{"id":5947,"date":"2016-06-23T08:10:58","date_gmt":"2016-06-23T14:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=5947"},"modified":"2019-04-06T23:15:08","modified_gmt":"2019-04-07T05:15:08","slug":"point-crawford-bennett-hill-laramie-mountains-wyoming-5-30-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/?p=5947","title":{"rendered":"Point Crawford & Bennett Hill, Laramie Mountains, Wyoming (5-30-16)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yeah, that had to be it.\u00a0 That was the same semi-barren big hill that SPHP had suspected was Point Crawford<\/a><\/span> (8,840 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> at lunch time down at the defunct Wallis picnic ground.<\/p>\n

Lupe and SPHP were in the G6 a mile E of I-80 on USFS Road No. 705 (Blair-Wallis Road) on the way back from Lupe’s almost successful ascent of Poland Hill<\/a><\/span> (8,480 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0 From up on this\u00a0treeless ridge,\u00a0there was a good view to the NE.\u00a0 The big semi-barren hill was clearly the last real high spot at the S end of a long, high, otherwise more heavily forested ridge.\u00a0 That had to be\u00a0Point Crawford.<\/p>\n

\"Point<\/a>
Point Crawford (Center) as seen from USFS Road No. 705 a mile E of I-80. Photo looks NNE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Point Crawford was Lupe’s next peakbagging goal.\u00a0 She would also visit nearby, but\u00a0much lower, Bennett Hill<\/a><\/span> (8,440 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, provided SPHP could figure out exactly where it was.<\/p>\n

Lupe and SPHP abandoned the G6 at the Wallis picnic ground (4:20 PM, 61\u00b0F).\u00a0 Lupe\u00a0went N on No. 705 a short distance,\u00a0then left\u00a0the road heading up the first big grassy slope going NE.\u00a0 The slope grew steeper as Lupe entered the forest.<\/p>\n

From below, it had looked like\u00a0Point Crawford would be easiest to climb along a ridgeline approaching the mountain from the WNW.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP tried to trend N to get there.\u00a0 Lupe\u00a0successfully crossed several ravines without losing much elevation.<\/p>\n

The terrain grew more challenging.\u00a0 Getting to the WNW ridge wasn’t going to be worth the effort.\u00a0\u00a0It was easier to simply keep climbing NE.\u00a0 SPHP should have continued 0.5 mile farther N on the road, if Lupe meant to attack Point Crawford from the WNW.<\/p>\n

The climb became\u00a0progressively steeper.\u00a0 Finally, Lupe managed to get up on the SW ridgeline.\u00a0 A dangerous downed barbed wire fence followed the spine of the ridge.\u00a0 SPHP lifted Lupe over the fence,\u00a0then paused\u00a0to admire the beautiful view\u00a0to the SSE.\u00a0 Lupe\u00a0had already gained more than half the\u00a0elevation required to reach the top of Point Crawford.<\/p>\n

\"Upon<\/a>
Upon reaching the ridgeline SW of Point Crawford, Lupe found a dangerous downed barbed wire fence (which SPHP helped her over), and this great view to the SE. Turtle Rock<\/a><\/span> (8,600 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> is seen in the distance on the R.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP resumed the climb,\u00a0staying a little E of the spine of the ridge.\u00a0 The barbed wire fence on the ridgeline soon disappeared.\u00a0 It\u00a0was replaced for a short distance by a log rail fence, but it ended before long, too.<\/p>\n

Lupe reached a knoll along the ridge.\u00a0 Ahead was a rocky high point.\u00a0 SPHP suspected it might be the summit of Point Crawford.\u00a0 At the very least, it couldn’t be far from the summit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe on the knoll on the SW ridge. Ahead is a rocky high point that SPHP thought might be the summit of Point Crawford. It wasn’t, but the actual summit wasn’t much farther. Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beyond the knoll, Lupe found a trail.\u00a0 The trail led up to the base of the rocky high point, and then curved around the E side of it.\u00a0\u00a0The trail\u00a0continued climbing toward the NNE until it was even higher than the rocky high point.\u00a0 To the N, a line of rock\u00a05-10 feet high\u00a0formed the summit ridge of Point Crawford.<\/p>\n

The summit ridge ran E\/W for about 300 or 400 feet.\u00a0 The trail\u00a0faded away before reaching the E end.\u00a0 Lupe continued up for a look around.\u00a0 The ridge was strewn with good-sized rocks, but there wasn’t any clear highest point.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP explored out to the W end of the summit ridge looking for the true summit, but finally concluded the highest points toward each end of the ridge\u00a0were really\u00a0about the same elevation.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on the highest rocks at the W end of the Point Crawford summit ridge. Photo looks NW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP returned to the E end of the summit ridge.\u00a0 The best views were here.\u00a0 Lupe had a grand panoramic view of a huge amount of territory from the NE around to the S.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on the E high point of the Point Crawford<\/a><\/span> (8,840 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> summit ridge. Photo looks NE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Turtle<\/a>
Turtle Rock<\/a><\/span> (8,600 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> from Point Crawford using the telephoto lens. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on the Point Crawford summit. Photo looks SW at the somewhat lower rocky high point that marks the start of the SSW spine of the mountain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Point Crawford was one of the more spectacular mountains Lupe had climbed while in the Laramie Mountains SE of Laramie, WY.\u00a0 Only the Leg Benchmark and Pole Mountain had been better.\u00a0 Naturally, Lupe and SPHP hung around for a while, taking a break and gazing at the terrific views.<\/p>\n

