{"id":20943,"date":"2019-04-25T08:10:45","date_gmt":"2019-04-25T14:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=20943"},"modified":"2019-04-29T08:15:15","modified_gmt":"2019-04-29T14:15:15","slug":"the-ogilvie-river-churchward-hill-yukon-territory-canada-8-17-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=20943","title":{"rendered":"The Ogilvie River & Churchward Hill, Yukon Territory, Canada (8-17-18)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 1 of Day 14 of Lupe’s 2018 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon, Northwest Territories & Alaska!<\/em><\/p>\n

5:15 AM, Windy Pass summit, Dempster Highway km 152.8<\/em> – Enthused on the way back from Lupe’s grand success at Windy Pass Peak, Distincta Peak, and Peak 5906 yesterday, SPHP mentally had the American Dingo going from one peakbagging success to the next all the way up the Dempster Highway to Mount Sittichinli.<\/p>\n

Silly delusions!\u00a0 As evening faded, clouds had swept over the entire sky.\u00a0 The wind picked up, and blew all night.\u00a0 This was Windy Pass, after all.\u00a0 Now dark clouds draped over the mountains looked like rain.\u00a0 Before long, it was raining.\u00a0 Felt like it could rain forever.<\/p>\n

7:14 AM, 42\u00b0F<\/em> – Surprisingly, on the drive N from Windy Pass, the steady rain quickly dwindled to a mere mist, though the sky remained heavily overcast.\u00a0 At km 166, an unusually colored stream appeared to the R (E) of the Dempster Highway.\u00a0 Light green to tan waters flowed over a bed of charcoal or rust-colored rocks.\u00a0 The overall effect was striking!\u00a0 SPHP stopped to let Lupe take a closer look.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Strikingly colored Engineer Creek<\/strong> at km 166 of the Dempster Highway.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A few km farther, a sign said “Red Creek”.\u00a0 However, Red Creek was only a tributary of the colorful stream, which SPHP finally determined was actually Engineer Creek.\u00a0 In any case, Engineer Creek remained visible along the Dempster Highway for a considerable distance, growing rapidly as tributaries contributed their rain-swollen flows.<\/p>\n

7:32 AM –<\/em> At km 179, Lupe and SPHP got out for another look.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Km 179. Engineer Creek<\/strong> was already a much larger stream.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The Dempster Highway follows Engineer Creek<\/strong> all the way down to its confluence with the Ogilvie River, although it’s not always visible from the road like this.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

7:49 AM, 45\u00b0, km 190<\/em> – The Dempster Highway eventually angled NNW away from Engineer Creek.\u00a0 Dead ahead, Sapper Hill (3,019 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> was now in view.\u00a0 SPHP had expected Sapper Hill might be an easy peakbagging objective for Lupe.\u00a0 Instead, Sapper Hill was steep and capped by a long, ragged ridgeline.\u00a0 The rock formations looked so formidable, a technical rock climb might be required to reach the true summit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Approaching Sapper Hill<\/strong>. Photo looks NNW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Sapper Hill was surprisingly rocky and steep!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

8:22 AM, 45\u00b0F, km 195.5<\/em> – A nearly deserted campground was hidden in the forest at the base of Sapper Hill.\u00a0 Not far beyond it, Lupe arrived at a bridge over the Ogilvie River.\u00a0 The bridge went right over the confluence with Engineer Creek.<\/p>\n

The Ogilvie River was a blue, green, gray color, and much clearer than Engineer Creek.\u00a0 Immediately downstream of the bridge, the newly combined flows hadn’t had a chance to mix yet, and the tan silt-laden waters contributed by Engineer Creek could be seen hugging the E bank.<\/p>\n

Sapper Hill was still in sight.\u00a0 Around a bend in the Dempster Highway, Mount Jeckell (4,725 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, another peak SPHP had hoped Lupe might have a shot at climbing, could be seen, too.\u00a0 However, Mount Jeckell was a much more formidable undertaking.\u00a0 The gloomy sky and intermittent light rain didn’t make tackling either one seem like such a hot idea.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
By the Ogilvie River<\/strong> just upstream of the Dempster Highway bridge where Engineer Creek joins in. Photo looks SSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The Dempster Highway bridge over the Ogilvie River<\/strong>. The tan waters of Engineer Creek<\/strong> join in from the R. Sapper Hill<\/strong> is in view beyond the bridge. Photo looks E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking downstream (NNE) from the bridge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Conditions weren’t right.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP continued N.\u00a0 The Carolina Dog would soon get to the last peak in this vicinity that SPHP had researched before she left home on this Dingo Vacation.<\/p>\n

9:05 AM, about km 120 –<\/em> SPHP parked the G6 at a pullout near the rapidly expanding Ogilvie River.\u00a0 Lupe’s last peakbagging candidate for a very long way was now in view.\u00a0 Churchward Hill<\/span><\/a> (2,871 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> appeared less daunting than Sapper Hill or Mount Jeckell had been, and if forest didn’t interfere, views of the Ogilvie River from the summit ought to be superb.\u00a0 Maybe it would be worth waiting around to see if the weather might improve a bit?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Churchward Hill<\/strong> from the Ogilvie River<\/strong>. Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking upstream along the Ogilvie River<\/strong> from the same pullout. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

