Subject: TR: Mount Massive, CO Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 14:27:37 GMT From: Tom Stybr <tom.stybrZAP@boeing.com> Organization: I speak for noone else Newsgroups: rec.backcountry
Mount Massive, Elev. 14,421 ft.
Mount Massive Wilderness
North Halfmoon Lakes Grade II, Class 2
9.0 miles; 4,000 ft. elevation gain
August 1, 1998
Sorry for the delay but it took awhile to find the time to write.
Friday evening, after most of the long drive from Wichita, I followed the mellow jeep trail over Weston Pass and was greeted by the sight of strong lightning storms crowning the north Sawatch. I figured I'd have more active weather to deal with over the next few days than that which my wife and I had in late June during our trip through the San Juans. I scarfed a sandwich then began the last leg down to Mount Massive Lakes and up Halfmoon Creek.
Passing the many camp areas, it was apparent that I was sharing this neck-of-the-woods with several hundred, if not over a thousand, of my closest friends. I continued toward the North Halfmoon Creek Trailhead, waving another 4X4 by me at one point. The trailhead is well signed but on this dark, overcast night it was difficult to see where to park. After scouting a flat spot amongst the trees, I finally had manuevered my rolling motel to it's days end and began to bed down. The 4X4 that had passed me was twenty feet to the south.
After sleeping well, a welcome surprise, I woke with an apetite for breakfast and no headache, also surprises. The breakfast that has been working for me is a Nutrigrain and a couple of brown sugar / cinnamon PopTarts and they went down without protest. I was on the trail at 0539 in a lightening gloom. The smell of damp earth and fragrant pine accompanied me on my lone trek into the Mount Massive Wilderness. I patiently waited for my pace to find itself.
The trail had obviously been a jeep trail previously but became a narrow singletrack while climbing consistently into the North Halfmoon Creek drainage. The bulk of Mount Massive appears to the right and its size becomes apparent while traversing below its heights. The trail becomes fainter the farther it goes and does not swing by North Halfmoon Lakes as it appears it should. In fact, my first glimpse of the lakes would be from the summit ridge.
Trending right while the main drainage splits in two, the trail peters out completely and one is left to navigate up and over a grassy mound, around a tarn and onto a boulder field which guards the entrance to the cirque with North Mount Massive as its headwall. I wondered when I should begin the climb to the ridge alternately ascending farther into the cirque and gazing up the talus slope to the right. Finally, a wide gully appears above the boulders which obviously leads to the saddle between North Massive and Massive.
I grew weary of the steep scree slog as soon as I encountered it and trended to the left of the gully for stable rock. Weaving amongst the outcroppings, I made fine time to the saddle and a brief shot of warming sunshine. I took a short sit down break and enjoyed the view of the beautiful North Halfmoon Creek Basin rimmed by the Continental Divide to the west. The gloom was gathering again and to ward off the chill wind which accompanied it, I started off for the summit on an obvious trail up the ridge. I caught a glimpse of the summit and realized I would not be the first to reach the top.
After a traverse along the west side of the false summit, I strolled up the talus to summit at 0945 to find two gentlemen sitting beside the summit windbreak and my trailhead companion just arriving from the southwest slope. David from Los Alamos had started about twenty minutes behind me and had reached his 40-something fourteener summit. I asked to have my picture taken and we chatted while watching the east slope queue form below us. A clap of thunder coming from no direction in particular set us off and I decided to join David for the descent of the southwest slope talus field.
Following the ridge to the saddle which Massive shares with South Massive, small sleet began to fall. Some of the east slope folk were reaching the summit as we descended and we exchanged greetings with them. A choice of routes down the southwest slope present themselves and we followed what appeared to be the most direct as a steady drizzle began to fall. We had been holding a running conversation for quite some time before we actually introduced ourselves, my curse of descending quickly kept me mostly in front.
It wasn't exactly the route David had followed on the way up but soon we encountered a strong if slippery climbers trail that led to the valley floor. The drizzle, after briefly letting up, had intensified into a soaking rain and would continue to the trailhead. We could plainly see the North Halfmoon Creek Trail from above and its gentle grade was a welcome change. Hiking in the rain is a simple pleasure and the single clap of thunder we had heard from above was as threatening as the weather would get this day. Back at the trailhead at 1215, we bid each other well and retreated to our vehicles to escape the rain.
Thanx for your interest.
Tom