Lupe had spent the last 2 days peakbagging in these mountains.\u00a0 Most of her goals had been achieved, or ruled out as too difficult.\u00a0 The more SPHP thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea to move on, whether the sky cleared or not.\u00a0 Warbonnet Peak<\/a><\/span> (9,414 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0was calling.<\/p>\n Warbonnet Peak was in the Laramie Mountains, too, but far away in the NW part of the range.\u00a0 It was a beautiful drive.\u00a0 The farther NW Lupe went, the more beautiful and remote the scenery became.\u00a0 N of the town of Medicine Bow, Lupe and SPHP left Hwy 487, taking\u00a0Little Medicine Road for miles through\u00a0high rolling plains where there were more pronghorn antelope than cows for Lupe to bark at.<\/p>\n The gravel road slowly deteriorated.\u00a0 There was almost no signage.\u00a0 At least not that meant anything unless\u00a0you knew the names of the local ranchers.\u00a0 SPHP made a wrong turn onto Holaday Road.\u00a0 Almost 10 miles later, a red pickup truck appeared going the opposite direction.\u00a0 Turned out the lady driving it was lost, too.\u00a0 However, she had a great road atlas showing every little dirt road in Wyoming.<\/p>\n A couple minutes later, it was all figured out.\u00a0 The red pickup truck raced W out of sight.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP turned around and followed it, but there was no way the poor G6 could keep up with a pickup on these roads.\u00a0 SPHP turned N onto Little Medicine Road again.\u00a0 Lupe enjoyed a spectacular ride up into the Laramie Mountains.<\/p>\n Little Medicine Road is shown on Wyoming state road maps.\u00a0 In combination with other roads, there was supposed to be a route through the Laramie Mountains here\u00a0going all the way N to Douglas, WY.\u00a0 The creek crossings were\u00a0mighty rough, though, for a road shown on the official state map.\u00a0 One might think\u00a0an official state map\u00a0would only show principal routes.\u00a0 In Wyoming, one would be wrong.<\/p>\n Lupe\u00a0had already been going downhill again for miles when SPHP saw a couple of people.\u00a0 Did they know where the Campbell Creek campground was?\u00a0 They sure did.\u00a0 This was it!\u00a0 Heavy rains and flooding 3 weeks ago had washed out roads in the area.\u00a0 The county had just patched them enough to be passable.\u00a0 The two people\u00a0were park service employees putting the campground sign back up.\u00a0 The campground was closed for a few days yet, but it was OK to stay here.\u00a0 No fees or services until the campground opened.<\/p>\n Perfect!\u00a0 That was a deal.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP took the very last of the six campsites, No. 6 at the upstream end of the campground.<\/p>\n After a\u00a0few minutes of\u00a0preparation, Lupe and SPHP\u00a0struck out\u00a0for Warbonnet Peak (12:15 PM, 50\u00b0F).\u00a0 A wide trail led upstream on the W side of Campbell Creek.\u00a0 Lupe hadn’t gone very far when she reached a creek crossing.\u00a0 The creek was still swollen with melting snow.\u00a0 SPHP didn’t want freezing cold wet feet this early in the trip.\u00a0 There was a narrow spot just downstream.\u00a0 Maybe SPHP could jump across?<\/p>\n Lupe is a great jumper!\u00a0\u00a0SPHP, not so much.\u00a0 SPHP decided maybe it would be better to go upstream looking for a better spot.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP explored the W bank a bit farther up.\u00a0 Nothing.<\/p>\n Turn back, jump across the narrow spot, or ford the icy cold creek?\u00a0 Those were the choices.\u00a0 SPHP threw the backpack across the creek.\u00a0 Then SPHP jumped.\u00a0 Made it!\u00a0 Good thing Campbell Creek wasn’t any wider, though.<\/p>\n Lupe and SPHP continued upstream along the trail.\u00a0 The ground was marshy.\u00a0 The trail itself was part trail, and part mucky little streams.\u00a0 Almost everywhere, the ground was sopping wet.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP had to weave through the forest, on and off the trail, to avoid deadfall timber and particularly wet spots.