{"id":2158,"date":"2015-11-06T08:10:27","date_gmt":"2015-11-06T15:10:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=2158"},"modified":"2019-03-16T13:54:10","modified_gmt":"2019-03-16T19:54:10","slug":"big-marvine-peak-colorado-8-18-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=2158","title":{"rendered":"Big Marvine Peak, Colorado (8-18-15)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lupe left the Mount Zirkel<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (12,180 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> area early on 8-18-15, Day 10 of Lupe’s great Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation.\u00a0 SPHP\u00a0drove down to Steamboat Springs, and a few miles S of town turned onto Hwy 131.\u00a0 Hwy 131 went SW through pleasant open country with mountains in the distance in almost all directions.\u00a0 Lupe liked it, because there were plenty of cows and horses to bark at along the way.\u00a0 She was having fun.<\/p>\n

At Phippsburg, SPHP followed a road\u00a0heading SW.\u00a0 It was marked\u00a0with a sign\u00a0that just said\u00a0“Forest Service Access”.\u00a0\u00a0In two or three miles, this paved road\u00a0led to an intersection with the Flat Tops Scenic Byway,\u00a0which heads\u00a082 miles W to Meeker.\u00a0 Lupe\u00a0was only going to go about half that far before turning SE to get to Trappers Lake in the Flat Tops Wilderness Area.<\/p>\n

The eastern half of the Flat Tops Scenic Byway that Lupe got to see was all gravel road.\u00a0 She went over Dunckley Pass (9,764′), past Vaughan Lake, and over Ripple Creek Pass (10,341′).<\/p>\n

A few miles beyond Ripple Creek Pass was the turn to head SE to Trappers Lake.\u00a0 The road went up a large valley, through an area where the trees were\u00a0nearly all\u00a0dead.\u00a0 SPHP drove all the way to the very end of the road.\u00a0 There\u00a0was a big gravel parking lot, and trailhead for a trail around Trappers Lake.\u00a0 Nearby was a picnic ground, if it can be called that.\u00a0 The entire picnic ground seemed to consist of a\u00a0single picnic table overlooking Trappers Lake.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP immediately laid claim to the picnic table, and had lunch with a beautiful view.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
The picnic ground\u00a0had a\u00a0beautiful view of\u00a0an American Dingo.\u00a0\u00a0Trappers Lake in the Flat Tops Wilderness Area could be seen, too.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After lunch, the plan was for Lupe to head up to either Trappers Peak<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (12,002 ft.)<\/strong> <\/span>or Big Marvine Peak<\/a> (11,879 ft.)<\/span><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0 SPHP was leaning toward Big Marvine Peak, since the topo maps showed a trail to a lookout at the top.\u00a0 Trappers Peak\u00a0was closer, but there wasn’t any trail\u00a0to it.\u00a0 Lupe set out from the nearby Wall Lake Trailhead at 12:36 PM.\u00a0 It was 60\u00b0F, clear (except for a smoky haze from distant forest fires), and breezy.<\/p>\n

As Lupe started on the Wall Lake Trail, there was a strange high-pitched wailing or whistling sound.\u00a0 It soon turned out that it was the sound made by thousands of dead trees in the wind.\u00a0 SPHP immediately dubbed this portion of the Wall Lake Trail the Ghost Trees Trail instead.\u00a0 Lupe, being a fearless, strong Carolina Dog, showed not the slightest\u00a0concern about the possibility of meeting any tree ghosts, even if there were thousands of them.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on the Ghost Trees Trail (Wall Lake Trail officially). Photo looks SSW towards a canyon Lupe was on her way to.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Flander<\/a>
Flander Mountain from the Ghost Trees Trail. The white plume is from a jet that flew by.\u00a0 Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Ghost Trees Trail went E of Anderson Lake heading S.\u00a0\u00a0Past Anderson Lake, the trail lost elevation until it reached\u00a0an intersection near the\u00a0lower end\u00a0of a large canyon to the SSW.\u00a0 At the intersection, Lupe stayed on the Wall Lake Trail.\u00a0 Soon the trail led Lupe up into a living forest, marking the end of what SPHP could reasonably call the Ghost Trees Trail.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe arrives at Anderson Lake along the Ghost Trees Trail. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Wall Lake Trail went through the forest heading\u00a0SSW\u00a0up the canyon.\u00a0 Eventually\u00a0it\u00a0started climbing the\u00a0canyon’s W wall.\u00a0 Once Lupe had gained enough elevation to get above most of the forest, there were some pretty nice views, marred only by the persistent\u00a0smoky haze.\u00a0 The trail reached the high ground above the cliffs at the S end of the canyon.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking NNE back at Trappers Lake from the Wall Lake Trail.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe had gained about 1,400 feet\u00a0of elevation, and was now\u00a0at 11,000 feet.\u00a0 She came to a junction in the trail almost immediately.\u00a0 Wall Lake Trail went to the left (E) and Oyster Lake Trail went\u00a0to the right (W).\u00a0 SPHP’s maps\u00a0showed that she needed to go to the right on the Oyster Lake Trail to get to Big Marvine Peak.<\/p>\n

