Day 7 of Lupe’s 2019 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon & Alaska!
On the road again! When was this ever going to end? Bright and early, Lupe had left the Hitchcock rest area on Atlin Lake, hitting the road N. Soon she was back in the Yukon. It was already mid-morning by the time SPHP pulled into the Robinson Roadhouse Historic Site rest area N of Carcross. The Carolina Dog was surprised when SPHP started getting the pack ready.
Why the pack, SPHP? We’ve already been to the roadhouse once before. It’s not far beyond these trees W of the rest area, if I remember right.
Oh, we’re not going to the roadhouse again, Loop. Wasn’t that much to it. We might not have gotten across Atlin Lake yesterday to take on Birch Mountain (6,765 ft.), but we’ve got other tricks up our sleeve. Supposed to be a trail up Mount Lorne (6,629 ft.) not far from here, so we’re going to give that a shot instead.
I remember Mount Lorne, SPHP! We saw it twice last year, didn’t we? Once from Grey Mountain up by Whitehorse, and then again the next day from Nares Mountain down by Carcross. Kind of a big, lumpy ridge with a high point toward the E, isn’t it? Higher than anything else near it.
Yeah, that’s it, Loopster. I understand it’s possible to make a loop going up and down different ends of the ridge. So never a dull moment, aye? Should be a fun time!
10:15 AM, 51ºF, S Klondike Hwy at Bear Creek a mile S of the Robinson Roadhouse Historic Site – This was supposed to be it, the trailhead for Mount Lorne. Dirt parking areas were on both sides of the highway on the S side of Bear Creek. SPHP parked in the E lot. No one around, and no posted information at all, but Lupe quickly discovered a trail running E along the N bank of the stream.
200 feet from the highway, the trail turned NE into the forest. Lupe soon passed private property on the L (N). The trail then wound generally E for a little way before rejoining Bear Creek.
This time Lupe followed Bear Creek E for 10 or 15 minutes before the trail veered off to the NE a second time. The trail never did cross the stream, and did not return to it again.
For what seemed like a long way, the trail wound ENE. Lupe gradually gained elevation. Finally, upon reaching a grove of aspens, the trail steepened considerably. Partway up, SPHP paused to rest.
A young man and woman appeared at the base of the slope, and soon caught up. They were from Whitehorse, and had some timely advice. Not much farther ahead at the top of this rise, the trail would divide. They had been here a week ago intent on climbing Mount Lorne, and had gone L (N) at the intersection, misled by blue and orange ribbons marking that route. A 10 km trek had ensued bringing them back to the S Klondike Hwy far from their vehicle, but never anywhere close to Mount Lorne.
Now they were back, once again intent upon getting to Mount Lorne. Naturally, their advice was to go R (E) at the junction. Lupe had already seen quite a few blue and orange ribbons tied to trees and branches along the way, so it was easy to understand their previous error. SPHP thanked the hikers as they set off again, now taking the lead.
It really wasn’t much farther up to the junction. The two hikers were still there taking a break when Lupe arrived. Staying to the R as advised, the American Dingo carried on, retaking the lead.
The trail continued E for a long way. Beyond the intersection it was level for a short distance, but soon began to climb again. Lupe gained a fair amount of elevation before the trail finally leveled out a second time. On and on it went. Loop was glad when the trail crossed a tributary of Bear Creek, the last water on the way to Mount Lorne.
Due to the forest, it was difficult to get a sense of how much progress the Carolina Dog was making. All that was clear was that Lupe was now on the S side of a much higher ridge to the N (L). Somewhere ahead there was supposed to be an old cabin. It was important not to miss the cabin, because that was where the most direct route to Mount Lorne splits off from the trail Looper was on.
As Lupe continued farther and farther E, SPHP became concerned. How close did this trail actually come to the cabin? The cabin wouldn’t have to be very far off into the forest to be easy to miss. Had Loop already passed it without noticing it?
Not to worry! Can’t miss it! The old cabin proved to be right next to the N (L) side of the trail. Sure didn’t amount to much. Small and rustic in the extreme, the roof had caved in decades ago. At least Lupe hadn’t gone by it. On the E side, a distinct pawpath curved around to the back side of the cabin before turning N up the slope leading to the big ridge. That had to be the most direct route up Mount Lorne (6,629 ft.), the one the American Dingo had been looking for.
The two hikers from Whitehorse weren’t far behind. They reappeared while Lupe was still inspecting the old cabin. Just S of the cabin, a small clearing overlooked the Bear Creek valley, the only viewpoint along the entire route thus far. The hikers paused here for another short break. For a few minutes, Lupe joined them.
Loopster’s ascent of Mount Lorne was about to begin in earnest! Bidding her new friends adieu, Lupe returned to the cabin. Crossing the main trail, she followed the pawpath around the cabin and headed higher.
It was a big climb up to the ridge. Steep, but no more than that. No rough ground or any scrambling at all. The forest began to thin out. By the time Lupe got to tree line, the two hikers had caught up. Outpacing SPHP, they retook the lead. The top of Mount Lorne came into view, still 2 miles off to the NE.
