{"id":15610,"date":"2018-10-31T08:10:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-31T14:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=15610"},"modified":"2024-04-18T21:09:33","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T03:09:33","slug":"big-baldy-mountain-the-judith-basin-county-high-point-montana-9-12-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=15610","title":{"rendered":"Big Baldy Mountain, the Judith Basin County High Point, Montana (9-12-17)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Days 42, 43 & 44 of Lupe’s 2017 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon & Alaska!<\/em><\/p>\n

9-10-17, 7:09 AM, 45\u00b0F, E of Vanderhoof, British Columbia<\/em> – Time to scoot!\u00a0 Lupe was on her way home.\u00a0 With her successful ascent of Harvey Mountain in Babine Mountains Provincial Park near Smithers yesterday, her adventures in Canada were concluded.\u00a0 Only one big adventure left to go on this Dingo Vacation, and that would be in Montana, more than 1,000 miles away.<\/p>\n

SPHP drove E on Hwy 16.\u00a0 A fuel stop in Prince George, then Lupe was seeing new territory heading S along Hwy 97.\u00a0 Pretty country, but a far more populated region than staying on Hwy 16 would have been.\u00a0 Lupe liked this route well enough; she had cows and horses to bark at.\u00a0 SPHP preferred the more secluded, remote feel of Hwy 16.\u00a0 Still it was fun to see something new.<\/p>\n

The drive went on all day.\u00a0 Lupe escaped the G6 at a few scenic breaks along the way.\u00a0 She saw the Thompson River a little N of Spences Bridge.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
After a long drive S on Hwy 97 from Prince George, Lupe escaped the G6 for this view of the Thompson River<\/strong>. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking upstream along the Thompson River<\/strong>. Southern British Columbia was much drier than the Yukon and Alaska where Lupe had spent the vast majority of this Dingo Vacation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At Spences Bridge, SPHP turned E.\u00a0 Hwy 8 was winding, narrow, and far less traveled.\u00a0 Lupe visited the Nicola River.\u00a0 The river was running low.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Along the Nicola River<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The quiet, slow pace ended at Merritt.\u00a0 Traffic zoomed S along Hwy 5A, then E on Hwy 97C over highlands before dropping down to a junction with Hwy 97 again.\u00a0 SPHP drove S along the W shore of Okanagan Lake.\u00a0 The huge, long lake was beautiful, but this area was all citified.\u00a0 Traffic was bumper to bumper all the way to Penticton.<\/p>\n

S of Penticton, Lupe needed relief from the G6 again.\u00a0 She found it at a park at the S end of Skaha Lake in Okanagan Falls.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
At the S end of Skaha Lake<\/strong>, Okanagan Falls, British Columbia. Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Oh, yeah! This is better! Say are we going to climb any of the mountains around here, SPHP? …. Fraid not, Looper, you’re on the way home. You have only one more adventure, and that’s still far away in Montana.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe left Canada near Osoyoos.\u00a0 While the Okanagan Lake area had been thriving and overrun with people, N Washington State looked dry, deserted, desolate.\u00a0 Night fell along Hwy 20 E of Tonasket putting an end to Looper’s travels for the day.<\/p>\n

9-11-17<\/em> – Last night there had been stars in the wee hours.\u00a0 Even the moon was out.\u00a0 For a month and a half, Lupe had scarcely seen them in the far N.\u00a0 The night sky made a good impression, but Lupe woke to find herself in Mordor.<\/p>\n

Across Washington, Idaho, and into Montana, the farther E the Carolina Dog went, the browner and yellower the world became.\u00a0 Only the tinder dry forests somehow remained green.\u00a0 Had even a drop of rain fallen on this parched land since Lupe left home at the end of July?\u00a0 Didn’t look like it.\u00a0 The day was hot.\u00a0 Smoke filled the air.<\/p>\n

