Bushwhacking

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Wildernessjane
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Re: Bushwhacking

Post by Wildernessjane »

I’m just thankful we don’t have Devil’s Club here in Colorado! This is the stuff of my nightmares: https://www.flickr.com/photos/28435100@N00/21261765520
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SnowAlien
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Re: Bushwhacking

Post by SnowAlien »

Chicago Transplant wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 8:55 am Here is the Lime Creek avalanche debris in 2019, we needed to go through it to get to the car as we did a loop and came into it from above. If we were coming up we probably would have turned around, it was like this on an off through multiple slide paths from Fairview Lake to Eagle Lake, at least a mile and a half. I'm in there somewhere.
IMG958030.jpg
We must have picked a better line getting up to Fairview lake, because it was grade 3 at most. Kinda stayed high to the side, scouted large deadfall areas ahead and went to the side of them.
Another comparable one was in Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness, used to be a trail there, but a fire and 2019 avalanche debris essentially obliterated it.
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Matt
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Re: Bushwhacking

Post by Matt »

cougar wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 12:19 pm Buffalo Peak wasn't bad at all, actually enjoyable scramble. A 1 or 2.
We must have taken different routes.
cougar wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 1:48 pm Grand Canyon national park highpoint is also thick with deadfall, lots of logs, fortunately a short stretch.
I'd call that one a 2 at worst. It's quite short. If I made a list of awful AZ bushwhack hikes I've done, it might make the top half.
We are all greater artists than we realize -FWN
A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone. -HDT
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Re: Bushwhacking

Post by dhgold »

SnowAlien wrote: Sat Oct 02, 2021 4:06 pm We must have picked a better line getting up to Fairview lake, because it was grade 3 at most. Kinda stayed high to the side, scouted large deadfall areas ahead and went to the side of them.
My recent experience in this valley was similar to Chicago Transplant's. After doing 12ers on the south/west side of the valley I descended into the valley from the south and thought I'd be home free after reaching Strawberry Lake where maps show a vestige of a trail. That was not to be as rapid progress was impeded by numerous slide path tree-piles at least one of which went all the way across the stream and partway up the other side of the valley -- a significant detour would have been required to go around it; I went over it and was more than 10' above the ground for at least 100'.

In my experience, the most consistently obnoxious bushwacking in Colorado is on 8ers in the southern part of the state where scrub oak is common: 8205 in Animas County (from the south) and 8682 in La Plata County (from the closest road to the west) are good examples.

I agree with those who've implied that bushwacking in other states tends to make that in Colorado seem mild by comparison. Examples include the Teddy Bear cholla common in southern Arizona (and mentioned by Highpilgrim), a fearsome plant (often reinforced by other chollas, catclaw acacia, yucca, ocotillo and other thorny plants) that tends to put quite a hurting on the uninitiated and the chapparal of Los Angeles County -- sometimes within sight of the Pacific Ocean -- which is often impassably dense from above head level right down to the ground, no crawling under it. While I haven't done much bushwacking in the Pacific Northwest, I've often heard people who have, such as Wildernessjane, speak with great respect of Devils Club.
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Re: Bushwhacking

Post by susanjoypaul »

dhgold wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 9:55 pm In my experience, the most consistently obnoxious bushwacking in Colorado is on 8ers in the southern part of the state where scrub oak is common: 8205 in Animas County (from the south) and 8682 in La Plata County (from the closest road to the west) are good examples.
Reading the descriptions and seeing the photos here, I was thinking the same thing. I've crawled through my share of deadfall and bashed through willows, and it was nothing like the scrub oak found at lower elevations. That's why I mentioned Fremont County. More than once I got into a situation where I was surrounded by that stuff on all sides so thickly, I couldn't fall down if I wanted to. Before doing a peak like that, I'd put on my rain jacket and long hardshell pants to avoid getting "stuck." The only reason you do peaks like that is to "clean out" a county - finish all the ranked summits in a county. Because there's nothing fun about it. And that reminds me: I still have 100 of 165 ranked peaks left in Fremont County, and 24 out of 100 in Custer. Will likely never finish either of them for that reason. Bushwhacking!
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Re: Bushwhacking

Post by bdloftin77 »

susanjoypaul wrote: Thu Sep 30, 2021 6:22 pm Bushwhacking 4 = "Shortcut" through burrs and briars on an attempt of Fishers Peak from the south. I turned around at Little Fishers Peak Mesa and when I got back to the trailhead, stripped off my pants to see why my legs were wet. They were coated in blood. Had to go back the next week for the Mesa and the Peak. I stuck to the trail for most of that one.

