Old Man Mountain

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Vaca Russ
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Old Man Mountain

Post by Vaca Russ »

This climb happened on the morning of August 23rd. We left Meadow Lake driving on the dirt road toward Baltimore Lake. We took a right at the first fork in the road and soon reached a very steep and rocky section of the road. I wimped out and parked the truck there.

We hiked the rest of the road. I regretted pulling over so soon. Once you passed that steep section the road became very manageable for the next mile almost all the way to the peak labeled 7594.

We continued south hiking across granite slabs for about another mile. Soon we got a view of the drainage gulley from Phoenix Lake.
1 Mt. and Lakes.JPG
We would have to cross this gulley and climb the ridge on the other side. It was a little challenging to climb down into the gulley. This is a picture looking back on the climb down.
2 Looking back Ridge Climb.JPG
Here is a close up shot of some of the class two you need to negotiate.
3 Looking Back Class 2.JPG
This next picture shows the bottom of the gulley and the ridge on the other side.
4 Slope above Gulley.JPG
We ran across quite a bit of mining debris from back in the day.
5 Mining Debris.JPG
6 Drebris Pile First.JPG
7 Debris Glass.JPG
We also discovered several old structures.
8 First Structure.JPG
9 Second Structure.JPG
10 Third Structure.JPG
I assume the miners used these shelters during their hunt for minerals.

To be continued…
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"...Or have you only comfort, and the lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host and then a master?"

Kahil Gibran.
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Vaca Russ
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Re: Old Man Mountain

Post by Vaca Russ »

The terrain becomes quite steep as you approach the summit. I was a little worried about this climb due to the close topo lines I saw on the map. Fortunately, we read reports of a “miner’s trail” up to the summit.

There was indeed a trail blasted out of the side of the mountain.
11Miner's Trail Russ.JPG
12 Miner's Trail Sport.JPG
It was a very fine trail indeed!
13 Miner's Trail.JPG
We soon found ourselves just below the summit.
14 Climb to Summit.JPG
It was a quick boulder scramble and we found ourselves on top. We signed the register.
15Register.JPG
Hey, I thought she said she would post a report here about her climb!?! :)
16 Kristine.JPG
I guess her “Deso Death March” really wore her out! :nod: :D :nod: :p

There was a great view of Phoenix Lake from the summit.
17 Phoenix Lake.JPG
This is my favorite part of peak bagging…
18 SHB1.JPG
19 SHB2.JPG
20 SHB3.JPG
…all of the great views! :D :nod: :rock: :nod:

Thanks for reading our report!

-Russ
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"...Or have you only comfort, and the lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and then becomes a host and then a master?"

Kahil Gibran.
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Gazelle
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Re: Old Man Mountain

Post by Gazelle »

I definitely need to do some trip reports. I really liked old man mountain the miners trail makes it pretty easy. Did do section 3 of SHR over labor day starting over North of Cox col
The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before. Albert Einstein
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brvoyles
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Re: Old Man Mountain

Post by brvoyles »

Love this peak! It feels so remote despite how close it is to 80. Had to check a map to figure your route out...took me three tries to get this one and it never crossed my mind to try from the north. Looks like a good option to avoid the river crossing. :thumbsup:

Brian
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