The high ground was gently\u00a0rolling with lots of open heather.\u00a0 There were scattered forests and ponds, too.\u00a0\u00a0A big mountain was in view to the S.\u00a0 This was Trappers Peak.\u00a0 SPHP had gotten so fixated on Lupe going to Big Marvine Peak, that at first SPHP thought Trappers Peak was Big Marvine Peak.\u00a0 After about 30 minutes, when the Oyster Lake Trail seemed to be heading continually away from the mountain, SPHP realized the mistake.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe emerges from the canyon to find Trappers Peak in view to the S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Trapper Peak from near the Oyster Lake Trail. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So where was Big Marvine?\u00a0 SPHP knew it was some distance away to the W, but it wasn’t even in sight yet.\u00a0 Lupe wasn’t worried, she loved running around on the heather and exploring the forests.\u00a0 She drank from the ponds.\u00a0 Lupe was pretty much in Dingo Paradise.<\/p>\n

The Oyster Lake Trail wound around to the\u00a0SW, passing near a series of small ponds.\u00a0 From one of the ponds, SPHP spotted Big Marvine Peak for the first time.<\/p>\n

\"Across<\/a>
Across the pond, like way, way across the pond, SPHP spots Big Marvine Peak in the distance.\u00a0 Photo looks W.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yikes!\u00a0 Big Marvine Peak looked like it was a very long, long way off.\u00a0 SPHP suddenly wished Lupe had gotten a much earlier start.\u00a0 At least following the trail along the gently rolling high country went pretty fast.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP hurried onward.<\/p>\n

The last of the ponds Lupe passed was also the largest.\u00a0 It was the southernmost of the Twin Lakes.\u00a0 Although Lupe had clearly made progress towards Big Marvine, it still looked like quite a trek remained.<\/p>\n

\"Even<\/a>
Even from the southernmost of the Twin Lakes, Big Marvine was still pretty far off.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After passing the Twin Lakes, SPHP started looking for a junction with the East Marvine Trail.\u00a0 The East Marvine Trail would head NW to pass a bit to the E of Big Marvine, while the Oyster Lake Trail would continue SW on to parts unknown.\u00a0 (Oyster Lake might be a good guess.)<\/p>\n

Suddenly, SPHP heard someone shouting.\u00a0 A woman was hailing SPHP from S of the trail.\u00a0 Lupe ran over to investigate.\u00a0 It turned out there were two women there, along\u00a0with a 12 year old brown dog named Aquila.\u00a0 Aquila was easy to spot\u00a0wearing a red jacket.\u00a0 There wasn’t any trouble.\u00a0 The women were just being friendly.\u00a0 They were on the 3rd day of a 5 day backpacking trip, and hadn’t seen another soul all day.<\/p>\n

Lupe and Aquila sniffed.\u00a0 SPHP chatted with the women.\u00a0 Their tents were pitched\u00a0partway up a\u00a0forested ridge to the S of the trail.\u00a0 The tents could be seen\u00a0just above a scar on the ridge.\u00a0 The women\u00a0seemed surprised that Lupe still intended not only to go climb Big Marvine, but then return all the way to the Wall Lake Trailhead near Trappers Lake.\u00a0 It was already late afternoon.<\/p>\n