\u00a0 Lupe hadn’t gone much farther, when she came to a stone fire ring.\u00a0 It was right on the trail at a rare dry spot.<\/p>\n Edward Earl<\/strong><\/a><\/span> had written about taking this trail up Campbell Creek on the way to Warbonnet\u00a0Peak more than 7 years ago on May 24, 2009.\u00a0 SPHP had a copy of Mr. Earl’s trip report<\/strong><\/span><\/a> in the backpack.\u00a0 In it, Mr. Earl described a long slog\u00a0with creek crossings, deadfall, brush, swamps and occasional deep snow.\u00a0 Conditions didn’t seem like they had changed for the better since then.<\/p>\n Even before Lupe had left home more than a week ago, Edward Earl’s trip report had SPHP thinking maybe there was another way to Warbonnet Peak from Campbell Creek?\u00a0 The topo map showed a long, broad ridge to the E of the creek that eventually wound its way past high points all the way to Warbonnet Peak.\u00a0 There wouldn’t be any roads or trails –\u00a0just forests, fields, rocks and whatever else Lupe might encounter.<\/p>\n The first problem, of course, was how to climb 500 ft. up out of the Campbell Creek valley to get onto the ridge?\u00a0 Directly ahead, just past the fire ring,\u00a0was a steep rocky spine coming all the way down to the trail from the NE.\u00a0 Climbing near the spine didn’t look that bad, though it was impossible to say how far up things would remain that way.\u00a0 Forests hid the slope.<\/p>\n Lupe wasn’t far from the campground yet at all.\u00a0 Nearly the entirety of Edward Earl’s miserable slog along Campbell Creek lay ahead.\u00a0 Whatcha, think Loop?\u00a0 Long, miserable slog along a questionable trail down by the creek, or try pioneering a\u00a0new American Dingo route?<\/em><\/p>\n American Dingoes are high spirited and adventurous.\u00a0 Lupe was not only ready, but eager,\u00a0to\u00a0trail blaze an all new Lupe route to Warbonnet Peak.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP left the trail, climbing NE along the rocky spine.\u00a0 Up and up.\u00a0 A forested hill came into view over on the W (opposite) side of the creek valley.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP were gaining on it.\u00a0 Before long, Lupe was as high as it was.<\/p>\n The slope continued up.\u00a0 Lupe came to small\u00a0rock outcroppings.\u00a0 The climb was steep, but steady.\u00a0 There were always manageable\u00a0ways higher.\u00a0 Multiple ways, actually.\u00a0 SPHP had to stop for breathers, but leg and lung power were the only real limitations.\u00a0 When Lupe was clearly higher than the forested hill across the valley, things started leveling out.\u00a0 Lupe had made it up onto the ridge E of Campbell Creek!<\/p>\n Lupe found a snowbank to cool off on in the forest.\u00a0 While Lupe was chillin’, SPHP consulted the topo map.\u00a0 Time to change direction.\u00a0 From here the ridge sloped gently up toward the SE.\u00a0 When Lupe was sufficiently cooled down, Lupe and SPHP turned S or SE wandering through the forest.\u00a0 The going was much easier now.<\/p>\n Before too long, SPHP saw an opening in the forest.\u00a0\u00a0A small, partially sunlit hill was\u00a0nearby off to the SW.\u00a0 It looked like the hill was on the edge of a drop off.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP headed over to climb the little hill.\u00a0 A view would be great.\u00a0 SPHP could get oriented properly.<\/p>\n Lupe saw a\u00a0high forested\u00a0ridge to the SE.\u00a0\u00a0The ridge was situated beyond a big gap over much lower ground SPHP realized must drain W toward Campbell Creek.\u00a0 The SW end of the long ridge featured a towering cliff.\u00a0 Take a break, Lupe!\u00a0 Time to figure out where we are.<\/em><\/p>\n SPHP studied the topo map for several minutes, comparing it to the view from the little hill.\u00a0 It seemed pretty clear.\u00a0 OK, Loopster.\u00a0 This little hill is most likely High Point 8585.\u00a0 That high forested ridge to the SE\u00a0has got to be High Point 9180.\u00a0 About 0.25 mile to the E should be High Point 8590.\u00a0 We will have to go over there to get around this big drainage before we can continue\u00a0SSE to High Point 9180.