Are you scared, SPHP?<\/em><\/p>\n

Not at all, why would I be scared?<\/em><\/p>\n

You never told me we’d be going to Mordor!<\/em><\/p>\n

Oh, yeah.\u00a0 Looks that way, doesn’t it, Loop?\u00a0 Guess you’ve figured it out.\u00a0 P<\/em>eakbagging Mount Doom ought to be a spectacular end for your 2017 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon & Alaska, don’t you think?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Mount Doom!\u00a0 Are you crazy?\u00a0 I thought you might have something special planned for my last adventure, but Mount Doom?\u00a0 I don’t mind telling you, I am a bit scared.\u00a0 Do you have it?<\/em><\/p>\n

Have what?<\/em><\/p>\n

Don’t be so coy.\u00a0 You know what I mean.<\/em><\/p>\n

Actually, I don’t.<\/em><\/p>\n

Do I have to drag it out of you, SPHP?\u00a0 The ring!\u00a0 Do you have the ring?<\/em><\/p>\n

What ring?<\/em><\/p>\n

The ring of power!<\/em><\/p>\n

Oh, that.\u00a0 Why yes, I think so.\u00a0 Should be in the glove box, unless I left it on the nightstand at home, or maybe it was in that box of odds and ends I took to the Salvation Army before we left.<\/em><\/p>\n

You took the ring of power to the Salvation Army?\u00a0 You can’t be serious!<\/em><\/p>\n

Maybe.\u00a0 I don’t remember for sure, Loop.\u00a0 Anyway, what’s the difference?\u00a0 What good is having a ring of power?\u00a0 They haven’t been perfected yet.\u00a0 Nearly all of them have serious manufacturer’s defects.\u00a0 You can never use them, and they just cause endless trouble.\u00a0 Why, even recycling them is a major pain.\u00a0 Look at all the inconvenience Frodo had to go through.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Well, if you didn’t want the ring of power, SPHP, you could have given it to your dearest Dingo, or at least put it up on eBay, and have gotten something for it.\u00a0 Maybe you don’t care to have a ring of power, but they are in high demand from what I hear.\u00a0 They’re all the rage!\u00a0 A ring of power would have brought a pretty penny on eBay, I bet.\u00a0 Besides, here we are, well into Mordor now, and you don’t even know what you did with it.\u00a0 Everyone else that’s got a ring of power is obsessed with keeping track of it.\u00a0 But not you, SPHP.\u00a0 Oh no!\u00a0 You can’t be bothered with such trifles can you?\u00a0 How can you be so absent-minded?\u00a0 We are going to need that ring of power when we get to Mount Doom!<\/em><\/p>\n

Oh, I suppose you’re right, Loopster.\u00a0 Remind me to look for it when we get to the Mount Doom trailhead.\u00a0 Don’t worry.\u00a0 It’s probably in the glove box, like I said before.<\/em><\/p>\n

By nightfall, Lupe was back at King’s Hill Pass in the Little Belt Range, the same place she’d spent the first night of her long journeys.<\/p>\n

9-12-17<\/em> – A bright morning.\u00a0 This was it!\u00a0 The last adventure!\u00a0 SPHP drove 2 miles NE from King’s Hill Pass to a R (E) turn off Hwy 89 onto USFS Road No. 3328.\u00a0 The dusty road wound N through the forest, and was fine for several miles.\u00a0 Looper rode with her head out the window eagerly watching for squirrels.<\/p>\n

SPHP made a wrong turn onto USFS Road No. 3356, eventually realized the mistake, and returned to No. 3328 again.\u00a0 A couple miles farther N, and No. 3328 deteriorated to the point where SPHP would have turned back, if there had been a decent turnaround spot.\u00a0 The stony roadbed was beating the poor G6 to death.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, No. 3328 improved going forward.\u00a0 At Jefferson Creek, Lupe reached an intersection.\u00a0 SPHP didn’t have a map of the area.\u00a0 A sketchy route description SPHP did have said to keep driving N on No. 3328 to a sharp bend in the road at Chamberlain Creek.<\/p>\n

Once at Chamberlain Creek, the G6 could be abandoned.\u00a0 Lupe would then climb the forested slope to the E, and arrive up on a broad, open ridge a little over a mile S of Big Baldy Mountain<\/span><\/a> (9,177 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 A short stretch of 4WD road would take the Carolina Dog to an obvious trail to the top from the SW.\u00a0 Seemed easy enough.<\/p>\n

