. SPHP was fully prepared to buy a new one, but surprisingly, it tested just fine. The G6 seemed to start again fine, too. Hmm. Mechanical things just don’t fix themselves very often, but whatever.
Somehow SPHP had forgotten to bring a can opener on the trip. Wal-Mart was a great place to buy one. It had been a long drive to Laramie just to buy a can opener, but it was all SPHP really accomplished in Laramie. After a picnic at a Kiwanis Park on the way out of town, Lupe headed back up into the Medicine Bow Range. The cows along Hwy 130 were noisily assaulted by the crazed dingo once again.
Back in the Medicine Bows, at the junction of USFS Roads No. 100 & 215, SPHP parked the G6 at a dispersed camping spot. It was already 3:34 PM and 75°F out by the time Lupe and SPHP were ready to start up USFS Road No. 215, which goes all the way to the summit of Kennaday Peak. A sign warned that the 6 mile long road was narrow and steep. Before leaving the dispersed camping site, Lupe checked out Fish Creek and wetted down her barker again.
Lupe enjoys a quick dip in Fish Creek before starting out for Kennaday Peak on USFS Road No. 215.
Most of the way to Kennaday Peak, USFS Road No. 215 wasn’t nearly so steep and narrow as the sign had warned. The G6 could have gone most of the way up with no problem, except that there were virtually no places to park anywhere along the road. The road did deteriorate substantially near the summit, but it still would have been a piece of cake for any high clearance vehicle.
No. 215 went through a forest until it got very close to the barren summit area of Kennaday Peak. So there really wasn’t much to see along the way other than trees. There was a horse near Fish Creek at a sharp bend in the road where it crossed the creek fairly early on. Three ATV’s came along, the last one coming down the road with a black lab running in front of it for exercise. Other than that, Lupe and SPHP had the road completely to themselves the whole way up. Lupe ran in and out of the forest looking for squirrels, but there weren’t many.
The summit of Kennaday Peak from USFS Road No. 215.
Once the road finally left the forest, things got more interesting. Now the terrific views could be seen. It was still a bit of a trek to the top, but soon Lupe was there. The lookout tower proved to be abandoned. It was all boarded up and had some junk stacked next to it.
The abandoned lookout tower on Kennaday Peak.
There were fabulous mountain views in all directions from Kennaday Peak. To the N was Elk Mountain(11,156 ft.). To the E was Medicine Bow Peak(12,013 ft.). Far to the NE was Laramie Peak(10,272 ft.). On the S horizon were distant mountains that may have included Mt. Zirkel(12,180 ft.). And very far away on the NW horizon was a jagged line of mountains that may have been the Wind River range. The North Platte River valley to the S and SW was huge and impressive too.
Elk Mountain to the N of Kennaday Peak. There were huge views from Kennaday Peak, but lots of the mountains that could be seen were very far away.
Lupe had arrived at the summit of Kennaday Peak about an hour before sunset. There had been quite a few clouds around at first, but they started to dissipate as Lupe and SPHP enjoyed the views and waited together for the sun to go down.
During the wait, SPHP noticed that many of the rocks on Kennaday Peak were quite rounded and there was a lot of sand. It looked like Kennaday Peak may have been a beach or underwater in ancient times. The incredible age of the world before Lupe and SPHP seemed impossible to truly comprehend.
Lupe beautifully lit up by the sinking sun on Kennaday Peak.Day 5 of Lupe’s summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation fades from view.
Most of the 6 mile trek back down USFS Road No. 215 to the G6 was in darkness. Except for one ATV and one pickup truck that made brief appearances, Lupe and SPHP were alone. The horse was still near the sharp bend in the road where it crossed Fish Creek. In the darkness, SPHP couldn’t see it, though Lupe probably could. She seems to have excellent night vision. SPHP could hear that the horse was wearing a bell. At 10:37 PM (57°F), Lupe was back at the G6. Time for dinner and a snooze!
Morning. Day 4 of Lupe’s great Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation. SPHP was mildly disappointed. Although it had started raining shortly after Lupe returned to the G6 after climbing Sugarloaf Mountain the previous evening, the rain had fizzled out before too long. SPHP now saw it hadn’t even rained enough to do a decent job of knocking the dust off the poor G6. Oh well, it was a gorgeous morning in the Medicine Bow Range of Wyoming. Time for new Lupe adventures!
Dawn on 8-12-15, Day 4 of Lupe’s Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation
After a quick bite to eat, Lupe and SPHP headed N on the Gap Lakes Trail from the trailhead at the end of the road at Lewis Lake. It was 7:01 AM, 49°F, and partly cloudy with a slight S breeze. Lupe’s planned adventure for the day was to climb Browns Peak(11,722 ft.). It looked like a perfect day!
Lupe at Lewis Lake waiting impatiently for SPHP to hurry up and finish eating. The sun is already shining on Sugarloaf Mountain(11,300 ft.) (L) and Medicine Bow Peak(12,013 ft.) (R)!
