Days 6-9 of Lupe’s 3rd Summer of 2020 Dingo Vacation to Wyoming & Montana!
8-10-20, 8:40 AM, Donelson Lake, Beartooth Mountains – For the last time, Lupe stood on Camel Hump Rock by the N shore of exquisite Donelson Lake. SPHP was feeling lethargic after her gloriously successful jaunt up Sky Pilot Mountain (12,047 ft.) yesterday, but had at least managed to get the tiny house and all the gear packed. This was it. Ready to go!
A moment’s delay to appreciate this incredible place, and the Carolina Dog was on her way. No rush. Loop had all day to get back to the Island Lake trailhead. After working around to the SE shore, Lupe paused once more for a final look at Donelson Lake. Then it was over the low pass to the SSE, as the return began in earnest.
The return was so beautiful, with so many great places to explore! Marmots whistled in the distance, as Lupe ran here and sniffed there, roaming as freely and happily as any Dingo in history. Two Bits Lake, Jasper Lake, Albino Lake, and Lonesome Mountain (11,399 ft.)! She passed all these familiar friends and more.
8-11-20, 2:15 PM, Livingston, Montana – After getting back to Island Lake yesterday at 6:00 PM, Lupe had had the rest of the evening off. Today was a rest and travel day, and tomorrow would be, too. The American Dingo had already been over Beartooth Pass on Hwy 212 this morning, and visited the Yellowstone River at Columbus. Now she stood in a gravel parking lot N of I-90.
Beyond parched fields of tall tan grass, that dome-shaped peak to the S had to be Livingston Peak (9,314 ft.).
Loop was soon heading S out of Livingston on Hwy 89. SPHP watched for the Carter bridge over the Yellowstone River, which wasn’t long in appearing. A L turn on East River Road (Hwy 540) led directly to the bridge. After crossing the river, SPHP drove several more miles, looking for another L turn leading to the Suce Creek trailhead. The search was successful, and Lupe found herself staring up at Livingston Peak from the trailhead.
That was it, though. Livingston Peak was on Loopster’s list of potential climbs, but wasn’t happening today. Not after marching around in the Beartooths for 4 straight days! Instead, SPHP drove back to the Carter bridge where Lupe got to spend time exploring an access area along the Yellowstone River.
For several hours SPHP worked on catching up the trip journal while Lupe rested under a picnic table, occasionally running off to sniff with other dogs. Small rain showers passed through. SPHP was eventually surprised to look up and see the sky full of smoke. Huh. Evening, time to move on, anyway.
By sunset, Lupe was in Bozeman. Skies to the N were still pristine, while smoke obscured everything W and S. Bad.
8-12-20, 8:47 AM, Bozeman, Montana – Fortunately, the news was good. Blue skies everywhere this morning. That wasn’t all, either!
That was Jobe Wymore on the phone, wasn’t it, SPHP?
Yes, Sweet Dingo!
So what did he say?
It’s on! Koch Peak (11,293 ft.) tomorrow! All we have to do is get to the trailhead today. Jobe climbed Torrey Mountain (11,147 ft.) yesterday. He’s currently in Idaho, but on the way over. He’ll meet us at the Upper Taylor Fork trailhead sometime this afternoon or evening.
So we get to see him again, and climb a mountain? Oh, that’s fabulous!
Yup! Yup! Jobe also knew all about the smoke we saw. Said it was coming from a forest fire that just exploded near Dillon. Still burning totally out of control, so we’re going to have to hope the wind keeps blowing the smoke some other direction.
After re-supplying in Bozeman, SPHP drove S on Hwy 191. The highway was extremely busy, but traffic was moving along OK. A stop was made for water at the Moose Creek recreation area along the Gallatin River. 14 miles S of the Big Sky intersection with Hwy 64, SPHP spotted the R turn on Taylor Fork Road (USFS Road No. 134). That was easy!
Still 11 miles to the trailhead, but Taylor Fork Road was nice and wide and smooth. Soon some beautiful mountains could be seen off to the W. One of them might well be Koch Peak.