<\/em><\/p>\n Lupe and SPHP left High Point 8585 going E near the edge of the drainage to the S.\u00a0 Lupe’s immediate objective was to get to High Point 8590.\u00a0 It didn’t take Lupe long to get there.<\/p>\n From High Point 8590, Lupe faced another big climb,\u00a0590 feet of elevation gain, up the forested NNW slope of High Point 9180.\u00a0 The topo map showed that Lupe might not have to climb all the way to the top.\u00a0 Maybe she could skirt around to the NE of the high point.<\/p>\n Soon after Lupe entered the forest to begin the climb up High Point 9180, it became apparent a tougher climb was in store than anticipated.\u00a0 As expected, the slope was moderately steep, and there was the usual deadfall timber.\u00a0 That wasn’t the problem.\u00a0 The problem was Lupe found snow.\u00a0 Lots of it.\u00a0 Almost everywhere.<\/p>\n The snow was soft and melting.\u00a0 Around the bases of most tree trunks, little or none remained.\u00a0 Between the trees, though, snow was stacked in drifts 2 to 4 feet high.\u00a0 Lupe was light enough to travel over the snowdrifts.\u00a0 SPHP was stuck post holing.\u00a0 The climb\u00a0became a relentless\u00a0endurance struggle.<\/p>\n Going around the NE side of High Point 9180 wasn’t going to be possible.\u00a0 Sheltered by the mountain’s shadow, the snow was deepest over there.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP worked over more to the W, close to the edge of the drainage.\u00a0 Better exposure to the sun meant less snow.\u00a0 SPHP was able to climb faster.<\/p>\n It wasn’t until Lupe was on the upper portion of the slope that she started angling back farther E.\u00a0 Just below the\u00a0ridgeline were the biggest snow drifts yet, 6 to 8 feet high.\u00a0 Lupe\u00a0trotted up\u00a0the snow to\u00a0the top.\u00a0 A few minutes later, SPHP was able to join her.\u00a0 SPHP had to stop to breathe.<\/p>\n When SPHP could move again, Lupe and SPHP set out SW exploring along the ridgeline.\u00a0 Lupe had come up\u00a0at the\u00a0NE end of the highest part of the High Point 9180\u00a0ridge.\u00a0 Lupe appeared to be at the true summit.\u00a0 There wasn’t any snow on the exposed rocks near the edge.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe found a\u00a0glorious\u00a0view off to the NW, only 50 – 100 feet from where she had reached the ridgeline.<\/p>\n The fabulous view to the NW made High Point 9180 seem like a great objective in and of itself.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP liked the rocky ridge with numerous viewpoints.\u00a0 Lupe had to press on, though.\u00a0 Warbonnet Peak was still a\u00a0more than\u00a01.5 miles to the SE as the crow flies.\u00a0 So far, Lupe and SPHP hadn’t even seen it yet.<\/p>\n Lupe and SPHP left the edge of the ridge behind and turned SE, immediately disappearing into the forest again.\u00a0 The ground was sloping gently downward now, but the way forward was still a struggle.<\/p>\n Despite\u00a0a southern\u00a0exposure, even this part of the forest was full of snowdrifts.\u00a0 To make things worse, the deadfall timber was thicker than before.\u00a0 If the rest of the way was going to be like this, Lupe wouldn’t make it to Warbonnet Peak –\u00a0not through this kind of stuff.\u00a0 Maybe\u00a0Lupe and SPHP\u00a0should have stuck to Edward Earl’s route?<\/p>\n SPHP was thinking these gloomy thoughts, when suddenly the forest ended.\u00a0 Ahead was open ground!\u00a0 And off to the SE was a high peak, Warbonnet Peak!<\/p>\n Reaching the open ground and finally seeing Warbonnet Peak was most encouraging!\u00a0 Lupe still faced obstacles, however.\u00a0 The biggest obstacle was High Point 9310.\u00a0 It was directly ahead.\u00a0 SPHP could see quite a bit of snow up on it.\u00a0 Once again, SPHP consulted the topo map.<\/p>\n The topo map contours suggested the possible existence of cliffs on the far (SE) side of High Point 9310.\u00a0 Climbing to the top made no sense.\u00a0 Skirting High Point 9310 to the NE would definitely be shortest.<\/p>\n Lupe and SPHP made\u00a0excellent time over the open ground\u00a0heading down the slope toward High Point 9310.