Day 15 of Lupe’s 1st Summer of 2022 Dingo Vacation to Wyoming!
6-30-22, the wee hours, Upper Crow Creek Lake – Coming to for the 2nd time tonight, SPHP stuck the little flashlight out of the tiny house, and swept the faint beam around the surrounding area.
There she was! 15 feet away, Lupe was laying all by herself out on cold, bare ground, silently contemplating the brilliant stars in an otherwise ink black sky. Sniffing the night air and listening, she glanced over.
I’m fine, SPHP!
Yeah, I see that, Loop. Glad you’ve got sense enough to never wander too far off and get lost. Still, I always feel like I’ve got to check on you every so often. Maybe you ought to come back into the tiny house? Warm up, and have a nice snooze. Big day coming up. Mount Fitzpatrick (10,907 ft.), if we can get there!
There’s something primeval about the night, SPHP. I love being out here!
I know. I always feel it, too. The night whispers to one’s soul, especially alone in the wilderness with the unfathomably ancient universe ablaze above. Well, enjoy, but don’t stay out too long. Don’t fall asleep out there. You never know. We may not be as entirely alone as it seems.
First light, Upper Crow Creek Lake – Wrapped in her red sleeping bag, the Carolina Dog was snoozing peacefully, all toasty warm. Across the lake, Peak 10525 was exquisite in the morning alpenglow. SPHP felt restless and uneasy, maybe a bit queasy. The sky promptly clouded up, the alpenglow vanishing. Suddenly, Peak 10525 was drab and lifeless compared to what it had been only moments ago.
Should probably get going, but lethargy triumphed. Maybe it would be better to wait a while, get some more sleep? Simply smart to give this summer day a chance to soften the snowfields on Mount Fitzpatrick’s steep N face, right? Seemed logical enough, and a perfect excuse. SPHP took an Alka-Seltzer Cold Plus, rolled over, and tried to get back to sleep.
Morning, Upper Crow Creek Lake – Yikes! That certainly worked. Nearly 10:00 AM! Although still not all that energetic or confident, SPHP did feel better. Resting nearby in brilliant sunshine, Lupe was outside the tiny house again, calmly watching the world.
Shoot! You should have woken me up, Loop! Didn’t mean to sleep so long.
Hated to do that to you, SPHP. You were really sawing wood.
You mean snoring? I never snore.
Oh, really? Coulda fooled me, SPHP!
Well, never mind that. Getting you some Taste of the Wild. Eat it quick, and we’ll split some beef jerky as a morning picker-upper. Then we better get with it.
Beef jerky? Awesome! Bring on that Taste of the Wild, SPHP. It’s doomed!
10:02 AM, Upper Crow Creek Lake – At least someone was feeling feisty! Right after setting out, the were-puppy attacked, forcing SPHP to fend it off or get bitten.
Ow! Dang it, do you really have to do that to me every time you get excited?
Just a love, nip, SPHP! Admit it, you love the were-puppy, too!
True enough. Most of me does. I’m glad you’re so high-spirited and feeling frisky, but you really ought to know that my ankles and calves aren’t as fond of the were-puppy as you might imagine. C’mon, Mount Fitzpatrick time! Onward, puppy ho!
Heading W, Lupe led the way, Mount Fitzpatrick already in sight only a mile away.
Flat terrain quickly led to a snow-filled valley W of Upper Crow Creek Lake. Part of this valley was exposed rock. Seemed better to climb along a partially tree-lined ridge a bit farther N.
Plenty of snow and rock this way, too, but it worked out pretty well. After gaining some elevation, the Carolina Dog reached some relatively flat, bare ground. Several use trails were in this region.
Choosing the best use trail, Loop followed it W on a fairly steep S-facing slope overlooking the snowy valley. The snow-free trail made for an easy traverse. Gradually gaining elevation, the trail eventually curved NW. Passing through a short stretch of forest, Lupe arrived at a broad, snowy saddle.
This was the saddle that the valley W of Upper Crow Creek Lake swept up to. A deep snow-filled depression was to the N, and Peak 10788 was visible to the NW.
Going W across the saddle, Lupe began climbing a steep, mostly bare slope leading up a 300 foot high ridge. Finding the use trail again, Loop was able to follow it most of the way, but once above the steepest part, the trail vanished again in a snowy forest.
Avoiding the trees as much as possible, a snow trudge higher finally got her to some more bare ground along the E side of the ridgeline. Upper Crow Creek Lake was in view again.
The territory W of the ridge Lupe had reached wasn’t nearly as steep. A wide, relatively shallow valley was so full of snow that a tarn shown on the topo map must have still been buried beneath it.
