{"id":2962,"date":"2015-11-21T08:10:20","date_gmt":"2015-11-21T15:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=2962"},"modified":"2019-03-16T14:19:01","modified_gmt":"2019-03-16T20:19:01","slug":"thunder-butte-douglas-county-high-point-colorado-11-6-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=2962","title":{"rendered":"Thunder Butte, Douglas County High Point, Colorado (11-6-15)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Heading S on Hwy 67, SPHP saw a sign that said Teller County.\u00a0 Lupe was too far S!\u00a0 SPHP must have missed the turn for Westcreek.\u00a0 SPHP turned the G6 around, and headed back N looking for it.\u00a0 Between mile markers 91 and 92, SPHP found two turns to Westbrook.\u00a0 Both had green street signs, but there was no other evidence of a community along the highway.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 A left turn on Westcreek Road took Lupe past a few buildings, which comprised what there was of the tiny\u00a0community of Westcreek.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

County Road No. 68 was what SPHP had been looking for.\u00a0 Lupe was on her way to climb Thunder Butte<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(9,836 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> , the high point of Douglas County, Colorado.\u00a0 In a couple of miles, No. 68 would lead Lupe past Sheep Nose<\/a><\/span><\/strong> (8,894 ft.)<\/strong><\/span> to 9-J Road.\u00a0 About 1.5 miles in on 9-J Road, there was supposed to be a place to park at a sharp bend\u00a0where the\u00a0road\u00a0turns NW.\u00a0 From there, Thunder Butte would be just a couple of miles to the NNE.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe nears Sheep Nose just off Douglas County Road No. 68. Photo looks W.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sheep<\/a>
Sheep Nose in Douglas County, Colorado. Photo looks W.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At 10:24 AM, SPHP parked the G6 at the bend in 9-J Road.\u00a0 There wasn’t any trailhead or real parking lot, but there were at least a couple of places to pull off the road.\u00a0 It was only 33\u00b0F, with a light NW breeze.\u00a0 There were a few small snowflakes in the air.\u00a0 Lupe would get lightly snowed on a few times during the day, but the snow squalls\u00a0stayed mostly off to the N.<\/p>\n

Thunder Butte was in clear view to the NNE.\u00a0 Lupe was going to have a great time climbing it!\u00a0 There was no trail up Thunder Butte, but it looked like a pretty easy trek.<\/p>\n

\"Thunder<\/a>
Thunder Butte from near the G6. Photo looks NNE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe starts her trek to Thunder Butte. Sheep Nose is behind her to the SSE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first part of Lupe’s journey to Thunder Butte was very easy.\u00a0 She just had to follow a nearly level ridge heading NE.\u00a0 When she got to the edge of Shrewsbury Gulch, she turned N staying on the ridge.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe reaches the W edge of Shrewsbury Gulch. From here she headed N staying on the ridge. Thunder Butte, her peakbagging goal for the day is visible ahead the whole way. Photo looks NNE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\u00a0Carolina Dog with Thunder Butte in the background.\u00a0 Since Lupe was the only Carolina Dog available this\u00a0day, she hopped right up\u00a0on Pedestal Point rock.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe poses on Pedestal Point rock. SPHP nicknamed the large gumdrop-shaped rock outcropping seen above Lupe on Thunder Butte the “Snout”. This photo shows the long, low forested ridge at the N end of Shrewsbury Gulch that led Lupe up to the area below the Snout.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Getting<\/a>
Getting close to the forested ridge at the N end of Shrewsbury Gulch. Lupe did not climb up to the lowest point of the saddle between the two halves of Thunder Butte. Instead, she climbed up below the Snout to the high point seen just to its right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The ground along the W edge of Shrewsbury Gulch undulated up and down a little bit, but with little net elevation change.\u00a0 Towards the N end of Shrewsbury Gulch, Lupe started turning slowly E towards Thunder Butte.\u00a0 In some places she found a faint trail, but it quickly disappeared again each time.\u00a0 Lupe worked her way through the forest over to the N side of the ridge.\u00a0 The forest was full of interesting rock formations along the way.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe among the boulders on the forested ridge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over on the N side of the low forested ridge, there was a little meadow with views to the NW.\u00a0 Here Lupe turned to the E and headed directly up toward the Snout.\u00a0 On the way, she emerged from the living forest and climbed up through young aspens growing in a previously burned area.<\/p>\n