\u00a0 However, as Lupe approached the area NE of High Point 9310, the view\u00a0was not encouraging.\u00a0\u00a0The area\u00a0was heavily forested.\u00a0 Big snowbanks were near the trees.<\/p>\n Lupe and SPHP made only a short foray into the forest.\u00a0 The snow was deep.\u00a0 Like 5 or 6 feet deep, in\u00a0many places.\u00a0 Staring\u00a0further into the dark, dense forest, with snow piled so deep it looked like winter,\u00a0prospects seemed simply ominous.\u00a0 Battling through for any significant distance looked impossibly slow and difficult.\u00a0 Lupe and SHP beat a hasty retreat.<\/p>\n From higher up, where Lupe had first broken out of the forest SE of High Point 9180, she had seen a huge knob of solid rock to the SW of High Point 9310.\u00a0 Open ground led almost all the way to it.\u00a0 Lupe would have to try going around High Point 9310 from somewhere over there.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP turned S looking for the huge rock knob.\u00a0 Being a huge rock knob near open ground, it wasn’t hard to find.<\/p>\n Lupe and SPHP went over a small saddle to the NE of the\u00a0huge rock knob.\u00a0 On the other side was a forested valley coming up from the SW.\u00a0 Lupe could see plenty of snow down below, but there wasn’t any up on the slope\u00a0where Lupe and SPHP were.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP tried to head NE on the slope between High Point 9310 and the valley to the SE.\u00a0\u00a0Lupe’s goal was to maintain elevation as much as possible while avoiding the snow.<\/p>\n For a while, Lupe and SPHP had no problem maintaining elevation, but as Lupe drew closer to the area right below the\u00a0High Point 9310 summit, the\u00a0terrain grew more rocky and steep.\u00a0 Progress slowed.\u00a0 Finally, it was time to give it up.\u00a0 Lupe would be better off going down to face the snow in the valley.<\/p>\n It wasn’t terribly far down to the valley floor.\u00a0 This valley had a SW exposure.\u00a0 Although there were snow drifts, they were only 2 to 3 feet high.\u00a0 SPHP had seen some open ground to the SE somewhere on the opposite side of the valley.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP tried to find it.<\/p>\n Lupe and SPHP passed to the SW of some higher ground before beginning the climb out of the valley.\u00a0 On the way up, Lupe\u00a0did find\u00a0open ground, although she was already\u00a0well up the slope by then.\u00a0 Soon Lupe was astride a boulder in a wide\u00a0saddle on\u00a0a ridgeline leading SE.\u00a0 The next obstacle, another forest with snow in it, was just ahead.\u00a0 A quick glance at the topo map, and\u00a0SPHP\u00a0decided the ridge ahead was High Point 9223, the last major obstacle on the way to Warbonnet Peak.<\/p>\n High Point 9223 didn’t look that high.\u00a0 It looked like Lupe could easily climb it.\u00a0 However, there didn’t seem to be any point in doing so.\u00a0 The topo map showed it should be possible to go around either end of the ridge.\u00a0 By now SPHP had figured out what that meant.\u00a0 The NE side would be\u00a0dense forest with deep snow.\u00a0 The SW side was the way to go.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP took the easy way, following open ground around to the SW.<\/p>\n As expected, the open ground ended.\u00a0 Lupe entered the forest again, as she neared the SW end of the High Point 9223 ridge.\u00a0 Lupe climbed a little and made it over the lower part of the ridge, but the ground ahead dropped off\u00a0surprisingly steeply.\u00a0 The terrain was so steep, that SPHP decided Lupe had better climb higher up to find easier ground on which to get around High Point 9223.<\/p>\n Lupe made a short, but very steep climb to the E up a rocky ridge along the N side of a narrow ravine.\u00a0 She arrived up on\u00a0a platform of\u00a0rocks along the spine of the ridge.\u00a0 The rocks presented a good\u00a0view back to the NW toward High Point 9310.\u00a0 Ahead to the E was more level ground as SPHP had expected.\u00a0 Beyond the level ground was a high spot that SPHP\u00a0was still thinking\u00a0must be the top of High Point 9223.