4 miles led to a junction with Wapiti Creek Road No. 2522. That was the wrong way.
A mile beyond this junction, Taylor Fork Road passed the Nine Quarter Circle guest ranch. 7.5 miles from Hwy 191 came a bridge over Taylor Creek. A short distance dead ahead the road divided. Cache Creek was straight, and Lightning Creek, a tributary of Taylor Creek, was a L turn.
Still 3 miles to go when SPHP made the L for Lightning Creek. Smooth as silk up to this point, but suddenly the road deteriorated. Littered with small, pointy stones with the occasional significant pothole thrown in, it was a rough ride. Creeping 5 to 10 mph up the Taylor Creek valley, the G6 passed a series of designated dispersed camping sites.
Minor miracle! 3 miles gone, and the G6 hadn’t popped a tire. The road forked here. Going straight up a little hill led only to another dispersed camping site, but a curve L went to another bridge over Taylor Creek. A parking lot was visible on the far bank.
8-12-20, 1:21 PM, Upper Taylor Fork trailhead –
Hah! Made it, Loopster!
Luck of the Dingo, SPHP! By the way, do you ever intend to purchase us a vehicle suitable for adventures in the mountains?
Don’t hold your breath on that one, Sweet Puppy! Enough diss’in the G6! C’mon, let’s check this joint out.
No doubt about it. This was the right place. Nothing to do now, but relax and wait for Jobe. Those new boots were getting better, but SPHP’s paws were still sore from Lupe’s multi-day jaunt in the Beartooths. Soaking them in lovely Taylor Creek sounded like a great idea.
Paws comfortably numb, SPHP was just putting those infernal boots back on when the Rubicon rumbled across the bridge. Jobe was here! Fun times! Jobe was full of stories. By evening, a series of rain showers swept through. Easy to see it coming in sheets. Hopping in and out of the vehicles with each onslaught. Jobe passed out sarsaparillas, but Lupe didn’t get one.
8-13-20, first light, Upper Taylor Fork trailhead – A tap on the window. The American Dingo exploded in fury! Oh, yeah. Sorry ’bout that! Just Jobe rousting SPHP. Time for action! 10 minutes of final preparations, and Lupe was on her way.
First light meant mostly dark, a situation Loop and Jobe both approved of. Once the cobwebs cleared a bit, SPHP did, too. An exciting start to the day! Lupe trotted alertly along Trail No. 17, which passed through a level tall grass meadow before entering the forest.
Progress was rapid as Trail No. 17 headed up the valley. A big dry wash full of rocks appeared, but was easily crossed. A mile from the trailhead, not terribly far beyond this wash, the trail turned and disappeared into Taylor Creek. No bridge. Oh, joy!
The stream was divided into 2 channels by a small island equipped with a cairn in case there was any doubt. The first channel was only inches deep and easily negotiated, but the second one was 15 feet wide and 1.5 to 2 feet deep. No rock hopping, or quick shallow splish-splash here.
Jobe bit the frigid bullet first. No sense getting boots and socks soaking wet so close to the start. Removing them, Jobe waded across the stony channel. No choice. SPHP followed, doing the same. Deep enough so Lupe actually floated for a moment, but she made it no problem, shaking herself off on the far bank.
Onward! Humans, ho!
SPHP fretted. How often was this trail going to ford Taylor Creek? Hadn’t the topo map shown several crossings? A quick check revealed that wasn’t true. More streams to cross, but just tributaries. This ford was the only one of Taylor Creek itself.
Cold standing around here all wet! How about Onward! Humans, ho! now?
The journey resumed. For a little while, the path remained in the forest, but Lupe eventually reached a big meadow with a clear view of Taylor Creek and the valley ahead. Sunlight was working its way down the mountainsides, but hadn’t reached the valley floor yet.
At the far end of the meadow, Trail No. 17 crossed Tumbledown Creek, a much smaller stream than Taylor Creek. Another 0.2 mile brought Lupe to a junction with Tumbledown Trail No. 4, the next part of the route to Koch Peak.
