Day 27 & Part 1 of Day 28 of Lupe’s 2nd Summer of 2023 Dingo Vacation to Canada & Alaska!
8-17-23, 10:10 PM – Back at the gravel yard used as a trailhead, spirits were running high. Mount Hare (4,052 ft.) had been an unexpected success! Lupe and SPHP were both full of Dinty Moore beef stew, and the American Dingo had spent much of the evening happily chomping away on a Busy Rib Hide and a Dingo stick as rewards for her intrepid journey. Now, comfortably situated on her pink blanket, she was all ears, listening to SPHP’s dissertation on what might be.
I feel great! Don’t you, Loop?
Simply fantastic, SPHP! What’cha thinking for tomorrow’s exploits?
If this weather will hold just one more day for us, we can still go back to the Northwest Territories tomorrow, and climb Peak 1402M! Tag that one, and you will have visited every peak on your list of possibilities in the Richardson Mountains on this Dingo Vacation. A complete success!
That would be awesome, SPHP, but do we have enough fuel to do that without getting ourselves stranded?
Yes, I’ve been thinking about that, Loopster. Even if we go back, we still ought to be able to make it to Eagle Plains once were done with 70 extra miles worth of fuel to spare.
8-18-23, 12:34 PM, 51ºF – So much for that bright idea. The sky had been glumly overcast all morning. Last evening’s clearing trend was long gone. Not a hint of blue sky. A rain shower passed through a little while ago, and it was breezy, even down here.
Trip journal’s caught up, Loop. I’m calling it. The weather isn’t that bad, but it isn’t very good, either. Peak 1402M isn’t happening. Too chancy. Even if we drove clear back there, it’s so late now that an attempt would have to wait until tomorrow, anyway.
So we’re heading S to Eagle Plains, SPHP?
Yup, and beyond, Sweet Puppy! First stop, the Arctic Circle.
Even though the Arctic Circle wasn’t much farther, that wasn’t entirely true. Struck by the beauty of the Richardson Mountains foothills under a gloomy sky, SPHP stopped briefly for a quick look.
8-18-23, 12:49 PM, the Arctic Circle – This was going to be about it as far as decent views of the Richardson Mountains on this Dingo Vacation. Lupe hopped out of the RAV4 for a final look around.
Sadly, time for the Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Sisterhood to bid farewell to the true Arctic for another year, Loopster.
We had fun, and a lot of success, didn’t we, SPHP?
Sure did, Loop. An epic trip! Remember 2019? This was as far N as we got. A blizzard forced us to turn tail and flee S.
And this year we didn’t see a thing here on our way N due to the smoke of the Arctic apocalypse, SPHP. A beautiful view today, though.
Certainly was! For 15 minutes, Lupe and SPHP hung around enjoying it before continuing the drive S.
On the way to Eagle Plains, enormous regions of blackened boreal forest that had burned during this summer’s Arctic apocalypse were evident. Happily, the fires were all out now, and the smoke that had been here not so long ago was completely gone.
8-18-23, 2:00 PM, Eagle Plains – SPHP enjoyed a club sandwich at the Arctic Circle restaurant then fueled up the RAV4. As always, it felt rather sad to be on the way S again after true Arctic adventures, but evidently it had been the right decision. Resuming the drive, the sky brightened, patches of blue appeared, and the temperature hit a comfortable 61ºF.
While SPHP admired the expansive views of the Eagle Plains from the high ridges that the Dempster Highway wound along, Lupe snoozed on her pink blanket. The RAV4 rolled on mile after mile, raising a great plume of dust. Eventually the Ogilvie Mountains came into view, and a long descent along Seven Mile Hill led down into the Ogilvie River valley.
8-18-23, 7:13 PM – After a scenic drive S up the big valley, the Dempster Highway turned SE, crossing a bridge over the Ogilvie River. Less than a km farther, SPHP parked the RAV4 at a roomy spot just off the highway right before the bridge over Engineer Creek.
Hey ho, sleepy Dingo! Had enough of a beauty rest yet? You ought to be ready for a stroll by now aren’t you?
Long ago, SPHP!
