Medicine Bow's Tallest, Clark Peak 12951' 7/14/12
I'd planned to take my father somewhere totally new for his birthday climb, and having never been into the Rawah Wilderness myself and him only once ages ago; Clark Peak seemed like a nice choice. Clark is the tallest peak in the Medicine Bow Range and Jackson County, the most prominent and isolated(in the technical mountaineering meaning) mountain in Larimer County, so it had its accolades. Plus that, we'd always wanted to climb it but never find ourselves in the area long enough to do it.
It took an hour and a half to reach the Blue Lake TH from west Loveland, and we hit the trail ten after 7am. We'd chose the Blue Lake TH over the Chambers Lake lot based on the fact we weren't really interested in bushwhacking a half mile to the real trail AND paying the recreation fee. Starting at Blue Lk TH makes it .6 miles longer each way(estimated), but it also starts at a higher elevation. We crossed Joe Wright Creek right off the bat while following the old logging road converted into a trail. This trail was super easy going and wide enough to walk two abreast before it becomes a true trail at Fall Creek.
At this point the trail climbs a bit in small sections here and there before crossing Fall Creek again. It's obvious you are nearing Blue Lake when you start passing signs stating the Blue/Hang lakes area is closed to camping, and soon you'll find yourself overlooking the deep bowl that holds the large lake. We took a break here before gradually climbing up the hillside in the general direction of Hang Lake through patches of trees. Topping out on a small knoll we had our first view into the shallow cirque holding our ascent options. Before this point I'd hoped to just weave along the bushes to the top of the cirque and climb the sandy slope to the top of the summit ridge, but seeing a fun looking side ridge to the south we chose that instead.
Crossing through the willows was no big deal and heading to the start of the ridge went well. I climbed the various walls and easy gendarmes along the ridge while enjoying the exposure to my left. At most this ridge involved a few easy Class 3 moves, but they could be avoided if you don't want to rumble with it. The ridge ends short of the summit ridge, between the two is a steep, sometimes loose slope. We climbed most of the way up before traversing over talus fingers to avoid climbing unnecessary elevation on the ridge. Upon reaching the summit ridge we were given our first view of the summit and final push to it as well as the other peaks to the north.
The summit ridge also has some fun exposure, but nothing over Class 2+ before reaching the broad summit. The views are good in every direction, to the north is most of the other Medicine Bow Peaks, to the east are the Laramie Mountains and Mummy Range, to the south is the Longs Peak massif, Never Summer Range and other peaks along the Continental Divide while the west has expansive views across North Park and the Park Range. The summit has a big windbreak and register.
Climbing back down between ridges we were hit with some cold rain, but the clouds blew over and we had an uneventful if long walk back to the trailhead. In the 14 hours from the garage and back we saw deer, elk, two large groups of bighorn sheep, moose, a snowshoe hare, an Audubon Warbler and Ruffed Grouse with her chicks. In total, Clark Peak from the Blue Lake TH was 3800 feet of elevation gain and 7 miles one-way.
It took an hour and a half to reach the Blue Lake TH from west Loveland, and we hit the trail ten after 7am. We'd chose the Blue Lake TH over the Chambers Lake lot based on the fact we weren't really interested in bushwhacking a half mile to the real trail AND paying the recreation fee. Starting at Blue Lk TH makes it .6 miles longer each way(estimated), but it also starts at a higher elevation. We crossed Joe Wright Creek right off the bat while following the old logging road converted into a trail. This trail was super easy going and wide enough to walk two abreast before it becomes a true trail at Fall Creek.
At this point the trail climbs a bit in small sections here and there before crossing Fall Creek again. It's obvious you are nearing Blue Lake when you start passing signs stating the Blue/Hang lakes area is closed to camping, and soon you'll find yourself overlooking the deep bowl that holds the large lake. We took a break here before gradually climbing up the hillside in the general direction of Hang Lake through patches of trees. Topping out on a small knoll we had our first view into the shallow cirque holding our ascent options. Before this point I'd hoped to just weave along the bushes to the top of the cirque and climb the sandy slope to the top of the summit ridge, but seeing a fun looking side ridge to the south we chose that instead.
Crossing through the willows was no big deal and heading to the start of the ridge went well. I climbed the various walls and easy gendarmes along the ridge while enjoying the exposure to my left. At most this ridge involved a few easy Class 3 moves, but they could be avoided if you don't want to rumble with it. The ridge ends short of the summit ridge, between the two is a steep, sometimes loose slope. We climbed most of the way up before traversing over talus fingers to avoid climbing unnecessary elevation on the ridge. Upon reaching the summit ridge we were given our first view of the summit and final push to it as well as the other peaks to the north.
The summit ridge also has some fun exposure, but nothing over Class 2+ before reaching the broad summit. The views are good in every direction, to the north is most of the other Medicine Bow Peaks, to the east are the Laramie Mountains and Mummy Range, to the south is the Longs Peak massif, Never Summer Range and other peaks along the Continental Divide while the west has expansive views across North Park and the Park Range. The summit has a big windbreak and register.
Climbing back down between ridges we were hit with some cold rain, but the clouds blew over and we had an uneventful if long walk back to the trailhead. In the 14 hours from the garage and back we saw deer, elk, two large groups of bighorn sheep, moose, a snowshoe hare, an Audubon Warbler and Ruffed Grouse with her chicks. In total, Clark Peak from the Blue Lake TH was 3800 feet of elevation gain and 7 miles one-way.