Of more immediate interest, Mount Fitzpatrick’s N face was now fully in sight to the S. Snowfields covered most of it. Unequipped for a snow climb, the lower half looked impossibly steep.
However, there was good news, too. Toward the E side of the N face, a broad swath of ground was almost entirely snow-free. Although also very steep, an E approach looked quite feasible. In fact, a fair amount of greenery was visible, which usually meant decent traction. A sloping rock band visible above the greenery appeared potentially problematic. Might be a line of cliffs along it? Hard to say how formidable from here.
Sometimes on snow, but mostly on rocky terrain, Lupe headed S, aiming for the E side of Mount Fitzpatrick’s N face. The Carolina Dog actually lost some elevation before getting to where the decisive ascent began.
Hopes were soaring as Lupe started up! The slope was very steep, but no worse than many others she had been on. For a long way, plenty of low vegetation made for good, firm traction. By the time Loop reached the slanting band of rock SPHP thought might be a problem, the rate of climb was diminishing. The American Dingo was already higher than most of the exceptionally steep massive snowfield to the W.
The rock band proved to be no issue at all. While it did form a long wall, as expected, the wall was crumbling and low. Loop simply scrambled up one of the easier spots. Nothing to it!
Patches of greenery existed even above the wall, but they soon gave way to much rockier terrain. Still climbing, though now on less of an incline, Loopster turned SW traversing an extensive boulder field between the massive snowfields below, and a long, narrow snowbank above.
Near the upper end of the long snowbank, Lupe turned S, surging up and over it in a few bounds. Immediately above the snowbank, she reached a rounded ridgeline of broken rock with sparse vegetation scattered throughout. This was Mount Fitzpatrick’s E ridge.
By now it was clear that the American Dingo was already very high on the mountain. Turning W, a 50 foot climb was all it took before a cairn appeared only a little farther ahead.
12:58 PM, 58ºF, Mount Fitzpatrick (10,907 ft.) – Smiling broadly, Lupe stood with her front paws propped up on the summit cairn. Peak 10788 and others strung out along the same ridgeline were in view beyond her, Grand Teton (13,770 ft.) faintly visible on the N horizon. Skies were sunny that way, but much stormier looking to the S.
We made it, SPHP! Mount Fitzpatrick wasn’t so hard after all, was it?
Have to admit I can scarcely believe how well it has all gone, Loopster. After those first glimpses of Peak 10525 yesterday, I was almost certain we were doomed to failure. Glad we didn’t try this a week ago, though. Might still have been enough snow back then to prevent us from getting up here. That big snow-free stretch on the E side of the N face was key.
Good call delaying Fitzpatrick until after Mount McDougal (10,780 ft.) and the Snake River Range, SPHP! Worthy of a chocolate coconut bar!
Believe you’re on to something there, Looper! Should be one in the pack.
Mount Fitzpatrick’s summit was crescent-shaped, with 2 lobes extending E and SSW from a circular central region 20 feet in diameter where the cairn was. Plenty of room to stroll around a bit, and nothing at all up here to block the views in any direction.
After a pawshake congratulating Lupe on her latest peakbagging success, SPHP grabbed a white plastic tube from the center of the cairn, then sat facing E on bare ground nearby. Assisted by a famished Carolina Dog, a chocolate coconut bar performed its disappearing act. Loop then curled up on SPHP’s lap. Munching an apple, SPHP had a look at the registry contained within the white tube.
The registry consisted of loose full-sized sheets of paper printed out with columns for name, date, address, and comments. 2 or 3 pages had been completely filled out, easily sporting 50 to 60 names dating back as far as 2010. At least 3 dogs had been up here, too. Unfortunately, the entire registry, including all the extra pages, was sopping wet.
Just a mess, aye, SPHP? Too bad!
Yeah, these blank pages aren’t going to be usable. I’m just going to pack them out, but we might as well leave the pages that are already completed, since most of the entries are still legible.
You’re not going to add my name to the registry, SPHP?
Oh, of course I will, Loop. I’ll tear a page out of our small notebook. Not the best, but at least your ascent will be noted as long as that page lasts. Really not much else we can do at this point.
Loop’s registry entry taken care of, SPHP returned the white tube to the cairn, which featured one other item of interest.
Want your registry entries to last longer than a piece of paper, Loop? Elly Rainey has a solution.
Who is Elly Rainey, SPHP?
No idea, Loopster, but we could have run into her here sometime in 2018.
Oh, that’s awesome, SPHP! An entry carved in stone! That’s a great idea.