By the time the Carolina Dog was closing in on the ridgeline, she was not only above tree line, but essentially above bush line, too. Tremendous views of the glorious Yukon in all directions now! The last part of this first big climb was the steepest. A cairn sat along the edge of the ridge where Lupe finally popped up onto it.
Loop had made it up onto Mount Lorne’s SW ridge. The ridge was broad, rounded, and only sparsely vegetated. As near as SPHP could figure it, the American Dingo was now at about 4,800 feet, which meant she still needed to gain more than 1,800 feet to reach the summit.
Quite a bit of the ridge leading to the summit was in already in sight. As expected, Lupe faced a long, bumpy, but seemingly not overly-rugged trek to the top.
Lupe’s new friends were still there when she first reached the SW ridge. SPHP chatted with them briefly before they took off again. This pattern repeated several times as everyone continued toward the summit, but in the end SPHP couldn’t keep up. The two hiker’s lead grew steadily, as SPHP toiled up the mountain behind them. Before long, Lupe no longer caught up with them during their rest breaks, but they often remained in sight working their way up to the next high point.
The trail became intermittent, vanishing or becoming faint during level stretches, but usually reappearing again on the next leg higher.
Lupe climbed and climbed, usually going up in big spurts separated by relatively level stretches. The ridge narrowed in places, but was never tricky until the American Dingo got close to the first major high point.
What might be considered Mount Lorne’s W summit tops out at about 6,400 feet, not even 250 feet less than the true summit, still a mile due E. Approaching the W summit, the ridge narrowed considerably. Ahead the terrain was very rocky and steep, especially toward the S.
Trying to go straight up the ridgeline looked inadvisable. Staying toward the NW, Lupe started up. Careful! For the first time, the ascent became a scramble, a rather steep one with a bit of exposure in spots. Loopster followed narrow lanes higher. Some of the rock was loose, but exposed bedrock was sometimes present as well, providing firm pawholds.
Traversing much farther along the increasingly steep NW slope soon looked inadvisable, too. Lupe was forced to head almost straight up. Happily, it looked like she was already far enough to get past the worst of the ridgeline. Hopefully the situation would now be a lot better, if she could just get back up to it again.
The last bit of the climb to the ridgeline was the steepest. Fortunately, most of the rock near the top was firm. Made it! Lupe was back on top. A short stroll along a narrow rocky part, and the ridge began to broaden out again. Nice and smooth! The worst was over.
A post-sized 2 foot high piece of bleached wood stuck up out of a cairn at the high point of Mount Lorne’s W summit. The large summit region curved away to the N, eventually leading down Mount Lorne’s NW ridge, if one continued that way far enough. To the E, in the direction of the true summit, a rounded slope dropped away out of sight.
Ugh! While there had been a few minor drops along the way, they had scarcely amounted to anything. However, going far enough E to peer down the slope leading to the true summit now revealed a grassy saddle a good 300 feet lower. No way to avoid it, Lupe was going to have to lose all that elevation. The down slope was all rocky. Worse yet, the climb waiting on the far side of the saddle looked steep, perhaps difficult.
With no other option, Looper set off down the rocky slope.
Regaining the elevation Lupe had lost going down to the saddle wasn’t nearly as difficult as it had appeared from the W summit. Sort of a steep trudge higher, but that was it. Before long, the American Dingo was at the top of the next hill, just as high as she had been at the W summit.
Looking E, the ridge narrowed somewhat again, but it appeared Looper now had a straight shot to the true summit! A little deceiving. One more drop was ahead, but it proved to be relatively minor, on the order of 50 to 75 feet. Wasn’t long before the American Dingo was at the base of the final climb, which didn’t look that bad.
The two hikers were relaxing S of the summit cairn when Lupe and SPHP finally reached the top of Mount Lorne. Introductions were now made. Lupe’s new friends were Greg Johannson and Svetlana Koptyeva. Greg was a lawyer (public defender) originally from Toronto, and Svetlana was a law clerk from the Ukraine. They had both moved to Whitehorse about a year ago, and were totally enthusiastic about how magnificent and wonderful the Yukon is.
While Lupe and SPHP were still visiting with Greg and Svetlana, another man and a young woman reached the summit. They had come up the same way, and must not have been far behind. For a while, everyone milled around the summit area chatting and enjoying the views.
Half an hour after Lupe reached the summit, Greg and Svetlana were getting ready to leave. Before departing, they stopped to pose with Lupe. They also had a question. Would Lupe like to meet up with them again? Greg and Svetlana were going to be camping with friends and family near the visitor center in Tombstone Territorial Park on August 22nd. The next day they were planning to take the trail to Grizzly Lake and camp out there. They kindly invited Lupe to join them!
That sounded terrific! The American Dingo already had plans to go through Tombstone Territorial Park on this Dingo Vacation. In fact she had been to Grizzly Lake once before, and hoped to return and go even further this year. Teaming up with Greg and Svetlana would be a blast! Whether the timing would actually work out or not wasn’t clear at this point, but if it did, Lupe and SPHP would be thrilled to join them.