Bushwhacking 5 = Fremont County. If you've done it, you know.
Fishers Peak... to avoid the long southern route, my first excursion was from the west up an old road. At one point, I cut a switchback on the road to "save time." Not only did I not save time, I almost kissed the road when I got back to it. Once I got off the road again to approach the long N-S rocky ridge, I encountered thick scrub oak along with thorny plants. Not wanting to become a bloody mess, I made extremely slow progress (maybe 0.25-0.5 mph) for an hour and a half. On my descent, my mind finally came up with the jacket idea. Now called my "bushwhacking jacket" because it's so tattered, I was able to brute force my way through all the malevolent foliage. The summit didn't even provide a modicum of joy - I was completely socked in by smoke. Rough day.

For my second and much more enjoyable ascent of Fishers, I took Sue Personett's/Brian Kalet's route on LoJ from the north. SO much better. It'd be cool if they made a trail to the top now that it's a state park!

Other rough peaks were in southern El Paso county (8418 and 8487). For the latter, decided to take a "shortcut" by going down into a scrub oak area and then up to the summit instead of staying on the relatively easy but longer ridge. BIG mistake... was in scrub oak hell. Similar to a prominent peak in Montezuma county.. Going up and following excellent GPX tracks along game trails, the going was amazing! On my descent, I'd dropped my handheld GPS at some point. I retraced my steps, but to no avail. Knew in general where I was supposed to go to get to my car, but ended up in scrub oak hell. AWFUL. Like you mentioned later, had I tripped I wouldn't have fallen it was so thick.

I often joke about getting "scrubbed by scrub oak." Rough stuff.
Matt wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 11:51 am I agree that desert bushwhacking is on another level not seen much in CO except where scrub oak exists. Willows don't have needles. Cholla do.
That being said, I really miss the desert.
Yep... Visiting some of my wife's family in Phoenix a few winters ago, I decided to hike up a ranked peak behind their neighborhood. If you're careful, you can avoid whacking any bushes. But if you're not.. those bushes have thorns, are called cholla, and latch right onto you. One got my ankle, and I spent quite a bit of time trying to extract it along with all its pesky needles. Apparently that's how they want to spread/reproduce. I prefer plants that use the fruit/seeds-in-feces method. Growing up in Tucson, AZ, my dad said he often used a comb to remove the broken cholla piece that latched onto the skin/pants/anything it touches. Then tweezers to get out the dozens of smaller needles that were too small for your fingers. Fun memories...

Jumping Cholla link:
https://tucson.com/lifestyles/recreatio ... 6b948.html
Beware the Jumping Cholla!
Beware the Jumping Cholla!
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Last edited by bdloftin77 on Mon Oct 04, 2021 9:03 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Bushwhacking

Post by bdloftin77 »

Matt wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:28 pm
cougar wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 12:19 pm Buffalo Peak wasn't bad at all, actually enjoyable scramble. A 1 or 2.
We must have taken different routes.
I must have taken a different route, too. There was some deadfall in areas, but especially on my descent I was able to avoid most of it. Summit is rocky and has good views! I approached from the Wigwam TH (see trip report)
https://listsofjohn.com/peak/2032
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Re: Bushwhacking

Post by Matt »

bdloftin77 wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 9:01 am
Matt wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:28 pm
cougar wrote: Fri Oct 01, 2021 12:19 pm Buffalo Peak wasn't bad at all, actually enjoyable scramble. A 1 or 2.
We must have taken different routes.
I must have taken a different route, too. There was some deadfall in areas, but especially on my descent I was able to avoid most of it. Summit is rocky and has good views! I approached from the Wigwam TH (see trip report)
https://listsofjohn.com/peak/2032