Would be if I were as ambitious as Elly. Not sure I want to be carrying rocks up every mountain we climb, Loop.
Maybe Mount Fitzpatrick is of some special significance to Elly?
Seems like that might well be the case, Looper. She would have had to bring a much bigger rock to explain why, though.
The storminess to the S was slowly drifting E. Lupe alternated between relaxing on SPHP’s lap, and wandering about sniffing and looking at the views. In addition to the Tetons to the N, the Gros Ventre Range was on the NNE horizon, and the Wind River Range NE.
Much closer, Mount McDougal (10,780 ft.) and Triple Peak (11,127 ft.) were both identifiable NE beyond the Greys River valley in the Wyoming Range. Mount Coffin (11,242 ft.) and Wyoming Peak (11,378 ft.) were in sight to the SE.
Less than a mile away, Peak 10525 was due E . Way below it, a sliver of Upper Crow Creek Lake was visible just to the N. Lupe’s tiny house might have been visible down there, too, if not hidden by trees.
Immediately W, a long, straight ridge running N/S defined the opposite side of the Swift Creek valley. Unfamiliar mountains in Idaho were on the horizon beyond it. Quite a bit closer, Red Top Mountain (10,411 ft.) was identifiable to the SW.
Much of Mount Fitzpatrick’s N face was so steep that it couldn’t be seen from the summit, but the region Lupe had traveled through below it was visible.
The best views of all, while a considerable amount of snow still lingered on N slopes, were to the S. Greysalt Mountain (10,769 ft.) and Mount Wagner (10,709 ft.) stood out.
The Carolina Dog was more interested in a steep snowbank clinging to Mount Fitzpatrick’s upper SE face. She ventured out onto it to cool off and eat some snow.
2:26 PM – The weather was perfect, visibility and the views awesome! However, nearly an hour and a half had shot by. Lupe now stood by the cairn on Mount Fitzpatrick for the last time.
Hate to go, Looper, but it’s over. Take a good look around, we’ll be leaving this region tomorrow, and it may be a long time before we ever come back.
That’s just sad, SPHP! It’s been marvelous, and Mount Fitzpatrick turned out great, didn’t it?
Sure did, Loop. Thrilled that we actually got here. Yesterday I was afraid we wouldn’t.
The American Dingo had already lost 80 feet of elevation heading down the E ridge, when SPHP suddenly stopped.
Hang on, Loop!
What’s up, SPHP?
I’ve been trying to remember to take a photo with our new iPhone from each summit we’ve been visiting on this Dingo Vacation. Think I forgot to again. Would you mind going back up for a few minutes?
I’d be delighted to, SPHP!
So the American Dingo returned briefly to Mount Fitzpatrick’s summit. Once the iPhone photo was taken, Lupe enjoyed one last chance to gaze again upon the glorious scenes in all directions from the highest peak of the Salt River Range.
Oh, the fun wasn’t over yet! Lupe still had a wonderful long day ahead of her on the way back out. Although she made minor variations to her route up Mount Fitzpatrick, for the most part her descent was the same.
When Lupe got back to the tiny house, SPHP was surprised when she didn’t try to get in. Instead, Loop laid down among the buttercups in the corner of the two logs by the white stone fire ring. While SPHP packed up the sleeping bags and the tiny house, she relaxed while enjoying the fabulous view of Upper Crow Creek Lake and Peak 10525.
As soon as SPHP had everything ready, it was time to head back to Trail No. 079 at Pass 9060.
Down in the North Crow Creek valley along Trail No. 044, Lupe saw a couple of deer and an elk. When she got to the fords of Crow Creek, she plunged right through like a pro. With boots, socks, and paws already soaking wet from the snow back at Mount Fitzpatrick, even SPHP didn’t hesitate to do the same.
9:03 PM, 53ºF, Crow Creek trailhead along Greys River Road – The last of the alpenglow was on the highest peaks when Lupe made it back to the RAV4. She was eager to leap in and get back on her pink blanket, while SPHP mucked around getting everything loaded.
Once that was done, Loop enjoyed Ol’ Roy for dinner, as SPHP drove S. Too tired to do anything else, SPHP munched a packet of Ritz crackers, sharing some with the Carolina Dog. It was dark when SPHP finally parked the RAV4 at the end of Road No. 10399 near Greys River.
For the 4th and final time on this Dingo Vacation, Lupe would get to spend the night at this favorite spot. She drifted off to Dingo Dreamland knowing Mount Fitzpatrick had been a grand and beautiful success. What a fun adventure!
And Lupe would always remember her quiet night beneath the stars by lovely Upper Crow Creek Lake.
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