No. 3328 went W from Jefferson Creek.\u00a0 The road went a mile, curved N, then headed NNE.\u00a0 About 2 miles from Jefferson Creek, the road turned sharply W.\u00a0 No signs, but a quick inspection confirmed the existence of a small creek.\u00a0 SPHP stashed the G6 at the widest spot along the narrow road.\u00a0 Lupe was on her way!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Remember to get the ring of power out of the glove box, SPHP!<\/em> Lupe on USFS Road No. 3328 ready to set out for Big Baldy Mountain. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Staying well S of the creek, Lupe left the road climbing E up a forested slope.\u00a0 The stream soon angled N.\u00a0 Lupe continued E.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
An opening in the forest on the way up the slope. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The forested slope was steep, and rocky in spots.\u00a0 For some mysterious reason, heavy equipment had mowed down wide swathes of the forest, then left the dead trees piled up in the openings.\u00a0 Lupe worked through several such bands of destruction before getting above the highest one.<\/p>\n

After gaining 700 feet of elevation or more, the terrain finally leveled out.\u00a0 Lupe arrived up on a wide saddle.<\/p>\n

Nothing looked right!\u00a0 The saddle was completely forested.\u00a0 No open ground, no 4WD road, no trail, no sign anyone ever came here!\u00a0 Big Baldy Mountain wasn’t even in sight.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
After climbing more than 700 feet up the ridge, Lupe arrives at a forested saddle not at all like what SPHP had been expecting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP searched for a trail.\u00a0 Nada.\u00a0 Higher ground was SW or NE.\u00a0 To the SE, the terrain dropped away on the other side of the saddle.\u00a0 SPHP made an arrow on the ground out of big sticks.\u00a0 The arrow pointed W where Lupe had come up.\u00a0 Maybe the arrow would come in handy later on when trying to find the way back?<\/p>\n

Big Baldy Mountain was almost certainly somewhere N of here.\u00a0 With the arrow in place, Lupe headed NE through the forest.\u00a0 She was soon gaining elevation steadily, though not as rapidly as before.\u00a0 After a little more than 0.25 mile, a meadow of dead grass and scattered dead trees could be seen ahead.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
0.25 mile NE of the saddle, Looper enters a meadow of dead grass and scattered dead trees. Photo looks NNE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe headed NNE through the meadow.\u00a0 When she reached the shade of a live tree, she was ready to for a break.\u00a0 It was hot and sunny.\u00a0 The Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Sisterhood was no longer used to such a climate.\u00a0 She eagerly lapped up water SPHP provided, then took it easy, panting in the shade.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Whew! We aren’t in Alaska any more are we, SPHP? Mordor is like an oven!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Close to this live tree, a road was coming up a long slope from the SE.\u00a0 For a 4WD road, it was in surprisingly good shape.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe ready to roll again next to the road she discovered close to her shady pine tree. Photo looks SSE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With any luck at all, this was the 4WD road that would take Lupe to the trail up Big Baldy Mountain.\u00a0 Before following the road, Lupe crossed it.\u00a0 She headed N until she was high enough to see what was beyond this broad ridge she now seemed to be on.<\/p>\n

Oh, yeah!\u00a0 There was Big Baldy Mountain<\/span><\/a> (9,177 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>!\u00a0 No mistaking it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Crossing the ridge, Lupe caught this view of Big Baldy Mountain<\/strong>. Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Big Baldy was farther away than expected.\u00a0 SPHP must not have driven far enough N on USFS Road No. 3328.\u00a0 That little stream Lupe had started up by couldn’t have been Chamberlain Creek.\u00a0 No matter.\u00a0 Lupe had a longer trek in store, but certainly a doable one.\u00a0 Puppy, Ho!\u00a0 Onward!<\/p>\n