Great! We’re parked near the W end of Sapper Hill (3,084 ft.). Let’s get out, and see if we can find a good spot to begin an ascent tomorrow.
The Carolina Dog no sooner leapt out of the RAV4 than, sniffing bushes along the edge of the parking area, she had important news to impart.
Found it, SPHP!
Found what, Loop?
The trail up Sapper Hill, silly!
There’s a trail? Are you sure? Show me!
It starts right here, SPHP.
15 feet from the RAV4, Lupe stood next to a boulder with a metal sign post by it, but no sign. On the ground, an arrow made of rocks pointed straight into the bushes.
Huh. This is great news, Loopster! I had no idea that there was a trail.
Following the trail into the bushes and partway up a rather steep slope revealed that this was indeed a continuous path, and not some fluke.
Alrighty, far enough, Looper. Weather permitting, we’ll take a shot at climbing Sapper Hill tomorrow. Too late to do it now.
Returning to the Dempster Highway, Lupe enjoyed an easy evening stroll all the way to the bridge over the Ogilvie River and back, then went the opposite direction almost all the way to the Engineer Creek campground before calling it good for the night.
8-19-23, 7:50 AM, 48ºF, N side of the bridge over Engineer Creek – Overcast, but otherwise not a bad day. The weather seemed stable, not threatening at all, when the American Dingo passed the rock arrow and headed NE up into the bushes. The Sapper Hill trail climbed steeply for 100+ feet before reaching a more gentle slope overlooking the Dempster Highway and the distinctive orange-brown waters of Engineer Creek. Looking ENE, big rock formations were visible far up the forested slope.
Lupe had often seen Sapper Hill (3,084 ft.) from the Dempster Highway or the bridge over the Ogilvie River on two prior Dingo Vacations. It had always been of interest. Rising 1,000 feet above Engineer Creek, while Sapper Hill wasn’t a particularly big mountain, from the S it possessed a distinctive, easily-recognized appearance. A giant E/W running ridge with very steep sides, Sapper Hill featured a crest more than a km long capped by a line of massive gray rock formations of nearly equal height.
As the American Dingo climbed toward the formations at the upper W end of the mountain, the big question that had always existed was on SPHP’s mind. How difficult it was going to be to get to the true summit? Did Lupe even stand a chance of getting there? Depending on how hard maneuvering among the rocks would prove to be, it might be difficult just to identify the true summit, much less reach it.
Guess we’ll know the answer soon enough, Loopster.
Heading ENE through a thin boreal forest with a soft, thick tundra floor, the assistance provided by the unexpected trail made maintaining good progress during the ascent easy. The slope eventually steepened, and the trail soon turned N as it entering a clearing. The lowest rock formations at the W end of the Sapper Hill ridge were now directly ahead.
Just before reaching two giant pillars of rock, the main trail veered E, heading straight up a rather steep slope. However, a very short spur at this turn led directly toward the gap between the pillars.
A window on the world! Let’s go see what’s there, SPHP.
The window framed a terrific view of Mount Jeckell (4,724 ft.) beyond the Ogilvie River and Dempster Highway 800 feet below.
Wow! This first big view is awesome, SPHP.
Indeed! And of particular interest, too, Looper. Mount Jeckell is on your list of possibilities.
Exciting! Are we going to climb Mount Jeckell while we’re here, SPHP?
I don’t know, Loop. We’ll see. Mount Jeckell’s true summit is way over at the W end, farthest from the Dempster Highway. Hard to tell for sure from here, but what I can see looks pretty tough by our standards.
Returning to the main trail, Lupe followed it E, climbing steeply toward two enormous fins of rock with an even bigger gap between them.
The Sapper Hill trail went right through the gap between the big fins. The fin on the L (N) quickly proved to be more of another isolated pillar. Lupe was soon past it. However, the fin on the R (S) turned out to be the leading edge of a long, continuous, 50 foot high rock wall.
As Lupe kept climbing and following the trail E, she was now trapped by the wall of rock on the N side of Sapper Hill, which dropped away very sharply. The trail stayed high, close to the wall where the terrain wasn’t that steep. Approaching another tall rock formation on the L, the trail leveled out as Lupe reached a pass.