\u00a0 Lupe wasn’t that far away from it.\u00a0 There were too many trees to see much to the SE, where SPHP was expecting Lupe would soon see Warbonnet Peak.<\/p>\n SPHP hadn’t consulted the topo map in a little while, but remembered it showed relatively flat ground on the SE side of High Point 9223.\u00a0 If Lupe could break out into the open beyond High Point 9223, Warbonnet Peak ought to be visible less than 0.5 mile away!<\/p>\n There was no reason to climb all the way to the top of High Point 9223.\u00a0 Lupe could now go around it on this relatively level terrain.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP proceeded in the general direction of the top of High Point 9223, but\u00a0angling 45\u00b0\u00a0to the R (SE) to bypass it.<\/p>\n For a few minutes, Lupe and SPHP progressed quickly enough\u00a0through a somewhat thinly forested area over and around big flat rocks.\u00a0 The slope began to steepen toward the S as the rocks gave way to more typical, denser forest.\u00a0 Everything seemed to be going fine.\u00a0 Any minute now, Lupe would see Warbonnet Peak up ahead!<\/p>\n Suddenly, there was trouble.\u00a0 The ground\u00a0started dropping off sharply.\u00a0 Between the trees, Lupe and SPHP did see the blue outline of a massive peak.\u00a0 It was very far away, however.\u00a0 It wasn’t Warbonnet Peak, but SPHP recognized it.\u00a0 Lupe had been there before, last\u00a0summer.\u00a0 Miles and\u00a0miles away was the unmistakable shape of the highest peak of the Laramie Range – Laramie Peak<\/span><\/a> (10,272 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Well, that wasn’t so surprising.\u00a0 What was surprising was that the easy, relatively level\u00a0terrain the topo map showed\u00a0SE of High Point 9223 wasn’t there!\u00a0 And where on God’s green earth was Warbonnet Peak?\u00a0 It was nowhere in sight!\u00a0 Something was wrong.<\/p>\n Maybe SPHP was just turned around a bit?\u00a0 Whatever the case, the ground now dropped off very steeply this way.\u00a0 Lupe would have to try going around the NE side of High Point 9223.\u00a0 She would have to backtrack some to do so.\u00a0\u00a0Fortunately it wasn’t far.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP turned around.\u00a0 Before long, Lupe was in position.\u00a0 SPHP wasn’t looking forward to a difficult trek through dense forests and deep snow, but expected that was what was in store.<\/p>\n Lupe had hardly gotten started trying to go around the NE side of High Point 9223 when she came to a stunning view, once again seen only partially between the trees.\u00a0 The terrain dropped steeply for hundreds of feet.\u00a0 Far lower mountains were seen just a few miles away.\u00a0 Lupe wasn’t going to be able to go around High Point 9223 this way either!<\/p>\n She wouldn’t have to.\u00a0 The truth hit SPHP like a bolt out of the blue.\u00a0 Lupe wasn’t on the slopes of High Point 9223.\u00a0 She must have circumvented it to the S while on the way\u00a0through the snowy valley SE of High Point 9310.\u00a0 This was\u00a0great news, actually!\u00a0 SPHP now\u00a0knew where\u00a0Lupe was.\u00a0 She was\u00a0already high on the upper slopes of Warbonnet Peak<\/a><\/span> (9,414 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0The summit\u00a0was only a short climb away!<\/p>\n Within\u00a0minutes, Lupe was\u00a0attacking the last part of the steep, rocky\u00a0W slope\u00a0just shy of the summit.\u00a0\u00a0Suddenly she was there, standing atop Warbonnet Peak<\/a><\/span> (9,414 ft.)<\/span><\/strong>, the Converse County, WY High Point!<\/p>\n The summit of Warbonnet Peak was virtually all rock, with little vegetation.\u00a0 Consequently, Lupe had fabulous 360\u00b0 views.\u00a0 There were still quite a few hours of daylight left – plenty of time for Lupe and SPHP to take a long break relaxing, sharing chocolate coconut granola bars, and enjoying the world from such a terrific vantage point.<\/p>\n The summit area wasn’t terribly big, maybe 10 to 20 feet wide and three times that much long, but there was room to walk around a bit on the jumbled rocks and decide on a favorite perch.