10:19 AM, 50\u00b0F about km 224.5<\/em> – There hadn’t been any decent place to park closer to Churchward Hill, so SPHP had simply pulled over as far to the R (E) along the Dempster Highway as possible.\u00a0 An hour had been diddled away eating an early lunch and getting ready while waiting to see what the weather was going to do.\u00a0 Apparently not much.\u00a0 No rain had fallen while Lupe had been here.\u00a0 Just an overcast, breezy, cool day.<\/p>\n

Far from ideal, but good enough to take a crack at it.\u00a0 Starting from a point only a little SE of the mountain, Lupe crossed the highway, went down into the ditch, and started up a steep slope.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Loop about to set out for Churchward Hill<\/strong>. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The usual thick, spongy tundra of the N was underpaw.\u00a0 Nice and soft, but laborious to move through.\u00a0 The topo map<\/strong><\/span><\/a> showed that heading W along the lower S slopes of the mountain ultimately ought to lead to a longer, but easier route up from the SW than a direct ascent up the S face would be.<\/p>\n

That was SPHP’s intent.\u00a0 The terrain never completely leveled out, but once Lupe was up the first steep embankment, the going did get easier. \u00a0 Loop and SPHP turned W, while still gradually gaining some elevation.\u00a0 So far, so good.\u00a0 Everything seemed to be going according to plan.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
We’re off to a good start! We’ll turn L (W) here, and look for the easiest way up<\/em>. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Not so bad along in here, is it?<\/em> Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gaining elevation at a moderate pace on the way W seemed like a good idea, but it wasn’t.\u00a0 Shouldn’t have gained much at all!\u00a0 Worked for a while, but the higher Lupe got, the steeper the terrain became.\u00a0 Soon SPHP was finding it difficult to make much progress toward the W.\u00a0 The slope was too steep.\u00a0 Going almost directly up the mountain was easier than making a traverse.<\/p>\n

Up and up!\u00a0 Sooner or later, Lupe was going to reach the rock formations near the top of Churchward Hill.\u00a0 Hopefully, the Carolina Dog was far enough W to avoid getting topped out below insurmountable cliffs.<\/p>\n

Loop was not amused by this turn of events.\u00a0 The were-puppy appeared, attacked SPHP several times, and delivered a stern, shrill message.<\/p>\n

I thought we were going W!\u00a0 What are we doing here?\u00a0 Are you out of your mind, SPHP?<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The were-puppy voices considerable displeasure at SPHP’s foolish deviation from the original plan of attack.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The top of Churchward Hill was more than 1,100 feet higher than where Lupe had left the G6 down at the Dempster Highway.\u00a0 The climb nearly got so steep that SPHP wasn’t going to be able to make it, if the incline got any worse, but by the time the first rock formations appeared, the news was good!<\/p>\n

Lupe wasn’t stuck at the bottom of a continuous line of cliffs.\u00a0 She could go between the rock outcroppings.\u00a0 Furthermore, the climb already was no longer quite as steep.\u00a0 Only a short distance above the first rocks, the situation improved greatly.\u00a0 The slope was rapidly decreasing.\u00a0 Gonna make it!<\/p>\n

Within minutes, the American Dingo was up on top.\u00a0 Everything was easy now, surprisingly easy.\u00a0 Although the entire climb had been through forest, the top of Churchward Hill was mostly open ground.\u00a0 With few trees and little in the way of spongy tundra up here, it was easy to move around, and the views were going to be great!<\/p>\n

Two high points of nearly the same elevation were separated by several hundred feet.\u00a0 Lupe had come up quite close to the E high point, which was where the great views of the Ogilvie River ought to be, so she went over there first.\u00a0 A tripod stood next to a circular cairn built around a survey marker.\u00a0 Nearby, a sign about the survey marker stood facing SE toward a cliff.\u00a0 Weird!\u00a0 If the sign had been any closer to the cliff, no one could have read it without risking an unduly speedy descent.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe reaches the E summit of Churchward Hill<\/strong>. The W summit<\/strong> is directly beyond her.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
This survey marker was enclosed by a circular cairn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Too bad it wasn’t a prettier day!\u00a0 The views would have been stunning!\u00a0 Lupe cringed at the viewpoint along the E edge of the mountain in an unpleasantly cold 20 mph S wind.\u00a0 The dull, gray sky did nothing for the mood, nor for the scenes on display.\u00a0 Yet even under these conditions, the Ogilvie River from on high was an impressive sight.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Ogilvie River<\/strong> from Churchward Hill<\/strong>. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Rapids in the Ogilvie River<\/strong>. Photo looks S with help from the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Accompanied by the Dempster Highway, the Ogilvie River<\/strong> flows off to the N. Photo looks NNE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Another look with help from the telephoto lens. The big ridge in the distance is the start of the Eagle Plain plateau<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Churchward Hill’s commanding views of long stretches of the Ogilvie River were the main scenic highlight, but not the only one.\u00a0 Beautiful mountains could be seen in most directions, the highest being off to the S.\u00a0 Many peaks E of the river looked like fun, relatively easy climbs, if Lupe had a way to get over to them, but she didn’t.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mountains to the E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Peaks E of the Ogilvy River looked like fun climbs, but lacked access. Photo looks E with help from the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Relaxing on Churchward Hill<\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking SW with help from the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Much of Churchward Hill’s summit area<\/strong>. Photo looks W.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Ogilvie River<\/strong> from Churchward Hill<\/strong>. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although in the upper 40’s \u00b0F, the S wind sweeping over Churchward Hill felt cold and damp.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP retreated a little down the N slope to escape the worst of the breeze, then sat together enjoying the views.\u00a0 The Ogilvie River flowed N toward a long ridge in the distance.\u00a0 This ridge was the start of the 1,000 foot high Eagle Plain plateau.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Loopster under a jacket taking shelter from the S wind. Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If it had been a little nicer out, it would have been fun to stay longer.\u00a0 As it was, at least Lupe had gotten to visit Churchward Hill<\/span><\/a> (2,871 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 Half an hour on the forlorn, windswept summit beneath the somber sky, and the American Dingo was ready to move on.<\/p>\n