As nice as Aquila and the two women were, Big Marvine was calling.\u00a0 Lupe had to go.\u00a0 Everyone said goodbye.\u00a0 Then Lupe and SPHP were off.\u00a0\u00a0Before long, Lupe\u00a0reached the junction.\u00a0 She turned NW on the East Marvine Trail.\u00a0 The East Marvine Trail featured\u00a0a long line of big rock cairns with posts sticking out of them,\u00a0a good thing\u00a0since the trail itself soon faded away.\u00a0 For quite a distance, the ground was all open and treeless, so it was easy to follow the cairns.\u00a0 And Big Marvine was always in view.\u00a0 Lupe was getting steadily closer.<\/p>\n

\"Getting<\/a>
Getting there! Big Marvine Peak from near the East Marvine Trail. Photo looks W.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/a>The maps showed a trail heading WSW to Big Marvine Peak from the East Marvine Trail.\u00a0 Lupe didn’t stay on the East Marvine Trail long enough to reach the junction.\u00a0 Instead she left the East Marvine Trail heading directly for the NE end of Big Marvine.\u00a0 There were small forested ridges to cross along the way and many bushy areas.\u00a0 Lupe liked exploring the maze of\u00a0pathways through the bushes.\u00a0 To her, the bushes were practically a forest themselves.<\/p>\n

As Lupe got close to Big Marvine Peak, SPHP ran into segments of the trail heading WSW toward it from the East Marvine Trail.\u00a0 There were some more big rock cairns with posts sticking out of them, but not many.\u00a0 SPHP followed the intermittent trail where it was present, and just headed for Big Marvine when it wasn’t clear where the trail went.\u00a0 Lupe ran this way and that, just excited to be roaming such wonderful territory.<\/p>\n

\"Approaching<\/a>
Approaching the NE end of Big Marvine Peak. The topo map showed a trail switchbacking up the slope at the NE end of the mountain (L side of photo), and then continuing to a lookout at the far W end.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Lupe arrived at the NE end of Big Marvine Peak, SPHP saw no sign of a trail.\u00a0 The topo map showed a trail here switchbacking its way up the mountain to gain the ridgeline, and then continuing all the way to a lookout at the far W end of the peak.\u00a0 SPHP saw nothing, but a steep grassy slope.\u00a0 It definitely looked like this was the easiest, and perhaps only way up.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP started going straight up the slope.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe\u00a0partway up the steep slope at the NE end of Big Marvine Peak.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Things always seem steeper when you are really there.\u00a0 SPHP had to keep stopping to rest, but hadn’t gotten too far up the slope when suddenly SPHP ran into a switchback.\u00a0 There was a trail after all!\u00a0 It was faint, narrow, and evidently seldom used, but it was there.\u00a0 The trail was easy to follow, and did make things a lot easier for SPHP.<\/p>\n

Lupe didn’t need to use any trail.\u00a0 She ran all over the place exploring this and that while SPHP trudged up along the switchbacks.\u00a0 Lupe frequently came over to check on SPHP’s progress and offer encouragement.\u00a0 “See, it’s easy, just do this” and she would bolt off in some new direction to play wild Dingo.<\/p>\n