Trail No. 4 started up a series of tight steep switchbacks progressing up the lower shoulder of the mountain Trail No. 17 had led to. As the rate of climb slowed, the trail eventually straightened out. Still steadily gaining elevation, Lupe traveled NW through a forest permitting no views. 40 minutes on No. 4, and a sign appeared for the Lee Metcalf Wilderness.
Trail No. 4 crossed Tumbledown Creek several times. Half an hour after entering the Lee Metcalf Wilderness, a rocky slope led down to another creek crossing. Beyond this crossing Trail No. 4 climbed more steeply again. Within 10 minutes, Lupe came to a small opening with a bit of a view. Making progress, but still a long way to go.
It wasn’t much farther to another encouraging sign. In a meadow, Lupe came to a junction with Tumble Basin trail No. 237.
The trek SW into Tumble Basin was easy. Trail No. 237 was nearly level, and became increasingly scenic as forests gave way to meadows and views of the surrounding mountains. Koch Peak (11,293 ft.) was less than 2 miles away, and could sometimes be seen ahead.
Trail No. 237 ultimately headed W toward the ridge N of Koch Peak, but Koch Peak’s S ridge was the way to go. Leaving No. 237 before it ended, Lupe and SPHP wandered SW up a minor forested rise and came to a shallow pond. A steep wall of rock could be seen to the SSW connected to Peak 10668. No going up that!
SPHP had left the trail too soon. Should have gone a little farther W and crossed Tumbledown Creek one more time before turning S. Leaving the pond and the last of the forest, Lupe headed W down into a wide bushy marsh, the headwaters of Tumbledown Creek. Jobe had already made the course correction, and was waiting on the far side at the base of a steep slope decorated with wildflowers.
This was actually part of the same slope Loop had seen from the pond, but farther NW where it wasn’t just a wall of rock. Jobe powered up with SPHP lagging behind. A 250 foot climb gained a rounded grassy ridgeline a little S of HP9571 on the topo map. Drier up here with less vegetation.
Following this ridge SE was initially still a steady climb, but it gradually got easier. Lupe came to 3 or 4 grassy hills separated by minor drops, each hill a bit higher than the one before.
As the American Dingo got close to Peak 10668, the time came to turn SW. Leaving the grassy ridge, Jobe led the way across the upper reaches of a minor drainage where springs seeped out of a hill. On the far side, Jobe and SPHP paused by some rocks to shed weight for the upcoming ascent. Both stashed water bottles that weren’t going to be needed.
Not far ahead was another steep slope. This one featured a few patches of melting snow, and a series of rock outcroppings separated by benches partially obstructed with stunted pines. A 200+ foot climb brought Lupe to a flat grassy plain sprinkled with rocks. Crossing this small plain led to a view of a hidden tarn. Beyond it was Koch Peak’s S ridge.
Cake! Didn’t look bad at all.
Pretty straightforward from here! After going around the S end of the tarn, everyone headed NW up the easiest part of the slope leading to Koch Peak’s S ridge. The loyal Carolina Dog hung back with SPHP while Jobe blazed the way.
Once up on the S ridge, all that remained was to follow it NNW all the way to the summit. And breathe! No way SPHP was ever going to come close to keeping up with Jobe. Didn’t matter now, anyway. Another 600 or 700 feet higher would do the trick, and Jobe would be waiting up top.
Lupe absorbed fabulous views while SPHP absorbed oxygen at frequent intervals. Imp Peak (11,202 ft.), which could now be seen due S across the upper Taylor Creek drainage was the big eye-catcher. More distant Echo Peak (11,220 ft.) well beyond Imp and a bit to the W (R) was also impressive.
The last part of the ascent was nearly all rock, but various use trails ran among it all, and the rocks were only of moderate size. The climb was longer than it first appeared, but at last the use trail Lupe was on curled around to the W side of the summit, and grass reappeared as the terrain began to level out.