Before leaving, Loopster visited the W summit, too.\u00a0 Though less of the Ogilvie River could be seen from here, looking back toward the E from a little wall of rock at the highest point, it did seem like this W end might well be the true summit of Churchward Hill.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Ogilvie River<\/strong> from Churchward Hill’s W high point<\/strong>. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Lupe up on the W high point. SPHP was of the opinion that this was actually the true summit of Churchward Hill<\/strong>. However, the views of the Ogilvie River were better from the E high point, which, if not equally high, was only slightly lower. Photo looks WSW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking back toward the E high point where the cairn is (R).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the return, Lupe took a different route.\u00a0 Instead of heading nearly straight down the S slope the way she’d come up, she explored the route that SPHP had originally intended to take during the ascent.<\/p>\n

This really was a better, though considerably longer, way to go.\u00a0 Lupe left the summit continuing W along a mostly open ridge that provided a much more gradual rate of descent.\u00a0 This ridge was capped by a broken line of limestone formations.\u00a0 The rockier terrain made for easy travel.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe up on one of the bigger limestone formations on the way down the W ridge. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking down the W ridge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
View to the W with help from the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the far W end, the ridge ended abruptly, dropping off sharply from a final massive rock.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Oh, this is a better way, isn’t it? I’m glad we came this way, but we’re almost to the end of the ridge now. That last big rock on the R is it.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From the W end of the ridge, Lupe still had considerable elevation left to lose.\u00a0 She headed SE down into the forest, and was soon back on deep, spongy tundra.\u00a0 Didn’t seem as bad going downhill, though.\u00a0 Turning gradually E, Loop actually had a lot of fun exploring the boreal forest.<\/p>\n

The Carolina Dog got to roam a lot farther on the way back than she had on the way up, but eventually the final steep embankment leading down to the Dempster Highway appeared.<\/p>\n

1:20 PM, 53\u00b0F, km 124.5<\/em> –\u00a0 It was still early afternoon when Lupe reached the G6.\u00a0 Churchward Hill had been a success, and had probably been the best possible choice that could have been made on this gray day.\u00a0 Plenty of time to do more, though!\u00a0 From up on Churchward Hill, off to the N Loop had seen the long ridge of the vast Eagle Plain plateau.\u00a0 Beyond the plateau was the Eagle River, and beyond that …<\/p>\n

SPHP fired up the G6.\u00a0 The Dempster Highway curved a little passing through a narrow spot between the cliffs of Churchward Hill and the Ogilvie River.\u00a0 The road then headed N.\u00a0 By nightfall, for the first time in nearly a year, the Most High Exalted Dingo of the Arctic Sisterhood would return to the true Arctic.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Ogilvie River<\/strong> from Churchward Hill<\/strong>, Yukon Territory, Canada 8-17-18<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Next Adventure<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Prior Adventure<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Dempster Highway Travelogue Guide<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from\u00a0Lupe’s 2018 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon, Northwest Territories & Alaska Adventure Inde<\/strong>x<\/strong><\/a><\/span>,\u00a0Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a> or Master Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 1 of Day 14 of Lupe’s 2018 Dingo Vacation to the Yukon, Northwest Territories & Alaska! 5:15 AM, Windy Pass summit, Dempster Highway km 152.8 – Enthused on the way back from Lupe’s grand success at Windy Pass Peak, Distincta Peak, and Peak 5906 yesterday, SPHP mentally had the American Dingo going from one … Continue reading The Ogilvie River & Churchward Hill, Yukon Territory, Canada (8-17-18)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20966,"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":[997],"tags":[105,30,106,1083,26,104,1086,1087,708,774],"class_list":["post-20943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2018-yukon-northwest-territiories-alaska","tag-american-dingo","tag-canada","tag-carolina-dog","tag-dempster-highway","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-lupe","tag-ogilvie-mountains","tag-ogilvie-river","tag-yukon","tag-yukon-territory"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/IMG_0870.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\/20943","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=20943"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22644,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20943\/revisions\/22644"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}