Wow. I wish we had gone that way... I let my partners choose the route, and cannot recall if we discussed the way you went.
We did it in 2012 and I had yet to hike with the great 49ersRule.
We followed the route from Stoney Pass documented by Layne Bracy
the hike is a complete bushwhack! I both whacked and got whacked all the way up and down.
and
Kevin Baker
This was a brutal hike as there were fallen trees everywhere.
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A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone. -HDT
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Re: Bushwhacking

Post by 12ersRule »

Matt wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 10:12 am
bdloftin77 wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 9:01 am
Matt wrote: Sun Oct 03, 2021 1:28 pm
We must have taken different routes.
I must have taken a different route, too. There was some deadfall in areas, but especially on my descent I was able to avoid most of it. Summit is rocky and has good views! I approached from the Wigwam TH (see trip report)
https://listsofjohn.com/peak/2032

Wow. I wish we had gone that way... I let my partners choose the route, and cannot recall if we discussed the way you went.
We did it in 2012 and I had yet to hike with the great 49ersRule.
We followed the route from Stoney Pass documented by Layne Bracy
the hike is a complete bushwhack! I both whacked and got whacked all the way up and down.
and
Kevin Baker
This was a brutal hike as there were fallen trees everywhere.

Buffalo from Wigwam was Brian Thomas's idea, actually. It went right into the thick of a forest, so it was surprising that it was viable.
Brian knows his stuff when it comes to the LCW, especially Bison Peak.

Layne Bracy made the SW Little Bear Ridge great again!! I saw him at a race in Erie this summer and thanked for him for that. I'd still choose that slog over the Hourglass anyday. Of course, that ridge avoiding the hourglass sounds fun, not sure what the descent options are though.
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Re: Bushwhacking

Post by bdloftin77 »

12ersRule wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 10:42 am
Matt wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 10:12 am
bdloftin77 wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 9:01 am

I must have taken a different route, too. There was some deadfall in areas, but especially on my descent I was able to avoid most of it. Summit is rocky and has good views! I approached from the Wigwam TH (see trip report)
https://listsofjohn.com/peak/2032

Wow. I wish we had gone that way... I let my partners choose the route, and cannot recall if we discussed the way you went.
We did it in 2012 and I had yet to hike with the great 49ersRule.
We followed the route from Stoney Pass documented by Layne Bracy
the hike is a complete bushwhack! I both whacked and got whacked all the way up and down.
and
Kevin Baker
This was a brutal hike as there were fallen trees everywhere.

Buffalo from Wigwam was Brian Thomas's idea, actually. It went right into the thick of a forest, so it was surprising that it was viable.
Brian knows his stuff when it comes to the LCW, especially Bison Peak.

Layne Bracy made the SW Little Bear Ridge great again!! I saw him at a race in Erie this summer and thanked for him for that. I'd still choose that slog over the Hourglass any day. Of course, that ridge avoiding the hourglass sounds fun, not sure what the descent options are though.
Thanks for passing on Brian's route, Dave! I'm glad I went that way for Buffalo.

I'm really curious about the West ridge-Hourglass-bypass, too. Did the SW ridge take you all day basically? I went up the Hourglass and on to Blanca when I did LB.
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Re: Bushwhacking

Post by 12ersRule »

bdloftin77 wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 10:48 am Thanks for passing on Brian's route, Dave! I'm glad I went that way for Buffalo.

I'm really curious about the West ridge-Hourglass-bypass, too. Did the SW ridge take you all day basically? I went up the Hourglass and on to Blanca when I did LB.
Oh yeah, I went with FcSquid, TMathews, and Jam6880. It took us 14.5 hours to summit and round trip that one. That was my 3rd attempt too. Had 2 failed attempts with a few people before that due to still snowy conditions/wind/exhaustion et. al.
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