Lupe and SPHP returned to the 4WD road, and began following it NW.\u00a0 The road climbed gradually, entered a stretch of forest, and emerged back out onto open ground.\u00a0 Lupe could see King’s Hill Pass from here.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
King’s Hill Pass<\/strong> where Lupe had spent the night is at Center. King’s Hill<\/span><\/a> (8,008 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> is the ridge on the L. Porphyry Peak<\/span><\/a> (8,192 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> is the high hill on the R. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The road curved around the W side of a barren hill, then headed NE.\u00a0 Big Baldy Mountain was in sight ahead.\u00a0 Lupe passed through both forested and open territory on the way down to a saddle leading to Big Baldy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
From here, the road goes to a saddle leading straight to Big Baldy<\/strong>. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Heading down to the saddle. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
You know, SPHP, we spent all our time in the Yukon & Alaska hoping for sunshine. Now that we’re in Mordor, we’re spending it all hoping for shade!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After crossing the saddle, Loop arrived at the start of the trail to the top of Big Baldy Mountain.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
At the start of the trail up Big Baldy Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first part of the trail wound up through a pine forest.\u00a0 The trail was dusty, eroded, and had lots of loose rocks.\u00a0 Lupe enjoyed the shade of the forest as long as she could.\u00a0 She had already seen that, soon enough, she would be up where there wasn’t a tree or bit of shade to be found.<\/p>\n

Where it left the forest, the trail was steep and consisted entirely of small rocks.\u00a0 Lupe began the long, sunny part of the climb.\u00a0 At first, there were still occasionally a few trees where a Carolina Dog could take a shady break.\u00a0 Higher up, Lupe roamed a barren slope.\u00a0 Near the summit, progress became easier as the rate of climb steadily decreased.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Leaving the forest, the trail was all rock. Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
For a while there were still scattered trees where Loop could take a break in the shade. The saddle Lupe crossed on the way here is the line of bare ground on the L. The road comes this way from the distant bare spot. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looper could forget about shade the rest of the way from here. Photo looks NNE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Big Baldy Mountain looks like a huge dome from the W.\u00a0 However, when Loop was almost to the summit, she discovered that the mountain drops sharply into a big canyon to the E.\u00a0 From the edge, Lupe could see Rhoda Lake 900 feet below.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Big Baldy Mountain<\/strong> looks like a giant dome from the W. Approaching the summit, however, Lupe discovered that the mountain drops sharply into a big canyon to the E. Photo looks E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Almost there! Lupe along the E edge of Big Baldy Mountain<\/strong>. The summit is beyond her and a little to the R. Photo looks NNW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Rhoda Lake<\/strong> from the E edge of Big Baldy Mountain<\/strong>. Photo looks E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The summit of Big Baldy Mountain<\/span><\/a> (9,177 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> was a large barren area strewn with smallish rocks.\u00a0 A crudely constructed cairn was at the high point.\u00a0 A metal box rested on the cairn weighed down by a single rock.\u00a0 Nearby, an old wooden sign giving the elevation as 9,175 feet stood close to the E edge.\u00a0 A white structure with solar panels and an antenna completed the man-made items atop the mountain.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe on the summit cairn. Although the dome seen beyond the sign looks about as high as where Loop is, the topo map<\/strong><\/span><\/a> says it’s 50 feet lower. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking E from the summit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The wooden sign, summit cairn, and white building with the solar panels and antenna. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since it was only mid-day, Lupe and SPHP lingered at the summit.\u00a0 Lupe had plenty of time to sniff around and check out the views.\u00a0 She drank water, devoured Taste of the Wild, and in general lazed about.<\/p>\n

The air was somewhat smoky from distant forest fires.\u00a0 The views weren’t as clear as they might have been, but the smoke wasn’t too bad.\u00a0 Lupe could see many of the higher peaks of the Little Belt Range.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Looking N or NW(?) from Big Baldy Mountain<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Long Mountain<\/span><\/a> (8,621 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> (Center) with help from the telephoto lens. Long Mountain is the Cascade County, Montana high point. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The far barren hill toward the L is likely Yogo Peak<\/span><\/a> (8,801 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>. Photo looks SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The most impressive view was actually the one of Rhoda Lake.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The most impressive view from Big Baldy Mountain<\/strong> was the one looking down on Rhoda Lake<\/strong>. Gibson Peak (8,065 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> is on the L. The bare peak at Center far beyond the lake is Bandbox Mountain (8,100 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>. Photo looks E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Rhoda Lake<\/strong> with Bandbox Mountain<\/strong> beyond at Center. Photo looks E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Rhoda Lake<\/strong> with lots of help from the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So, where’s Mount Doom, SPHP?\u00a0 How far away is it?\u00a0 I’ve looked in every direction, and I can’t even see it from here.\u00a0 Why didn’t we park closer?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