This seemed to be the easiest way up.\u00a0 There was some deadfall timber, but it wasn’t too bad.\u00a0 There were quite a few dead trees still standing, however.\u00a0 At some point in the future when more of them fall over, the easiest route up will likely be through the living forest.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe starts the climb up to the E towards the Snout. Here she is a few hundred feet N of the living forest (not pictured) on the low ridge. Photo looks E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Approaching<\/a>
Approaching the Snout (R) from the W. The summit of Thunder Butte is seen on the L.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A look over to the lower S peak of Thunder Butte as Lupe climbed up toward the Snout. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Lupe got pretty close to the base of the Snout, she stayed to the S of it.\u00a0 She was now above the living forest in an area that had been pretty thoroughly burned back in 2003.\u00a0 Although\u00a0that meant the immediate surroundings weren’t too pretty, it also meant there were some\u00a0terrific views off in the distance.<\/p>\n

The terrain\u00a0near the Snout\u00a0was\u00a0fairly steep, but not dangerously so.\u00a0 Lupe sniffed around, while SPHP trudged slowly up the mountain.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP arrived at a rocky outcropping to the SSE of the Snout.\u00a0 From here, Lupe could get a clear view of the saddle area between the two summits of Thunder Butte.\u00a0 The lower summit was to the S.\u00a0 The true summit was to the N.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe reaches the rocks at the high point SSE of the Snout. This photo looks S toward the lower half of Thunder Butte.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking W. The low forested ridge is now way down there on the L. Lupe is almost as high as the Snout, seen on the R.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking S toward the lowest part of the saddle over to the lower S summit of Thunder Butte.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking W from the rocks at the high point SSE of the Snout.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking S again.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The beautiful remaining climb to the N up to the true summit of Thunder Butte.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP did a bit of exploring around the rocky high point SSE of the Snout.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 It turned out there was a break in the rocks with a wide grassy pass between them.\u00a0 The pass led down to the saddle.\u00a0 It looked kind of steep, but was certainly a\u00a0feasible route up or down.<\/p>\n

In this pass, Lupe and SPHP also discovered the Most Interesting Rock of Thunder Butte.\u00a0 The Most Interesting Rock stuck out over part of the pass from the W.\u00a0 SPHP liked the unusual shape of the rock and its\u00a0overhanging positioning.\u00a0 Lupe agreed to strike a dramatic American Dingo pose on the Most Interesting Rock.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/a>
An American Dingo poses dramatically upon the Most Interesting Rock on Thunder Butte.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on the Most Interesting Rock. Photo looks SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From the Most Interesting Rock, Lupe and SPHP started the climb to the N up to the true summit of Thunder Butte.\u00a0 Shortly before getting there, Lupe reached a ridge that led the last little way to the NW up to top.\u00a0 Soon Lupe was sitting on the highest rocks on Thunder Butte next to a registry.\u00a0 SPHP entered Lupe’s name on the registry for her, and signed in as well.<\/p>\n

After registering, it was time for a break.\u00a0 Lupe chowed down on some Taste of the Wild, while SPHP consumed an apple.\u00a0 Then there was plenty of time for admiring views, and taking some pictures.\u00a0 There were great views to the SE, S, W, and NW.\u00a0 A small area of living forest mostly hid the views to the N, NE and E.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe gains the ridge that leads the last little bit of the way up to the NW to the true summit of Thunder Butte.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe reaches the registry on Thunder Butte, successfully completing her 2nd peakbagging goal of her November, 2015 vacation to Colorado.\u00a0 Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe gets speckled with a bit of snow as she enjoys some Taste of the Wild on Thunder Butte.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking S from the top of Thunder Butte. The lower S summit is seen in the foreground. SPHP believes the high mountain in the clouds in the distance is Pikes Peak<\/a> (14,110 ft.)<\/span><\/span><\/strong>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

