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Ascent of White Butte on 2011-08-25

Climber: Gustav Sexauer

Others in Party:

Artski and Jennifer----Only Party on Mountain

Date:

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Ascent Type:

Successful Summit Attained

Motorized Transport to Trailhead:

Car

Peak:

White Butte

Location:

USA-North Dakota

Elevation:

3506 ft / 1068 m

Ascent Trip Report

We parked our cars, one with a carved whale on the roof, at the intersection with the donation mailbox. A few pheasants were milling about and the smell of the alfalfa field north of the highpoint was strong full of memories. The unimproved road on the map leading south from the donation mailbox was blocked off by a homemade sign that said road closed. It is an easy walk though, and only makes the hike more fulfilling when you make it to the top. Eventually we walked past a ruin of an old farm house and wind mill, and it was not long before an intersection of fences came upon us. Go through the gate and cross the flat white chalky runoff and make it to the base of the butte. From here, we passed a red table top looking rock, up the most obvious looking path. Once up in the foliage again, the path wanders and splits, however, the paths seem to all meet back up eventually once they get up to the small ridge which leads to the top. From there, the path lead us to the top under a cloudy sky. The air was sweet and the views went on for miles. We could see buttes far past Amidon and far off to the east. A remarkable view! At the top there is a pipe with the benchmark on it. There was an old medical box with a register in it and we were the second group of of the day. Also there was a broken big wheel tricycle hooked on the benchmark pipe. After some photos at the top, we headed back down the same way we came. The trail was a bit slippery in places and at least one of us got the signature white butt on White Butte. We made it back to the car never seeing a snake, and replaced the taping stick that was left on the road closed sign that we had picked up when we arrived. A must hike detour while driving I-94. It is easy to hook a route through Bowman and highway 12, just hope that 12 is not under construction any more.

Summary Total Data

Elevation Gain:

435 ft / 132 m

Distance:

3.4 mi / 5.5 km

Trailhead:

Donation Mailbox 3071 ft / 936 m

Grade/Class:

Class 1

Quality:

4 (on a subjective 1-10 scale)

Route Conditions:

Maintained Trail, Unmaintained Trail

Weather:

Hot, Calm, Overcast

Ascent Statistics

Time Up:

35 Minutes

Descent Statistics

Time Down:

25 Minutes

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