The switchbacks ended when the trail reached the ridgeline at the extreme E end of the mountain.\u00a0 At first the view to the W was blocked by the rising ridge, stunted trees and rock outcroppings.\u00a0 It didn’t take long, though, to head W past all that\u00a0far enough to\u00a0see what lay ahead –\u00a0the broad ridge sloping up to the western summit of Big Marvine Peak.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
The easy part!\u00a0 Looking W up towards the summit of Big Marvine Peak.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This was the easy part, a more gentle slope up\u00a0to the other end of the mountain where the summit was.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe only needed to\u00a0gain another 200\u00a0to 300 feet of elevation, and she would be there!\u00a0 When Lupe started getting close to the top, it started getting breezy.\u00a0 Up on top, it was\u00a0just plain windy. \u00a0Lupe didn’t care for it.\u00a0 Her stay on Big Marvine Peak was going to be short.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe at the tall rock cairn on Big Marvine Peak. Photo looks WSW. SPHP thinks the lake in the distance may well be Oyster Lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The annoying smoke haze was still around, but other than that, there were some fabulous views from Big Marvine Peak.\u00a0 The surrounding territory featured big canyons, distant peaks of similar height, and lots of open high ground with scattered trees and ponds at about 11,000 feet elevation.\u00a0 On top of Big Marvine, Lupe and SPHP were nearly 900\u00a0feet higher at 11,879 feet.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking NW.\u00a0 Rat Mountain<\/strong><\/span><\/a> (11,538 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0is the high point of the closest ridge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
There was a small circular two foot wall of loose rocks close to the summit cairn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Lupe<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking back towards the summit cairn and circular rock wall. Lupe is getting anxious to head down out of the wind.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking N.\u00a0 As near as SPHP can figure out, the mountain seen towards the left is marked Plateau on the maps.\u00a0 It may be\u00a0one of the Little Marvine Peaks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After SPHP had spent 20 minutes enjoying the views from Big Marvine Peak, Lupe wanted to get out of the wind.\u00a0 It was time to go.\u00a0 There was maybe a little over an hour left before sunset.\u00a0 Lupe headed down off the windy peak.\u00a0 She was soon out of the worst of the wind and having a good time again.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe sniffs around near stunted trees lower down on Big Marvine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A final look to the N from Big Marvine before heading down.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Leaving<\/a>
Farewell to Big Marvine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe had to retrace her entire route to Big Marvine to get back to the G6.\u00a0 The sun was down by the time Lupe reached the Oyster Lake Trail.\u00a0 The two women backpackers with their dog, Aquila, were sitting up on the ridge near their tents when Lupe and SPHP came by.\u00a0 They shouted down to SPHP, asking if Lupe had enough food, water, and a source of light.\u00a0 SPHP assured them everything was fine.<\/p>\n

Lupe went on.\u00a0 Soon it was dark.\u00a0 The flashlight came out.\u00a0 Lupe wanted\u00a0to stop.\u00a0 She was hungry.\u00a0 In addition to Taste of the Wild, SPHP shared a Cliff bar with her.\u00a0 Stars now shone above.\u00a0\u00a0The meal\u00a0re-energized Lupe, and she\u00a0pressed on.<\/p>\n

Time passes slowly and trails\u00a0seem longer in the black of night.\u00a0 Finally Lupe reached the Wall Lake Trail.\u00a0 She led the entire way down the big canyon, still sniffing and exploring everything, but now staying on or very close to the trail.\u00a0 It was 11:04 PM and 52\u00b0F out when Lupe reached the G6.<\/p>\n

Maybe it would have been better to have just gone to Trappers Peak?\u00a0 It certainly would have been quicker and easier, but SPHP was glad Lupe had visited Big Marvine.<\/p>\n

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

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

Want more Lupe adventures?\u00a0\u00a0Choose\u00a0from\u00a0Lupe’s 2015 Wyoming, Colorado & Utah Adventure Index<\/strong><\/span><\/a>,\u00a0Dingo Vacations Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span> or Master Adventure Index<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0Or subscribe free\u00a0to\u00a0new Lupe adventures<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lupe left the Mount Zirkel (12,180 ft.) area early on 8-18-15, Day 10 of Lupe’s great Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation.\u00a0 SPHP\u00a0drove down to Steamboat Springs, and a few miles S of town turned onto Hwy 131.\u00a0 Hwy 131 went SW through pleasant open country with mountains in the distance in almost all directions.\u00a0 Lupe … Continue reading Big Marvine Peak, Colorado (8-18-15)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2147,"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":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[274],"tags":[105,319,106,296,26,322,325,104,321,324,323,320],"class_list":["post-2158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2015-wyoming-colorado-utah","tag-american-dingo","tag-big-marvine-peak","tag-carolina-dog","tag-colorado","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-east-marvine-trail","tag-flat-tops-wilderness-area","tag-lupe","tag-oyster-lake-trail","tag-trappers-lake","tag-trappers-peak","tag-wall-lake-trail"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/P1060752.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\/2158","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=2158"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20739,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2158\/revisions\/20739"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}