Heading S on Hwy 67, SPHP saw a sign that said Teller County. Lupe was too far S! SPHP must have missed the turn for Westcreek. SPHP turned the G6 around, and headed back N looking for it. Between mile markers 91 and 92, SPHP found two turns to Westbrook. Both had green street signs, but there was no other evidence of a community along the highway.
Abbey Road was the first turn, and led a short distance down a hill to Westcreek Road (County Road No. 73), which left Hwy 67 about 0.5 mile farther N. A left turn on Westcreek Road took Lupe past a few buildings, which comprised what there was of the tiny community of Westcreek. Less than a mile after getting on Westcreek Road, there was a junction with County Road No. 68 near a little lake and the Mountain Communities Volunteer Fire Department.
County Road No. 68 was what SPHP had been looking for. Lupe was on her way to climb Thunder Butte (9,836 ft.) , the high point of Douglas County, Colorado. In a couple of miles, No. 68 would lead Lupe past Sheep Nose (8,894 ft.) to 9-J Road. About 1.5 miles in on 9-J Road, there was supposed to be a place to park at a sharp bend where the road turns NW. From there, Thunder Butte would be just a couple of miles to the NNE.
At 10:24 AM, SPHP parked the G6 at the bend in 9-J Road. There wasn’t any trailhead or real parking lot, but there were at least a couple of places to pull off the road. It was only 33°F, with a light NW breeze. There were a few small snowflakes in the air. Lupe would get lightly snowed on a few times during the day, but the snow squalls stayed mostly off to the N.
Thunder Butte was in clear view to the NNE. Lupe was going to have a great time climbing it! There was no trail up Thunder Butte, but it looked like a pretty easy trek.
The first part of Lupe’s journey to Thunder Butte was very easy. She just had to follow a nearly level ridge heading NE. When she got to the edge of Shrewsbury Gulch, she turned N staying on the ridge. It was easiest to just stay to the W of Shrewsbury Gulch until Lupe could get around the N end of it without losing elevation.
Partway N along the W edge of Shrewsbury Gulch, Lupe came to Pedestal Point – a rock carved by nature over millions of years for the sole purpose of serving as a pedestal for the display of an adventurous Carolina Dog with Thunder Butte in the background. Since Lupe was the only Carolina Dog available this day, she hopped right up on Pedestal Point rock.
The ground along the W edge of Shrewsbury Gulch undulated up and down a little bit, but with little net elevation change. Towards the N end of Shrewsbury Gulch, Lupe started turning slowly E towards Thunder Butte. In some places she found a faint trail, but it quickly disappeared again each time. Lupe worked her way through the forest over to the N side of the ridge. The forest was full of interesting rock formations along the way.
Over on the N side of the low forested ridge, there was a little meadow with views to the NW. Here Lupe turned to the E and headed directly up toward the Snout. On the way, she emerged from the living forest and climbed up through young aspens growing in a previously burned area.
This seemed to be the easiest way up. There was some deadfall timber, but it wasn’t too bad. There were quite a few dead trees still standing, however. At some point in the future when more of them fall over, the easiest route up will likely be through the living forest.
When Lupe got pretty close to the base of the Snout, she stayed to the S of it. She was now above the living forest in an area that had been pretty thoroughly burned back in 2003. Although that meant the immediate surroundings weren’t too pretty, it also meant there were some terrific views off in the distance.
The terrain near the Snout was fairly steep, but not dangerously so. Lupe sniffed around, while SPHP trudged slowly up the mountain. Lupe and SPHP arrived at a rocky outcropping to the SSE of the Snout. From here, Lupe could get a clear view of the saddle area between the two summits of Thunder Butte. The lower summit was to the S. The true summit was to the N.
Lupe and SPHP did a bit of exploring around the rocky high point SSE of the Snout. SPHP wanted to see if there was an easy way up here from the lowest part of the saddle between the two halves of Thunder Butte. It turned out there was a break in the rocks with a wide grassy pass between them. The pass led down to the saddle. It looked kind of steep, but was certainly a feasible route up or down.
In this pass, Lupe and SPHP also discovered the Most Interesting Rock of Thunder Butte. The Most Interesting Rock stuck out over part of the pass from the W. SPHP liked the unusual shape of the rock and its overhanging positioning. Lupe agreed to strike a dramatic American Dingo pose on the Most Interesting Rock.
From the Most Interesting Rock, Lupe and SPHP started the climb to the N up to the true summit of Thunder Butte. Shortly before getting there, Lupe reached a ridge that led the last little way to the NW up to top. Soon Lupe was sitting on the highest rocks on Thunder Butte next to a registry. SPHP entered Lupe’s name on the registry for her, and signed in as well.
After registering, it was time for a break. Lupe chowed down on some Taste of the Wild, while SPHP consumed an apple. Then there was plenty of time for admiring views, and taking some pictures. There were great views to the SE, S, W, and NW. A small area of living forest mostly hid the views to the N, NE and E.
Lupe and SPHP had a fun time up on the summit of Thunder Butte. The views were magnificent, and the solitude complete. Sadly, eventually, it was time to go. On the way down, SPHP tried to get some pictures of the views to the NE which weren’t available from the summit.
Lupe and SPHP retraced their route up back down Thunder Butte. Once down to the low forested ridge, Lupe did some sniffing around in the forest among the interesting rock formations. The sun was starting to get low in the W. However, there was still plenty of time to get back to the G6. Lupe and SPHP had some fun among the rocks.
Lupe found her way to the G6, but SPHP called her away again. It was so nice out, SPHP wanted to go a little closer to Sheep Nose for a better look. Earlier in the day, SPHP had ruled out trying to climb Sheep Nose, which looked like it might require some technical climbing skills and equipment. Sheep Nose was still an interesting looking peak. Maybe it looked less troublesome from closer up.
Lupe and SPHP returned to the G6 at 4:00 PM exactly. It was 35°F, and a beautiful calm late afternoon. Lupe’s trek to Thunder Butte had been a fun day, and a great success!
There had been easy parts on nearly level ground near Shrewsbury Gulch, and harder parts climbing steeply up the mountain. Lupe had seen and/or explored cool rock formations like Pedestal Point rock, the Snout, the Most Interesting Rock, and the boulders along the low forested ridge. There had been great views from the top of the mountain, and at many points on the way up.
Lupe did have one complaint, though. She never found a single squirrel in the forest the whole day long.
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