<\/p>\n SPHP found a plastic jar with a green lid (about the size of a medium-sized peanut butter jar)\u00a0tucked down among the rocks near the survey benchmark.\u00a0 Inside was a green plastic Indian Chief, and a red and white round plastic souvenir left by a winehead chick and an ex-drunk.<\/p>\n Lupe was a bit bored with the climber’s log and assorted associated paraphernalia.\u00a0 While SPHP fiddled around with it, she found a very small grassy spot on which to curl up for a snooze.<\/p>\n SPHP put the climber’s log and other items back in the plastic jar with the green top, returning the jar to its original resting place.\u00a0 While Lupe tried to snooze, SPHP took\u00a0more photos of the views\u00a0before discovering a larger Simply Orange plastic bottle a few feet away\u00a0from the jar with the climber’s log.<\/p>\n Inside the Simply Orange\u00a0bottle were a $1 bill, a penny, a folded newspaper article yellowed with age, and a photograph.\u00a0 SPHP had no way to get the photo or newspaper article out through the narrow neck of the bottle.\u00a0 SPHP left the cash inside, too.<\/p>\n Despite what had seemed like a long trek to reach Warbonnet Peak, Lupe had arrived at the summit with what SPHP estimated to be\u00a04 to 5 hours of daylight remaining before sunset.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP were in no rush to leave.\u00a0 After an hour or so, though, the sun had clearly made progress across the sky.\u00a0 Lupe was starting to revive from her nap, and showed signs of being ready for action again.<\/p>\n It was a long way back, and without any trails to follow, SPHP didn’t want to take a chance on not leaving enough time for Lupe to find her way back to Campbell Creek while it was still light out.\u00a0 A few more photos at the top, and it was time to bid a reluctant farewell to the fabulous views from Warbonnet Peak.<\/p>\n Lupe and SPHP took the same route Lupe had just pioneered on the way back to Campbell Creek.\u00a0 Now that the route was known, Lupe made faster progress than before.\u00a0 It helped that the return trip was mostly downhill,\u00a0Lupe now knew a few shortcuts, and this time SPHP didn’t have to keep stopping\u00a0to check the topo map.\u00a0 It was still a long trek. The sun made steady progress on its way to the horizon.<\/p>\n Once around High Point 9310 again, Lupe found a shortcut on\u00a0her way back to the NW edge of the\u00a0High Point 9180\u00a0ridge.\u00a0 She followed more open ground just a little farther to the W, instead of heading NW through the trees directly toward the actual summit.<\/p>\n This enabled\u00a0Lupe to avoid the fairly short, but difficult trek through the snowy woods full of deadfall timber.\u00a0\u00a0When she reached the NW edge of the ridge,\u00a0Lupe had a slightly longer trek back to the NE to the High Point 9180 summit.\u00a0 However,\u00a0this was all much easier terrain.\u00a0 The view was terrific, too!<\/p>\n In fact, the highlight of the trip back was High Point 9180.\u00a0 If anything, the views were even prettier in the slanting light of early evening.\u00a0 Once again, Lupe and SPHP were impressed!<\/p>\n Although Lupe was fearless, and greatly enjoyed her second\u00a0round of exploration along her newly blazed Warbonnet Peak route, there were two places that were a bit worrisome to SPHP.<\/p>\n The first one was the trek down from High Point 9180 to High Point 8590.\u00a0 Once Lupe was off the top of the High Point 9180 ridge, the entire route down was endless forest, with snowdrifts several feet deep between the trees almost the whole way.\u00a0 The forest was so dense, there were no viewpoints anywhere along the way.\u00a0 It was hard to tell whether\u00a0Lupe was on course, or not.<\/p>\n SPHP started off just fine, following tracks left in the snow earlier in the day, but eventually lost them\u00a0at one of the rare places with little snow.\u00a0 From then on, SPHP had to worry about staying on the ridgeline to High Point 8590.\u00a0 Uncertain of the correct direction, Lupe and SPHP\u00a0wandered back and forth as Lupe continued down the slope, hoping to find either Lupe’s old tracks again or a glimpse of High Point 8590.