When Lupe reached the top of Koch Peak (11,293 ft.) Jobe was chatting with a couple of guys who had passed SPHP on the way up. They were waiting for a 3rd member of their party who had yet to arrive. Skies were now mostly cloudy, and a SW breeze Loop had been exposed to ever since reaching the S ridge made it rather cool up here. Even Jobe was bundled up to some degree.
The grassy summit region wasn’t enormous, but there was plenty of room to move around. The highest rocks, all relatively small, were along the SE edge. A survey benchmark was in this vicinity as well.
360º panoramic views, of course! The best were to the N and S. Sphinx Mountain (10,876 ft.) and Pioneer Mountain (9,857 ft.) were most prominent to the N, with more distant Cedar Mountain (10,768 ft.) also in sight.
Only 3 miles due S, Imp Peak (11,202 ft.) looked grand, and Lupe was now high enough to see another mountain of special interest. Between Imp Peak and Echo Peak (11,220 ft.) the rugged spires of Hilgard Peak (11,316 ft.) soared skyward.
Jobe intended to climb Hilgard Peak sometime in the near future. Before Lupe had even set out on this Dingo Vacation, Hilgard had been on a short list of summits Jobe had invited SPHP to consider for possible joint ascents. A quick review of maps and photos online had caused SPHP to take a pass on Hilgard in favor of Koch.
Although Hilgard was quite a long way off from here, that decision was looking like a real good one!
Peering down on Koch Peak’s S ridge, Lupe saw it sweeping SE, then clear around to the E and NE to link up with Peaks 10668 and 10754. To the NE was a beautiful view of Tumble Basin. Only a mile W was the light-colored summit of Sawtooth Ridge (11,049 ft.). To the SW, a small lake could be seen way down in the upper reaches of the Taylor Creek basin.
By the time Loopster had taken a good look around, the guys Jobe had been talking to were on their way down again, their 3rd member having already shown up and spent only a few minutes up here with them.
Jobe was pleased with how well Koch Peak had gone! Roughly 6 miles and over 4,000 feet of elevation gain, most of it on good trails without any real difficulties whatsoever – just that chilly ford of Taylor Creek early on. Jobe half-jokingly pronounced Koch Peak the best mountain Lupe had ever climbed! It was certainly her biggest joint success with Jobe. Way better result than the beautiful, but ultimately disappointing Castle Mountain (12,612 ft.) fiasco back in the Beartooths.
11:41 AM – Jobe started down first. Lupe and SPHP soon followed. The first steep rocky part on the way down the S slope was slow going, but it was nearly all easy after that.
Descending from the S ridge on the way back to the tarn, 6 to 8 people were coming up with 3 dogs. They were all members of a single family. The first young woman said she had been up Koch Peak “a million times”. Before Lupe made it back to the springs where the water bottles were stashed, one of those dogs could be heard yelping and whining piteously. This went on for some time, but whether the poor dog was suffering due to actual pain or simply terrified was never clear.
During the return, Jobe regaled SPHP with many a tale – some serious, some informative, and some simply hilarious. Lupe trotted along, often right on the trails listening in, but taking off now and then to roam as she saw fit, clearly enjoying the day. Time passed quickly. Suddenly Jobe was taking a last photo of the Taylor Creek valley. Hardly seemed possible the Koch Peak adventure was already almost over.
4:00 PM, Taylor Fork trailhead – The intrepid Carolina Dog had braved that Taylor Creek ford once again, and made it back to the trailhead. No one was going anywhere else tonight, so Loop had another evening off. After a hearty meal, she wanted to spend it relaxing on her pink blankie in the G6. Boots off, SPHP soaked sore paws in Taylor Creek, then spent the rest of a pleasant evening chatting with Jobe.
Jobe produced another sarsaparilla for SPHP. Tried to rain a few times again, but never amounted to much. The Grateful Dead were playing on the Rubicon’s stereo. Classic Jobe! All too soon, Jobe was pitching his tent next to the Rubicon and crawling inside as the darkness grew.
Such fun times! Koch Peak had been a marvelous day!
Note: Nine days later, Jobe did scale fearsome Hilgard Peak, but Lupe wasn’t there to see it.
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