Before leaving the summit area, Lupe climbed the false summit to the SW.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe on the false summit. Photo looks SW.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the way down, Lupe and SPHP followed the trail that Lupe had found on the way up.\u00a0 SPHP stopped occasionally to take photos of the views, but mostly concentrated on trying to figure out exactly where Lupe’s next peakbagging goal, Bennett Hill, was.<\/p>\n

A series of solid rock high points could be seen below to the S.\u00a0 None of them looked like anything Lupe could climb.\u00a0 Despite consulting the topo map repeatedly, SPHP wasn’t certain which, if any of them, might be Bennett Hill.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A series of solid rock outcroppings was in view to the S coming down Point Crawford. SPHP wasn’t certain which, if any of them, was Lupe’s next peakbagging goal, Bennett Hill. None of them looked climbable for Lupe. USFS Road No. 705 (Blair-Wallis Road) is seen on the R. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The view to the SE toward Twin Mountain<\/a><\/span> (8,831 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> and the Sherman Benchmark while heading S down Point Crawford. Lupe planned to explore this area the next day, but weather prevented her from doing so. Photo looks SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Looking<\/a>
Looking SSE toward the Brady Rock area. Part of Turtle Rock is seen on the R.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At first, the trail coming down from Point Crawford was easy to follow.\u00a0 However, when Lupe reached a field N of the biggest of the rock formation\u00a0to the S, it simply faded away.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP went around to the W, where Lupe found the trail again.\u00a0 The trail went\u00a0clear around to the SE end of the rocks, before turning S again.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lupe on the faint trail now S of the first big rock formation below Point Crawford. Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SPHP kept losing the trail.\u00a0 Lupe kept finding it again.\u00a0 The trail headed S for a while, eventually angling over to a N\/S running\u00a0fence to the E.\u00a0 For a short distance, the trail followed the fence line\u00a0before turning SW to go up over a little rise in the forest.\u00a0 To SPHP’s surprise, beyond the rise the trail angled more and more to the W.<\/p>\n

Following the trail W, Lupe caught a glimpse of Point Crawford back to the NNE.\u00a0 The trail came to a small high point, which it skirted to the N, before starting to lose serious elevation as it continued WSW.\u00a0 It seemed certain the trail was on its way down to USFS Road No. 705 somewhere close to, or a bit S of,\u00a0the\u00a0abandoned Wallis picnic ground where the G6 was parked.\u00a0 SPHP hadn’t noticed a trailhead anywhere along the road, and didn’t know exactly where it would come out.<\/p>\n

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

Lupe wasn’t going back to the G6 yet!\u00a0 Leaving the trail, Lupe and SPHP got up on the small high point to the S.\u00a0 In the distance, Lupe could see Poland Hill, where she had discovered a hidden grotto with water in it earlier in the day.\u00a0\u00a0Much closer, she could also see a small, forested hill.<\/p>\n

By now, SPHP had stared at the topo map enough times to conclude that none of the rock formations Lupe had seen from up on Point Crawford were Bennett Hill.\u00a0 The map showed Bennett Hill farther SW, very close to a bend in USFS Road No. 705 around its W slope.<\/p>\n

There was no mistake.\u00a0 The small forested hill Lupe saw was Bennett Hill<\/a><\/span> (8,840 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>!\u00a0 It wasn’t far away,\u00a0and\u00a0looked easy to climb.\u00a0 Lupe was going to have her Bennett Hill peakbagging success, after all!<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe at the top of the small rise S of the faint trail. Poland Hill<\/a><\/span> (8,480 ft.)<\/span><\/strong> where Lupe had been earlier in the day is seen on the horizon slightly L of Center. Bennett Hill is the small forested hill on the R. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe and SPHP struck out into the forest for Bennett Hill.\u00a0 Lupe went around the E end of a small valley draining to the W\u00a0to avoid\u00a0losing much elevation on the way.<\/p>\n

Soon Lupe was around the valley, and approaching Bennett Hill from the E.\u00a0 A clearing in the forest exposed much of the E slope.\u00a0 Lupe could see the highest rocks at the top of Bennett Hill ahead.\u00a0 Why, there might even be a bit of a view from Bennett Hill!<\/p>\n

Lupe reached the summit.\u00a0 SPHP\u00a0lifted her onto the highest boulder.\u00a0 The intrepid Carolina Dog had made it!\u00a0 Another peakbagging success!<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A Carolina Dog balances a little precariously on the highest boulder of Bennett Hill<\/a><\/span> (8,440 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>. Photo looks S.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