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

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking NW. Portions of Cheesman Lake are visible.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking S toward Pikes Peak. Sheep Nose is visible on the R.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

\"Looking<\/a>Lupe and SPHP had a fun time up on the summit of Thunder Butte.\u00a0 The views were magnificent, and the solitude complete.\u00a0 Sadly, eventually, it was time to go.\u00a0 On the way down, SPHP tried to get\u00a0some pictures of the views to the NE which weren’t available from the summit.<\/p>\n

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking NE from Thunder Butte. SPHP believes Turtle Mountain<\/a> (8,882 ft.)<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0is shown here.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Going<\/a>
Going SE down the ridge from the summit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking S at the lower S peak of Thunder Butte. Sheep Nose is on the R. At lower R is the top of the Snout. Pikes Peak in the distance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

\"Looking<\/a>
Looking E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Looking NE at Turtle Mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP retraced their route up back down Thunder Butte.\u00a0 Once down to the low forested ridge, Lupe did some sniffing around in the forest among the interesting rock formations.\u00a0 The sun was starting to get low in the W.\u00a0 However, there was still plenty of time to get back\u00a0to the G6.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP had some fun among the rocks.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe went SW from this rock formation along the low, forested ridge N of Shrewsbury Gulch. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking back NE at the rock after Lupe passed it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking S at Sheep Nose from the low, forested ridge W of Thunder Butte.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe's<\/a>
Lupe’s route back to the G6 went along the W side of Shrewsbury Gulch almost directly toward Sheep Nose.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The S sub-peak of Thunder Butte. Photo looks E.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sheep<\/a>
Sheep Nose from the N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe returns to Pedestal Point rock.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"You<\/a>
You guessed it! Sheep Nose!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe found her way to the G6, but SPHP called her away again.\u00a0 It was so nice out, SPHP wanted to go a little closer to Sheep Nose for a better look.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Sheep Nose was still an interesting looking peak.\u00a0 Maybe it looked less troublesome from closer up.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe near Sheep Nose. Not a huge peak, but still fairly rugged and quite interesting looking. Photo looks SSE.\u00a0 Interested in living near Sheep Nose?\u00a0 Go back to the first photo of Sheep Nose near the start of this post.\u00a0 The roof of a mobile home can be seen.\u00a0 The home was for sale by owner when Lupe went by it this day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking toward Pikes Peak from the W side of Sheep Nose.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP returned to the G6 at 4:00 PM exactly.\u00a0 It was 35\u00b0F, and a beautiful calm late afternoon.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe’s trek to Thunder Butte had been a fun day, and\u00a0a great success!<\/p>\n

There had been easy parts on nearly level\u00a0ground near Shrewsbury Gulch, and harder parts climbing steeply up the mountain.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe had seen and\/or explored cool rock\u00a0formations like\u00a0Pedestal Point rock, the Snout, the Most Interesting Rock, and the boulders along the low forested ridge.\u00a0 There had been great views from the top of the mountain, and at many points on the way up.<\/p>\n

Lupe did have one complaint, though.\u00a0 She never found a single squirrel in the forest the whole day long.<\/p>\n

\"Thunder<\/a>
Thunder Butte, the Douglas County, Colorado\u00a0high point from N of Sheep Nose.<\/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

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

Heading S on Hwy 67, SPHP saw a sign that said Teller County.\u00a0 Lupe was too far S!\u00a0 SPHP must have missed the turn for Westcreek.\u00a0 SPHP turned the G6 around, and headed back N looking for it.\u00a0 Between mile markers 91 and 92, SPHP found two turns to Westbrook.\u00a0 Both had green street signs, … Continue reading Thunder Butte, Douglas County High Point, Colorado (11-6-15)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2941,"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":[438],"tags":[105,106,296,26,442,104,444,443],"class_list":["post-2962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2015-arvada-colorado","tag-american-dingo","tag-carolina-dog","tag-colorado","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-douglas-county-high-point","tag-lupe","tag-sheep-nose","tag-thunder-butte"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/P1070487.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\/2962","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=2962"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20840,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2962\/revisions\/20840"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}