Bald Butte via Oak Ridge & Surveyors Ridge
Posted: November 29th, 2019, 8:59 pm
Well, our Sepvember is over. Bushwhacking in new snow is miserable, so I looked for a trail for today's hike. Settled on Surveyors Ridge from the north TH. Pine Mont Drive was plowed, but a bit icy, and no place to comfortably turn around except driveways. I figured if I persisted, I could end up having to back down. So I went looking for a way to access the powerline road that goes up to Surveyors Ridge, and stumbled upon Oak Ridge TH. Perfect! Really close to Hwy 35.
I started up the trail with a couple surprises: It really wasn't that cold, and somebody had broken trail for me. Nice. But at 2200 the footprints abruptly ended, in a random place. I guess they got fed up with it, or ran out of time. Just above that, I entered the open ridgecrest. That was fun. Trail was just slightly hard to follow, but getting lost would be impossible. Snow was getting really deep, but when I re-entered the forest, it wasn't so bad.
When I reached Surveyors Ridge, I noticed I had been traveling at about 1mph, a pace that I continued through the hike. I turned left/north and waded through deep snow along the ridge crest until I reached a saddle where I found the utility road. I continued north, in hopes of reaching the open snowy slopes I had seen from Oak Ridge Trail (I came to realize it's Bald Butte). Kinda boring at the top. I had hoped for a distinct high point with a 360 view, but it's elongated, with a gradual drop to the north, and lots of trees.
I dropped back down to the powerline saddle, and started down the utility road. This is where I encountered the deepest snow of the day, about waistband high in spots, usually mid thigh. I don't think it would have been possible to ascend this road as I had originally planned. The powerline corridor was slightly fun and scenic, but not as much as I was hoping for.
Field guide says I should watch for rattlesnakes and ticks. I didn't see any.
I started up the trail with a couple surprises: It really wasn't that cold, and somebody had broken trail for me. Nice. But at 2200 the footprints abruptly ended, in a random place. I guess they got fed up with it, or ran out of time. Just above that, I entered the open ridgecrest. That was fun. Trail was just slightly hard to follow, but getting lost would be impossible. Snow was getting really deep, but when I re-entered the forest, it wasn't so bad.
When I reached Surveyors Ridge, I noticed I had been traveling at about 1mph, a pace that I continued through the hike. I turned left/north and waded through deep snow along the ridge crest until I reached a saddle where I found the utility road. I continued north, in hopes of reaching the open snowy slopes I had seen from Oak Ridge Trail (I came to realize it's Bald Butte). Kinda boring at the top. I had hoped for a distinct high point with a 360 view, but it's elongated, with a gradual drop to the north, and lots of trees.
I dropped back down to the powerline saddle, and started down the utility road. This is where I encountered the deepest snow of the day, about waistband high in spots, usually mid thigh. I don't think it would have been possible to ascend this road as I had originally planned. The powerline corridor was slightly fun and scenic, but not as much as I was hoping for.
Field guide says I should watch for rattlesnakes and ticks. I didn't see any.