The sun would still be up for more than an hour, but it had already been a long day.\u00a0 Lupe had 5 peakbagging successes, and 1 near-miss failure to show for it.\u00a0 She also had a ravenous appetite.\u00a0 While SPHP relaxed, Lupe chowed down on Taste of the Wild.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe chows down on Taste of the Wild. An American Dingo gets simply famished climbing all these mountains!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Point<\/a>
Point Crawford from Bennett Hill. The closest rocky high point in the R half of the photo is where Lupe and SPHP first spotted Bennett Hill for certain. The often faint trail to the top of Point Crawford is right on the other side of it. Photo looks N.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe next to the highest rock on Bennett Hill. Photo looks W showing the short summit ridge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe exhausted the Taste of the Wild supply.\u00a0 As she\u00a0digested it, SPHP came up with a new idea.\u00a0 It was still more than an hour until sunset.\u00a0 The G6 had to be moved from the defunct Wallis picnic ground due to\u00a0a goofy little “No Overnight Camping” sign.\u00a0 Why not\u00a0go get the G6, drive around to a place SPHP had seen\u00a0to the E along USFS Road No. 707, and return to\u00a0make a 2nd ascent of Bennett Hill at sunset?<\/p>\n

Lupe is always ready for almost anything. \u00a0Lupe and SPHP left Bennett Hill heading down the steep, forested NW slope.\u00a0 The Carolina Dog reached No. 705 a little S of the Wallis picnic ground.\u00a0 She crossed a green field near Middle Crow Creek that turned out to be rather marshy, arriving at the G6 at 7:18 PM.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Bennett Hill from the defunct Wallis picnic ground. Photo looks SE.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There was enough time left before sundown so SPHP could grab something to eat.\u00a0 SPHP served\u00a0Lupe some Alpo, too.\u00a0 After a quick dinner, Lupe and SPHP jumped in the G6.\u00a0 SPHP drove S on No. 705, turned L on No. 707 (Headquarters Road) S of Bennett Hill, and drove NE going uphill.<\/p>\n

Just past a cattle guard was a little side road\u00a0leading down into a gully.\u00a0 It looked like the perfect place NOT to park the G6 during a flash flood, but would do for tonight.\u00a0 SPHP parked, and Lupe and SPHP set out for Bennett Hill for a 2nd time, this time from the E (7:53 PM, 53\u00b0F).<\/p>\n

The G6 had gained enough elevation coming up USFS Road No. 707 so that Lupe wouldn’t have to gain much on her way to Bennett Hill.\u00a0 There was still some up and down along the way.\u00a0 Lupe headed W, skirting around the S side of a tall rock formation.\u00a0 Lupe loves both dawn and dusk.\u00a0 She was having a great time exploring paths between the sagebrush, and looking for squirrels in the trees.<\/p>\n

\"Lupe<\/a>
Lupe passed to the S (R) of this rock formation on her way to Bennett Hill for the 2nd time. Photo looks ENE from Bennett Hill using the telephoto lens.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lupe reached Bennett Hill again 15 minutes before sunset.\u00a0 Together, Lupe and SPHP watched and waited.\u00a0 The sky overhead was clear and blue, but in almost every direction there were big clouds on the horizon.\u00a0 Slowly they turned pink or golden, but the colors were subtle, not dramatic.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the one direction where there weren’t many clouds was toward the setting sun.\u00a0 A brilliant display wasn’t in the cards.\u00a0 As the sun sank below the horizon, Lupe leaped back onto the highest rock on Bennett Hill.\"Lupe<\/a>A flight of bats flew over\u00a0zig-zagging toward\u00a0the sunset.\u00a0 A few minutes later, a flock of small birds flew after them.\u00a0 Even after the sun vanished, Lupe and SPHP stayed on Bennett Hill,\u00a0watching the colored clouds fade to gray (8:42 PM).\"Sunset<\/a><\/p>\n

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

Next Adventure<\/span><\/a> \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 2016 Laramie Mountains, WY 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<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yeah, that had to be it.\u00a0 That was the same semi-barren big hill that SPHP had suspected was Point Crawford (8,840 ft.) at lunch time down at the defunct Wallis picnic ground. Lupe and SPHP were in the G6 a mile E of I-80 on USFS Road No. 705 (Blair-Wallis Road) on the way back … Continue reading Point Crawford & Bennett Hill, Laramie Mountains, Wyoming (5-30-16)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5928,"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":[648],"tags":[105,661,106,26,104,11,660,275],"class_list":["post-5947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2016-laramie-mountains-wyoming","tag-american-dingo","tag-bennett-hill","tag-carolina-dog","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-lupe","tag-peakbagging","tag-point-crawford","tag-wyoming"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1133.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\/5947","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=5947"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21612,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5947\/revisions\/21612"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}