The view from here was somewhat encouraging. Beyond a minor dip into a forested region, a series of rock formations ahead weren’t as tall and vertical as the others the Carolina Dog had come to so far.
We might be able to get to the tops of some of these high points, SPHP.
Yes, this definitely looks more promising, Loop. Let’s keep going, though, far enough to see if there’s anything higher ahead. If not, we’ll come back and try to identify and tag Sapper Hill’s summit.
Not to be! Beyond the dip, various rock formations were on both sides of the trail as Lupe climbed to a second pass that was a little higher. The trail continued E from here, now S of a long line of rock formations on the crest of the ridge. Lupe was still generally gaining a little elevation as the trail bounced up and down along a forested, sloping bench that was fairly wide, although sometimes the bench narrowed, putting the American Dingo near cliffs.
Now trapped on the S side of the mountain, the views were spectacular in that direction. Engineer Creek and the Dempster Highway were far below, with more of the Ogilvie Mountains visible beyond a region of lower, forested hills.
The view from the first pass had been encouraging, but before getting too far, Lupe came to one that was not. In fact, it was a serious blow to her hopes of ever reaching the summit of Sapper Hill. Farther E, several prominent high points sat atop the most massive, continuous, vertical wall of rock yet. The closest high point was a big tower jutting skyward.
Not 100% certain yet, but that tower appears to be our objective, Loop.
We’re doomed, SPHP!
Looks that way, Looper. Sure can’t get to the top from this side. We need to find a way back over to the N side of the mountain. Maybe there’s a route up from there, if we can get to it?
Even SPHP had little faith in that notion, but the American Dingo might as well check out the possibilities. Continuing E, Lupe searched for an opportunity to get back over to the N side of the mountain. Her initial attempt well up on a rock wall led only to a dead end.
Not gonna work, Loopster. Scary and dangerous. We better retreat.
Returning to the trail, SPHP kept hoping that it might lead up to the top of the ridge at some point. In the vicinity of the apparent summit would have been ideal, but anywhere might have helped. However, it never did. Instead, staying well below the crest of the ridge, the trail simply continued E.
Passing the vicinity of the currently unseen summit, Lupe kept going. The trail faded away. Occasional small cairns continued to mark the route, encouraging further exploration. The views were amazing, and the rock wall itself was incredibly scenic.
However, the towering rock wall went on and on, and eventually the view ahead strongly suggested that this was far enough.
Think this is a about it, Sweet Puppy! Appears we’re never going to be able to get up to the top of the ridge, and the E end looks impassable, too. We can’t go around it.
We’re turning back, SPHP?
Yeah, might as well, Loop. It’s not happening. Even if we somehow find a spot where we can reach the ridgeline, we aren’t going to be able to get to the summit.
On the way back, we can still see how high we can get, can’t we, SPHP?
Sure, why not, Loopster?
The first attempt to get as high as possible on the mountain came shortly after starting back W. Ascending a very steep slope, Lupe managed to reach a cleft among the rocks just below a 4 foot drop. SPHP might have been able to get up onto a boulder above this cleft, but Lupe would have needed a boost. The highest rocks in this region appeared to be another 20 feet higher.
This will have to be good enough, Loop. Not going to boost you up there. Too dangerous. We might have a hard time getting back down safely.
Retreating, Lupe continued W. The scenery was a little different going this way.
A second attempt to get as high as possible came quite a bit farther W, at a spot where a ramp of vegetation so steep that SPHP was reduced to clinging to trees to get up it led to an easier slope that actually brought Lupe over to the N side of the ridge. The Carolina Dog managed to get close to a big knob along the ridgeline, but she couldn’t get up on it, which didn’t really matter, since the knob wasn’t the true summit.
While the first attempt to get as high as possible might have been the highest point Lupe reached on Sapper Hill, getting to the ridgeline felt like more of an accomplishment. SPHP shook her paw.
Congratulations, Loopster! After simply driving by admiring it all these years, we finally made it up Sapper Hill (3,084 ft.)!
Well, thank you, SPHP, but are congratulations really in order? We never made it to the true summit. Don’t even really know how high we got, do we? Did you make a GPS track? What does it say?