<\/p>\n The concern was that SPHP\u00a0might be unwittingly leading Lupe down into one of the big drainages to the E or W\u00a0instead of to\u00a0High Point 8590.\u00a0 The way down the mountain seemed longer than SPHP remembered, which added to the concerns.\u00a0 When the forest ended with the clear ground to High Point 8590 straight ahead, exactly as planned, it was a relief.<\/p>\n The second worrisome part of the return trip came almost at the end.\u00a0 SPHP couldn’t remember exactly where Lupe first reached the ridge above Campbell Creek before she had turned toward High Point 8585.\u00a0 SPHP’s recollection was that it hadn’t taken Lupe very long to reach High Point 8585 after gaining the ridgeline.<\/p>\n Upon\u00a0reaching High Point 8585 again, Lupe and SPHP went NNW not too far from\u00a0the W side of the ridge until Lupe reached some small clearings.\u00a0 These seemed vaguely familiar.\u00a0 SPHP had Lupe start down the steep W slope of the ridge right after passing by the last of\u00a0these clearings.<\/p>\n SPHP was soon convinced that this was NOT the exact\u00a0place Lupe had come up earlier in the day.\u00a0 It just wasn’t as rocky.\u00a0 Once again, the way down seemed farther\u00a0than SPHP remembered.\u00a0 However, the steep forested slope didn’t come to any cliffs or get treacherously steep, so Lupe and SPHP just kept going down.\u00a0 Sooner or later Lupe would reach Campbell Creek!<\/p>\n Lupe\u00a0did reach Campbell Creek.\u00a0 Conveniently, the trail was right there on the near side of the creek.\u00a0\u00a0SPHP still wasn’t certain if\u00a0Lupe was upstream or downstream of where she had left\u00a0both creek and\u00a0trail many hours earlier.<\/p>\n One thing was for certain, Campbell Creek campground was downstream.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP started following the trail downstream.\u00a0 Almost immediately, Lupe came to the stone fire ring\u00a0where she had first left the\u00a0trail.\u00a0 Lupe and SPHP\u00a0had come down the ridge less than 100 feet from it.<\/p>\n The only remaining excitement on the way back was when SPHP had to\u00a0leap across that first creek crossing one more time.\u00a0 Campbell Creek was visibly a little higher now due to all the snow that had melted in the afternoon.\u00a0 Once again, SPHP pitched the backpack across Campbell Creek.\u00a0 Once again, SPHP made the leap successfully.<\/p>\n At 8:16 PM (41\u00b0F), Lupe\u00a0arrived back at the G6.\u00a0\u00a0Warbonnet Peak\u00a0had been quite a day!<\/p>\n SPHP noted it had taken Lupe 8 hours to go from Campbell Creek campground to Warbonnet Peak and back.\u00a0 Edward Earl’s trip report indicated it had only taken him 6 hours.\u00a0 Of course, Lupe and SPHP had stayed up at the summit for at least an hour, probably somewhat longer than Mr. Earl had been there (he didn’t say exactly\u00a0how long he stayed).\u00a0 Still, it had taken Lupe longer on her new\u00a0route.<\/p>\n Lupe looked at SPHP.\u00a0 Hey, we had a\u00a0fabulous day, and made it there and back in one piece.\u00a0 What more do you want?<\/em>\u00a0 The Carolina Dog was too polite to mention that unlike Edward Earl,\u00a0she<\/strong><\/em> was stuck with waiting for\u00a0SPHP all the time.<\/p>\n Now how about some Alpo?\u00a0 I’m famished! Lupe\u00a0would still climb\u00a0to the top of High Point 9180.\u00a0 The views are worth it!<\/em><\/p>\n Links:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Next Adventure<\/span><\/a>\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 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":" In the wee hours of the morning, Lupe wanted out.\u00a0 SPHP opened the door of the G6, and she bounded into the night.\u00a0 No stars.\u00a0 A light mist explained why.\u00a0 Hours later, dawn came.\u00a0 Low hanging clouds hid the mountains.\u00a0 There wasn’t a speck of blue sky anywhere.