This is it.<\/em><\/p>\n

What do you mean?\u00a0 This is what?<\/em><\/p>\n

This is Mount Doom.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Don’t be ridiculous!\u00a0 This can’t be Mount Doom!\u00a0 Where’s the impossibly craggy summit, the thick smoke, the intense heat?\u00a0 It’s warm out alright, and a bit smoky, but nothing like Mount Doom will be.\u00a0 Where are the bubbling lava streams and dark swirling clouds overhead?\u00a0 Where are the constant lightning strikes and all the rumbling earthquakes?\u00a0 Where are the explosive eruptions flinging fire and brimstone everywhere?<\/em><\/p>\n

Hmm.\u00a0 I suppose you’ve got a point, there, Loopster.\u00a0 Two theories.\u00a0 Either we’ve come when Mount Doom is dormant – mountains can’t carry on like that all the time you know – or I got the route description to the trailhead messed up.\u00a0 In that case, this is some other peak.<\/em><\/p>\n

Dormant!\u00a0 Mount Doom isn’t dormant!\u00a0 We’re at the wrong mountain.\u00a0 This doesn’t look remotely like Mount Doom.\u00a0 Neither does anything else around here.\u00a0 Sometimes I think you only pretend to be able to read maps.\u00a0 Did you even bring a map?\u00a0 I’ll bet you didn’t.\u00a0 Sheesh!\u00a0 Well, what do we do with it then, SPHP?<\/em><\/p>\n

Nothing.\u00a0 You were right.\u00a0 I didn’t bring a map.<\/em><\/p>\n

Not the map!\u00a0 The ring of power!\u00a0 What do we do with the ring of power?\u00a0\u00a0 Just fling it over the edge and hope it lands in Rhoda Lake?<\/em><\/p>\n

I suppose we could.\u00a0 Smeagol found a ring of power in a pond once, which had been a good hiding place for it for a long time, but I don’t think my arm is strong enough to throw the ring all the way to Rhoda Lake, unless it takes some mighty favorable bounces.\u00a0 Anyway, it doesn’t matter.\u00a0 The ring wasn’t in the glove box.<\/em><\/p>\n

Wasn’t in the glove box?\u00a0 So you don’t actually have the ring of power with you?<\/em><\/p>\n

No, not really.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lupe thought for a moment.<\/p>\n

Well, maybe that explains it, SPHP.\u00a0 Perhaps you were right.\u00a0 Maybe Mount Doom only goes nuts when the ring of power gets close?\u00a0 Since we haven’t actually got the ring with us, the mountain could be just disguising itself as this innocent looking big hill.\u00a0 There’s magic in Mordor, you know.\u00a0 Maybe the mountain is dormant and under a spell, just waiting for the ring to come closer?<\/em><\/p>\n

Oh, I think you’ve hit upon it, Loop!\u00a0 That makes perfect sense!\u00a0 Or maybe it’s the power of the ring that causes the mountain to go crazy?\u00a0 Either way, it explains why nothing is happening here at the moment, which is for the best, anyway.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Ha ha!\u00a0 Mount Doom sure had me fooled, SPHP!\u00a0 What a disguise!\u00a0 I’m not used to dealing with magical places.\u00a0 Anyway, I’m kind of glad.\u00a0 This isn’t scary at all, and now we’ve peakbagged Mount Doom!\u00a0 There’s some bragging rights for ya!\u00a0 We don’t have to tell anyone the mountain was like this when we came.\u00a0 Let them think whatever they like.<\/em><\/p>\n

Don’t sell yourself short, Loopster.\u00a0 You’ve been to plenty of magical places on this Dingo Vacation.\u00a0 We both have.<\/em><\/p>\n

Since Big Baldy Mountain was the last big adventure of Lupe’s grand 2017 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon & Alaska<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, the American Dingo thought SPHP ought to open that metal box on the summit cairn.\u00a0 No doubt it contained a registry, and she wanted SPHP to enter her name.\u00a0 May as well leave proof that she had actually climbed Mount Doom!<\/p>\n