Yes, we’ve got a GPS track, but how accurate it is elevation-wise, I don’t know, Loop. It claims we got to 3,119 feet. That’s 950 meters, and the topo map shows the highest contour as 940 meters, so it’s within reason. Yet we have to admit that from a peakbagging standpoint, this has been a fail. Even so, we did our best, and made it high on the mountain at multiple points. Not a total success, but a valiant effort!
It’s still disappointing that we didn’t get to the top, SPHP. On the other paw, for a small mountain, Sapper Hill has been truly amazing! It’s been fun exploring way up here. All these towering, dramatic rock formations along the crest of the ridge are impressive, and the views are spectacular! I’m glad we came.
8-19-23, 10:48 AM, 59ºF – Sapper Hill (3,084 ft.) – A bit E of the big knob, just below the crest of the ridge, there was a nice spot with a few trees and plenty of soft tundra where Lupe could relax in comfort. The views were tremendous, and a short rest break before heading back down the mountain seemed to be a good idea. While SPHP scanned the beautiful, unspoiled territory to the N, the American Dingo had water and a silver bowl of Taste the Wild, before curling up on the tundra.
Of all the views to the N, the one toward the NNW was of most interest. Two peaks that had long been on Lupe’s list of possibilities were in sight, Mount Jeckell (4,724 ft.) and Peak 4265. A third coveted candidate, Transplant Mountain (4,331 ft.), remained hidden between them.
How do difficult do they look to you, SPHP?
Mount Jeckell looks tough, Loop. The W end where the true summit is, is likely too rugged for us. Peak 4265 is too far away to really tell. I see some rock bands that might cause us difficulty near the top, but maybe they don’t amount to anything? Based on the topo map, Transplant Mountain is probably easiest, but I can’t even see it from here.
15 minutes was about it for the break high on the N side of Sapper Hill. On the way back to the main trail, Lupe climbed an inspiring spire that served as a terrific Dingo perch with a fabulous view. Peak 4068, Mount Jeckell, the Ogilvie River, and the Dempster Highway were all in sight.
The rest of the return was also very scenic. Once back to the Sapper Hill trail, it was all so perfectly easy, too! Near the W end of the mountain, the view approaching the first pass Lupe had come to on the way up was simply exquisite.
8-19-23, 12:02 PM, 62ºF, at the RAV4 by the Engineer Creek bridge –
What a terrific half day adventure Sapper Hill turned out to be, Loopster! Wish we’d made it to the top, but I truly enjoyed it all the same.
Me, too, SPHP! So beautiful up there! What’s next, lunch?
Yeah, but not here. You’re going to have to wait a while, chow Dingo. How about lunch at the bubbling pond?
We’re heading S, SPHP? What about Mount Jeckell, Transplant Mountain, and Peak 4265? Aren’t we going to climb any of them?
Not so sure we’re even capable of doing them, Looper, so we’re going to try another peak where I believe we’ll stand a better chance of success. Thinking we should get into position for it this afternoon, since it’s way down at Tombstone Territorial Park.
Oh, I love Tombstone Park! That sounds awesome, too, SPHP!
The Carolina Dog was soon on her pink blanket ready for another very scenic drive S, but only a little more than a km after crossing the bridge over Engineer Creek, SPHP pulled into the Engineer Creek campground and parked the RAV4.
One more thing we’ve got to do here, Loopster! C’mon!
Trotting WNW back along the Dempster Highway, Lupe soon stopped.
Such a lovely day this has turned into! How’s this, SPHP?
Perfect, Loop. Got it! Thank you.
With the iconic view of Sapper Hill as seen from the Dempster Highway down by Engineer Creek captured on pixels, Lupe headed back to the RAV4, and the road to adventure. (End, 8-19-23, 12:22 PM)
Links:
Next Adventure Prior Adventure
Lupe’s Scrollable GPS Track & Ascent Statistics
The Dempster Highway Travelogue
Want more Lupe adventures? Choose from Lupe’s Summer of 2023 Dingo Vacations to Colorado, New Mexico, Canada & Alaska Adventure Index, Dingo Vacations Adventure Index or Master Adventure Index. Or subscribe free to new Lupe adventures.