Greg and Svetlana left, apparently intent upon making the big loop, since they headed down the S ridge. The first part of the decent was easy, but Lupe saw them pause to consider the best route forward where the S ridge became rugged. The other man and young woman started down 10 minutes later, going the same way.
Lupe and SPHP were alone at the top of Mount Lorne. Although some patches of blue remained, by now the sky was mostly cloudy. Visibility wasn’t as good as it had been earlier in the day. Even below the cloud deck, the air was hazy, the views indistinct.
Despite the murkiness, Lupe could still make out some mountains she had been to before. Near Whitehorse, Grey Mountain (4,901 ft.) was in sight off to the NW. Nares Mountain (5,833 ft.) was far to the S. Beyond Nares was Montana Mountain (7,213 ft.). Lupe hadn’t climbed that one yet. Even farther away, Mount Minto (6,913 ft.) was barely visible to the SE. Lupe hadn’t climbed Minto, either, but she had seen it across Atlin Lake just this morning.
Parts of some big lakes could be seen too, including Marsh Lake, Little Atlin, Tagish, and Bennett.
An hour after she’d arrived, Lupe left the summit of Mount Lorne. She headed for the S ridge like everyone else.
The S ridge quickly turned rough. During the ascent only the scramble up to the W summit had been this tricky. For a considerable distance the ridgeline was mostly too narrow and rugged to stay right up on it. Lupe had to scramble along one side or the other, but was seldom forced too far below the top. At first it was best to stay toward the E, later on the going was easier toward the W.
As usual, SPHP’s progress was extremely slow on this type of terrain. The sure-pawed Carolina Dog had plenty of time to enjoy the views.
Took forever, but at last Lupe stood atop the final rocky high point along the S ridge. Looking back, she still wasn’t all that far from the summit.
The sky had cleared somewhat. The haze had diminished. As Lupe left the rocky terrain and started down a long, broad slope, before her the incredible Yukon wilderness basked in a serene evening glow.
Everyone else was long gone. Lupe hadn’t seen anyone for a while, and wouldn’t see them again. Down, down, down the long slope. Progress was rapid. Even SPHP was stepping lively. Good thing, because the Carolina Dog still had a long way to go.
The plan was to follow the S ridge as far S as necessary to reach an ATV trail. The ATV trail was supposed to link up with the same trail that went past the old cabin Lupe had left so long ago. Turning W too soon meant trouble, a long bushwhack in the wilderness.
Even knowing this, SPHP blew it. Lupe had lost a tremendous amount of elevation, and had already bypassed the first ridge leading SW, when she came to a ravine draining SW from the high ground. Looking down the ravine, SPHP could see a road way down there.
That must be it! The ATV trail! Lupe headed down the ravine, but when she got to the road, it wasn’t an ATV trail at all, just a strip of exposed dirt. No sign of any kind of road or trail anywhere. Not good! SPHP tried to lead Lupe SE, taking a shortcut back up to the high ground where she could continue S.
Not gonna happen. The American Dingo was already almost all the way back down to tree line. The vast slope to the SE was densely covered with chest high bushes. No breaks between them. Impossible! Loopster either had to retrace her route all the way back up the ravine or face the wilderness.
Onward! Puppy, ho! Nope. Not going back. Giving up on returning to the high ground, Lupe turned W, the most direct route back to the old cabin. Exactly where she went, SPHP can no longer say. Looper crossed the ravine she had come down expecting to find the road, but lower down where it was deeper than before. She then forced a way up onto the first big ridge that went SW from the S ridge she had abandoned.
Crossing this ridge, Lupe began a long plunge down through thick forest losing more elevation than SPHP thought possible. Finally reaching the valley SW of Mount Lorne’s summit, she crossed it and a tributary of Bear Creek, too. Still heading W, she traversed a long forested slope while gradually regaining some of the elevation she had lost. Once in a while there were animal trails, or a little open ground, but for the most part it was a long struggle battling the wilderness.
Getting late. The last time Lupe had a view, rain showers were off to the W. Even with the long twilight of the far N, light was fading.
Hurry, hurry! Looper couldn’t afford to miss the path! Had to get to it before it was too dark to notice. Finally, there it was. This had to be it didn’t it? Lupe was standing on some sort of trail. Turning S, the Carolina Dog followed the path lower.
Lupe must have regained more elevation than SPHP realized. It was a long way down, but suddenly there was the old cabin, and next to it the main trail. Still miles back to the S Klondike Hwy, but with the help of a flashlight the rest was easy.
Even so, weariness eventually demanded a break. Dumping the pack, SPHP flopped down flat on the ground. Lupe snuggled up beside, still sniffing the air and listening. Silence. Overhead, a tiny patch of sky was barely light enough to contrast with a dark circle of surrounding spires – the jet black tops of spruce trees.
What a day! What a place! Mount Lorne had been awesome! The Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Circle was really here again. So good to be back in Canada’s fabled Yukon Territory! (End 8-23-29, 12:36 AM)
Links:
Next Adventure Prior Adventure
Grey Mountain near Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada (9-9-18)
Nares Mountain, Yukon Territory, Canada (9-10-18)
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