Ascent of Bald Mountain on 2013-07-28| Others in Party: | Susan Murphy
rraine wajda -- Trip Report or GPS Track
| | Date: | Sunday, July 28, 2013 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Motorized Transport to Trailhead: | 4x4 Vehicle | | Peak: | Bald Mountain | | Location: | USA-Nevada | | Elevation: | 11562 ft / 3524 m |
Ascent Trip Report(This report will have to suffice for all three peaks, as there is no good way to separate out the data) We started out after camping overnight at Wheeler Peak camp ground a few minutes before six a.m. and headed up to approximately 10,700' to leave the trail for Bald Mountain, arriving there at 11,562' not long after. There was no summit register. We then descended the broad, obvious ridge towards the Wheeler saddle, rejoining the trail there. The trail from there up to Wheeler makes the otherwise talus heap tolerable. The summit of Wheeler, as well as the trail up, is covered with large rock constructions to block the frequent wind, I suppose. Someone had to have a lot of time on their hands. At the summit, it isn't clear which of these might be the actual high point, and the register is actually located in one that is visibly lower than the high point. After a brief rest and a bite to eat, we headed to the end of the summit ridge to begin our down climb to the ridge connecting Wheeler to Jeff Davis. It is a miserable pile of microwave sized blocks of talus, many of which are loose and unstable. From the base, it improves some, but the way is still one that requires paying attention to where one puts his or her feet. While making the traverse to Jeff Davis, two thunderstorms sprang up, one right above us, and another that was traveling our way from the west. The one above us moved out and across the Snake Valley away from us, but the other was moving our way rather quickly, and we stayed on the summit just long enough to ascertain there was no summit register there, either. We scurried back as quickly as we could safely move, but were caught by a short hail storm that lasted maybe 20 minutes or so, making the loose rock also wet! Fortunately, there was no lightning in the area. I heard thunder, but it was off in the far distance, sounding like it was out over the valley rather than in the mountains themselves. By the time we got back to the summit of Wheeler, it was over. We met up with two guys who had come up from the Baker Lake area over the rocky traverse from Baker Peak to Wheeler, and were now on their way down to Jeff Davis, intending to descend the south talus field and ultimately return to their camp at Baker Lake. A tough slog if there ever was one. From here our trip was uneventful and we enjoyed fine weather all the way back to our car. Interestingly enough, we were hammered with strong thunderstorms all through Utah and into Nevada. Total distance of the hike was 12.3 miles. |
| Summary Total Data | | Total Elevation Gain: | 4798 ft / 1462 m | | Total Elevation Loss: | 3336 ft / 1016 m | | Grade/Class: | Class 2 | | Quality: | 5 (on a subjective 1-10 scale) | | Route Conditions: | Maintained Trail, Open Country, Scramble | | Weather: | Drizzle, Cool, Calm, Overcast
Thunderstorms in the area, hail on Jeff Davis | | Ascent Statistics | | Gain on way in: | 4798 ft / 1462 m | | Gain Breakdown: | Net: 1462 ft / 446 m; Extra: 3336 ft / 1016m | | Loss on way in: | 3336 ft / 1016 m | | Route: | Wheeler Peak trail, some off trail to Bald and Jef | | Start Trailhead: | Wheeler Peak TH 10100 ft / 3078 m | | Descent Statistics | Ascent Part of Trip: Bald-Wheeler-Jeff Davis
Complete Trip Sequence:
Total Trip Gain: 4798 ft / 1462 m Total Trip Loss: 3336 ft / 1017 m | GPS Data for Ascent/Trip
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Peaks:  climbed and  unclimbed by James Morehouse
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