Loop also wanted to check up on her friend mountaineer Jobe Wymore<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 Had Jobe ever been to Mount Doom?\u00a0 According to his ascent records on peakbagger.com<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, Jobe has been all over the place.\u00a0 Had he really done all that stuff?\u00a0 If so, he’d probably been to Mount Doom, too.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
So, SPHP, why don’t you open this metal box? Must have a registry in it, don’t you think? Put our names in there, and then see if you can find Jobe’s name anywhere. Pretty please?<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SPHP was happy to comply with the Carolina Dog’s wishes.\u00a0 The metal box contained not 1, but 3 registries.\u00a0 Lupe’s name got entered in the most recent one, then SPHP searched to see if Jobe had been here.<\/p>\n

Tons of people had been on top of Mount Doom.\u00a0 Loopster was amazed!\u00a0 Who would have ever guessed?\u00a0 SPHP searched and searched, but wasn’t finding Jobe’s name.\u00a0 Then on about the last page SPHP checked in the last of the 3 registries, there it was.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Hah! Here it is Looper, proof Jobe was here. Satisfied now?<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe was happy that SPHP put her name in the registry.\u00a0 She was glad SPHP had found Jobe’s name.\u00a0 She wasn’t the least bit surprised that Jobe had been here, too.\u00a0 He sure does get around!\u00a0 Jobe was on the up and up.\u00a0 No doubt about it.\u00a0 What a modest guy, though.\u00a0 He’d never even mentioned that he climbed Mount Doom, but maybe Mount Doom had been dormant then, too, so it hadn’t seemed like such a big deal?<\/p>\n

After close to an hour on Big Baldy Mountain, the inevitable end was drawing near.\u00a0 Lupe returned to pose on the summit cairn a final time.\u00a0 The last picture on the last summit of her 2017 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon & Alaska!\u00a0 The Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Sisterhood tried to look indomitable, all noble and serious like.\u00a0 Even though Mount Doom wasn’t anywhere near the Arctic, it was a legendary peak.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
On Big Baldy Mountain, Little Belt Range, Montana 9-12-17<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe was satisfied.\u00a0 She started down Big Baldy Mountain on the way back to the G6.\u00a0 It was a bittersweet moment for sure – sad to think her epic adventures culminating with an ascent of Mount Doom were all over, but good to be going home, too.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Starting down Big Baldy Mountain<\/strong>. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
A last look back. Photo looks NNE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The arrow of sticks SPHP had made back down at the forested saddle was still there.\u00a0 Lupe did find it.\u00a0 She headed down the steep slope to the W, and eventually reached USFS Road No. 3328 again.\u00a0 There was the G6, just down the road a little way.\u00a0 (3:22 PM, 80\u00b0F)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
On the W slope almost back to USFS Road No. 3328 and the G6.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At Jefferson Creek, not wanting to brave the worst of USFS Road No. 3328 again, SPHP tried going W on the intersecting road.\u00a0 USFS Road No. 267 had a zillion annoying speed bumps built into it, but proved to be a much shorter and far superior route back to Hwy 89.<\/p>\n

9-13-17, 1:50 AM, Black Hills of South Dakota<\/em> – The long drive was over.\u00a0 A weary SPHP parked the G6 in the driveway.\u00a0 Two minutes later, Lupe was trotting into her living room.\u00a0 All was quiet and dark.\u00a0 Nothing had changed.\u00a0 Everything was as she’d left it.\u00a0 SPHP flicked on the kitchen light.\u00a0 The Carolina Dog was ready for a drink of water, and a bite to eat.<\/p>\n

While SPHP was distracted dishing up her Alpo, the Carolina Dog snuck up the dark hallway to the bedroom.\u00a0 She leapt up on the bed, then carefully and excitedly sniffed the top of the nightstand.\u00a0 A few moments later, Lupe sighed.<\/p>\n