\u00a0 Maybe it was time to move on? … Continue reading Warbonnet Peak, the Converse County, Wyoming High Point (5-31-16)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5972,"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":[105,106,663,26,655,104,11,662,275],"class_list":["post-5991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2016-laramie-mountains-wyoming","tag-american-dingo","tag-carolina-dog","tag-converse-county-high-point","tag-dingo-vacations","tag-laramie-mountains","tag-lupe","tag-peakbagging","tag-warbonnet-peak","tag-wyoming"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1179.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\/5991","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=5991"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21616,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5991\/revisions\/21616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adventuresoflupe.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Lupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1152-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1153-e1551971869992-768x1024.jpg?resize=660%2C880\")
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<\/a>![\"Objective](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1164-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
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<\/a>![\"Looking](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1168-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1169-e1551972505647-768x1024.jpg?resize=660%2C880\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1170-e1551972589706-768x1024.jpg?resize=660%2C880\")
<\/a>![\"Lupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1171-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1172-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"Lupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1173-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1174-e1551972728642-768x1024.jpg?resize=660%2C880\")
<\/a>![\"Lupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1177-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"Lupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1178-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"Lupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1179-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1181-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\""View\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1182-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Lupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1183-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1186-e1551972811221-768x1024.jpg?resize=660%2C880\")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1185-e1551972872411-768x1024.jpg?resize=660%2C880\")
<\/a>There was also a single sheet of paper, on the back of which was a climber’s log with only 4 entries on it, the first one dating back to 9-23-2011.\u00a0 The other side of the log was a copy of the same trip report by Edward Earl<\/strong><\/a><\/span> that SPHP had a copy of in the backpack.\u00a0 Unfortunately, there was nothing to write with in the jar, and SPHP hadn’t brought a pen along.\u00a0 Lupe’s\u00a0ascent did not get recorded\u00a0on the log.<\/p>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1184-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"Lupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1187-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
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<\/a>![\"SPHP](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1200-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"Lupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1201-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>![\"Lupe](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/adventuresoflupe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1196-1024x768.jpg?resize=660%2C495\")
<\/a>Lupe’s route to Warbonnet Peak would, of course,\u00a0be easier and faster when there is little or no snow.\u00a0 Save time going around the NE side of High Point 9310, instead of SW near the huge rock knob,\u00a0to reach the\u00a0high ground near High Point 9223.\u00a0 Take a more direct approach up Warbonnet Peak itself from the NW, instead of going so far around to the W or SW.<\/em><\/p>\n