The Gap Lakes Trail started out gaining elevation at an easy pace. Less than 0.25 mile from the Lewis Lake trailhead, Lupe passed the junction with the Lost Lake Trail. She passed a couple of small lakes along the way to South Gap Lake.
Lupe near the Gap Lakes Trail in the Medicine Bow Range.Lupe now close to a pond just E of South Gap Lake, a small portion of which is visible in the background. Photo looks W.Lupe reaches South Gap Lake less than a mile from the trailhead.Looking SW towards Medicine Bow Peak from the Gap Lakes Trail near South Gap Lake.
There are lots of alpine lakes, most of them fairly small, in the Medicine Bow Range. South Gap and North Gap Lakes are among the largest lakes in the area. The Gap Lakes Trail headed N along the E shore of South Gap Lake. Lupe and SPHP thoroughly enjoyed the scenery. Lupe was headed for the gap between the long ridge extending N from Medicine Bow Peak and Browns Peak.
Looking now towards the N end of South Gap Lake and “The Gap” or pass that separates it from North Gap Lake.South Gap Lake. Looking SW.Lupe reaches “The Gap”. There was a great view of South Gap Lake looking S back towards Sugarloaf Mountain, which Lupe had climbed the previous afternoon.
About the time Lupe reached the pass, there were several groups of people coming and going on the trail. Most were heading S back towards Lewis Lake and the trailhead. Others were heading N for the Shelf Lakes which are along the Circle Trail to the E of North Gap Lake. Lupe was heading for the Shelf Lakes, too.
First look at North Gap Lake from the pass. Photo looks N.
When the trail got down to North Gap Lake, a portion of it went right along a boulder field at the very edge of the water. One group of people said the trail actually went up and over the boulder field. There was a faint trail leading that way from the N, but it wasn’t visible from the S. Lupe and SPHP just stayed down at the water’s edge. It was slow going, but it wasn’t too long before SPHP made it past the boulder field.
The N end of North Gap Lake from the E shore. Near here the Circle Trail leaves the Gap Lakes Trail to head NE to the Shelf Lakes. Photo looks NW.Just E of North Gap Lake the Circle Trail goes up a hill. This photo looks back to the W at North Gap Lake from partway up the hill on the Circle Trail.
When Lupe came to the Circle Trail along the E shore of North Gap Lake, she left the Gap Lakes Trail. The Circle Trail led up a small hill to the first of the Shelf Lakes.
Looking NE at the first of the Shelf Lakes that Lupe came to along the Circle Trail.
Lupe climbed a small hill N of the Shelf Lakes. Elk Mountain(11,156 ft.) was visible off to the NW.
Elk Mountain NW of the Shelf Lakes. It was actually quite a long way off. This photo was taken with a telephoto lens.
There were two Shelf Lakes that Lupe went past on the NW side of Browns Peak. The second one was the largest. Beyond the second Shelf Lake, the Circle Trail gradually disappeared. Lupe continued NE and came to some more small lakes. One of the lakes still had a big snowbank covering part of it. Larger lakes could be seen farther N of Browns Peak, but Lupe wasn’t going there.
Looking SW back at the largest of the two Shelf Lakes.The clear waters of another small lake NW of Browns Peak.
Crescent Lake and Elk Mountain NW of Browns Peak.
Although the Circle Trail is supposed to lead around to climb over the lower NE side of the very big ridge that forms Browns Peak, SPHP had lost the trail, which seemed to just fade away. The topo maps showed that Browns Peak is a pretty easy climb from the NE, so it wasn’t really a problem. Rather than look for the trail, Lupe and SPHP started climbing Browns Peak from the W end of the largest of a couple more lakes that Lupe came to. The climb was steeper this way, but it didn’t look too hard and would save some distance.
The key to getting up on Browns Peak without undue delays was to avoid the trees and boulder fields as much as possible. There were big patches of bushes extending far up beyond tree line, but usually it was possible to find a route through them. Lupe climbed and climbed. Each ridge she came to looked like it would be the last, but there were many false tops along the way. Each time she climbed one, another higher ridge came into view at a considerable distance and height above.
Climbing Browns Peak. Yes, it looks promising, but there are higher ridges beyond this one. Lupe didn’t care. She was busy having fun while SPHP struggled on up.
Lupe had gained quite a bit of elevation already when a strange thing occurred. Suddenly there was a loud crack and the roll of thunder. It was totally unexpected. Most of the sky was clear blue! The few clouds in sight were high and thin. Yet, somewhere not terribly far away to the SW, in the direction of Medicine Bow Peak, a bolt of lightning had struck.
It seemed ridiculous. The sky looked totally non-threatening, but SPHP was now concerned that weather was building just out of sight. Lupe and SPHP hurried onward. Browns Peak would be a terrible place to be during a storm. The summit is huge and pretty much featureless. There would be no place to take shelter anywhere near the summit.