The ring of power wasn’t there.<\/p>\n

Mount Doom<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

At first he could see nothing.\u00a0 In his great need he drew out once more the phial of Galadriel, but it was pale and cold within his trembling hand and threw no light into that stifling dark.\u00a0 He was come to the heart of the realm of Sauron and the forges of his current might, greatest in all Middle-earth; all other powers here subdued.\u00a0 Fearfully he took a few uncertain steps into the dark, and then all at once there came a flash of red that leaped upward, and smote the high black roof.\u00a0 Then Sam saw that he was in a long cave or tunnel that bored into the mountain’s smoking core.\u00a0 But only a short way ahead its floor and the walls on either side were cloven by a great fissure, out of which the red glow came, now leaping up, now dying down into darkness, and all the while far below there was a rumour and a trouble as of great engines throbbing and labouring.\u00a0 The light sprang up again, and there on the brink of the chasm, at the very Crack of Doom, stood Frodo, black against the glare, tense, erect, but still as if he had been turned to stone.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Master!” cried Sam.<\/em><\/p>\n

Then Frodo stirred and spoke with a clear voice, indeed with a voice clearer and more powerful than Sam had ever heard him use, and it rose above the throb and turmoil of Mount Doom, ringing in the roof and walls.<\/em><\/p>\n

“I have come” he said.\u00a0 “But I do not choose now to do what I came to do.\u00a0 I will not do this deed.\u00a0 The Ring is mine!”<\/em><\/p>\n

– from The Lord of the Rings, Return of the King, by J. R. R. Tolkien<\/p>\n

Big Baldy Mountain trailhead notes:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Low clearance vehicles<\/strong> – Take Hwy 89 about 5 miles N from King’s Hill Pass to a R (E) turn onto unmarked USFS Road No. 267 only 0.25 mile N of milepost 34.\u00a0 (A large pullout is along the same side of Hwy 89 just N of this turn in the event it gets missed.)\u00a0 USFS Road No. 267 passes over (no ford) Jefferson Creek close to the highway.\u00a0 Follow No. 267 4 miles E to a L (N) turn on USFS Road No. 3328.\u00a0 Follow No. 3328 another 4 miles to Chamberlain Creek.\u00a0 Park here (wherever, Lupe never got this far) and climb the ridge to the E to arrive at the saddle close to the start of the trail up Big Baldy from the SW.<\/p>\n

High clearance vehicles<\/strong> – It may be possible to drive right to the start of the trail SW of Big Baldy.\u00a0 Take Hwy 89 about 2 miles N from King’s Hill Pass to a R (E) turn onto USFS Road No. 3328.\u00a0 After 2 miles, a very sharp bend to the R (S) at an intersection puts you onto USFS Road No. 3356 (unmarked).\u00a0 2 miles on No. 3356 brings you to the top of a ridgeline and another intersection.\u00a0 Go L (N) on USFS Road No. 251, following it 3.5 miles to a “Y”.\u00a0 Bear L (N) onto USFS Road No. 3300.\u00a0 The trailhead at the base of Big Baldy is about 4 miles N on No. 3300.\u00a0 Lupe did not explore this whole route.\u00a0 All distances are approximate.\u00a0 Intersections may not be marked.\u00a0 In general, remain up on the ridge after reaching No. 251, and head N staying W wherever possible.<\/p>\n

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from\u00a0Lupe’s 2017 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon & Alaska Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a> or Master Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Days 42, 43 & 44 of Lupe’s 2017 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon & Alaska! 9-10-17, 7:09 AM, 45\u00b0F, E of Vanderhoof, British Columbia – Time to scoot!\u00a0 Lupe was on her way home.\u00a0 With her successful ascent of Harvey Mountain in Babine Mountains Provincial Park near Smithers yesterday, her adventures in Canada were concluded.\u00a0 … Continue reading Big Baldy Mountain, the Judith Basin County High Point, Montana (9-12-17)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[835,47],"tags":[105,975,106,26,974,104,417],"class_list":["post-15610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2017-yukon-alaska","category-dingo-tales","tag-american-dingo","tag-big-baldy-mountain","tag-carolina-dog","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-judith-basin-county","tag-lupe","tag-montana"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_7669.jpg?fit=1651%2C1238&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15610"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52980,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15610\/revisions\/52980"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}