Gradually the slope of the mountain was decreasing. Lupe was getting close to the top. Large, puffy white clouds coming from Medicine Bow Peak could now be seen. They drifted towards Browns Peak, but stayed a little to the S. For a little while, SPHP kept a close eye on them. At first they did seem to be building up, but then they just spread out as if a wind high in the sky was blowing the tops of the clouds off, limiting how big they could get. That single bolt of lightning and thunder proved to be the only one Lupe and SPHP heard all day.
The weather was going to be fine. It was breezy up on Browns Peak, but that was about it. A steady line of clouds grew up over Medicine Bow Peak, and then blew on by Browns Peak. SPHP stopped paying attention to them. It was time for Lupe to go to the summit of Browns Peak to claim it as her latest peakbagging success!
The highest part of Browns Peak is toward the SW part of the mountain, but not too near the end. The topo map showed three high points, all of similar elevation. The true summit was marked as being near the center of the ridge. The two other highest points were shown as being to the W and the NE of the true summit. Lupe went first to the high spot marked on the map as the true summit.
Lupe at where the topo map showed the true summit of Browns Peak. Another high point to the NE is in view and looks clearly higher.
Then the weirdness started. The top of Browns Peak is huge and pretty flat. It is strewn with rocks and not much else. There’s not a single tree or bush. So its easy to see quite a distance up there. And although Lupe was at what was supposed to be the true summit of Browns Peak, both of the high points to the W and the NE looked to be clearly higher. There was even a jumble of rocks off to the NW that looked higher.
No problem, thought SPHP! Lupe can just go to all of these high points and see which one is really the highest. So Lupe began quite a trek around to various high points on the mountain. From (1) the true summit, she went to (2) the W high point, (3) somewhat farther to the SW just so SPHP could get a photo of Medicine Bow Peak and Sugarloaf Mountain from Browns Peak, (4) back to the W high point, (5) to the high rocks NW of the true summit, (6) back to the true summit, and (7) to the top of the NE high point.
The crazy thing was, although it always looked like Lupe was going uphill – when SPHP turned around to look from each high point Lupe reached, without fail all of the other high points always looked higher than where Lupe was at the moment! And they weren’t just a little bit higher, they always looked noticeably and significantly higher.
Lupe at the W high point on Browns Peak. Photo looks at the NE high point (L of center) and true summit (R of center). Here they both look easily higher.Medicine Bow Peak (R) and Sugarloaf Mountain (L) from Browns Peak. Photo looks SW.Lupe now at the high rocks NW of the true summit. Photo looks NE towards the NE high point, which looks higher yet.Lupe is still at the NW rocks high point, but now the photo is looking back at the now obviously higher W high point.Lupe on the NE high point on Browns Peak, the only high point that she actually had to climb up. Photo looks SSW towards the true summit (near L side of horizon seen here) and the NW rocks high point (more to the right side of horizon seen here).Lupe still on the NE high point. This photo looks SW towards the W high point.
SPHP couldn’t remember Lupe ever having gone uphill so much to lose so much elevation! It was bizarre, it made no sense. After Lupe had visited every high point on the topo map and more besides, SPHP had no clue where the highest rock on the mountain was. It could have been almost any of them.
Possible explanations: Perhaps Browns Peak is cursed or enchanted. Perhaps SPHP has a brain tumor. Perhaps time and space are warped at Browns Peak. Perhaps it is all just an incredibly deceptive illusion. SPHP thought Browns Peak needed a better name. Why not Deceptive Peak, Illusion Mountain or Bewilderment Peak? Topless Mountain seemed a little racy, but might prove popular.
No matter. Lupe had run around sniffing practically the entire top of the mountain. Regardless where the actual true summit is, Lupe had caught a good whiff of it somewhere along the way. Time was marching on. The clouds had been getting darker and thicker while Lupe ran all over the mountain. It was time to head back.
SPHP had originally thought it would be fun for Lupe to take the Circle Trail down to Lost Lake on the SE side of Browns Peak. She could then have completed a nice loop back past Lost Lake and Telephone Lakes on the Lost Lake Trail on the return trip to the G6. In the end, though, Lupe just went back the way she had come to Browns Peak.
On the way down the mountain, there were interesting views to the N. Sheep Lake, Arrowhead Lake, and Crescent Lake could all be seen. Elk Mountain was off to the NW. Kennaday Peak was to the WNW. And very far off on the horizon to the NNE was Laramie Peak, where Lupe had started her Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation just 3 days earlier. It already seemed like a long time ago!
Looking NE at Browns Peak. This photo was taken two days earlier on 8-10-15 when Lupe was on her way up Medicine Bow Peak.
There were fabulous mountain views in all directions from Kennaday Peak. To the N was Elk Mountain (11,156 ft.). To the E was Medicine Bow Peak (12,013 ft.). Far to the NE was Laramie Peak (10,272 ft.). On the S horizon were distant mountains that may have included Mt. Zirkel (12,180 ft.). And very far away on the NW horizon was a jagged line of mountains that may have been the Wind River range. The North Platte River valley to the S and SW was huge and impressive too.
