Into the cloud... (at Bald Mountain) 12/14

[Splintercat]

Had just six hours for my first hike in a month today -- so I bolted up to Bald Mountain, thinking it would be a perfect day to visit the mountain. As I drove up Lolo Pass Road, a set of stationary clouds came into view, flowing over the NW base of the mountain... doh! Well, I decided to stop for a few photos while I could still see the mountain, just in case... these are from just short of the pass, where the mountain was quite stunning with a new blanket of snow:





Running low on time, I next bolted up to the Top Spur TH for the short version of the Bald Mountain hike -- and the conditions at the TH were encouraging... still lots of blue sky, plus a couple inches of snow on the trees, topped by a coat of freezing fog crystals:



...very pretty along the trail as I headed up the hill:





...no sign of Reese Witherspoon or Laura Dern here today...



...set up my camera here and watched the cloud bank get LARGER... before heading back down the hill... the mountain would be RIGHT THERE! (gotta use your imagination)



...a little pano of the clouds hanging over Bald Mountain on the way out...



Short day, but nice to be back out on the trail! The only distractions from complete bliss were the growling, off-leash pit bull that charged me (the owner was very apologetic and snapped his leash on) and a group of shooters that I passed down at the "closed" shooting gallery on Lolo Pass road -- wow, they burned through a lot of heavy-duty ammo! Felt bad for the many families out cutting Christmas trees along the road... so much for a peaceful outing!

Some good news on Lolo Pass Road: the USFS (or possibly the BPA?) have contoured and seeded the old hole/quarry along the road just as you first cross under the BPA corridor. Kudos to the USFS for keeping their Zigzag RS open for Christmas Tree cutting season, too -- it was quite busy in there!

Tom

[Zia]

Wow more snow than I expected. How was the road up to the TH? Great Pictures!

[Splintercat]

The road was fine -- more snow/ice on the section from Lolo to the Top Spur junction than if you follow the alternate route (that starts at the Sandy River bridge junction). There's only 3-4 inches of snow at the TH, so not a problem - just watch for ice!

Tom

[Zia]

The road was fine -- more snow/ice on the section from Lolo to the Top Spur junction than if you follow the alternate route (that starts at the Sandy River bridge junction). There's only 3-4 inches of snow at the TH, so not a problem - just watch for ice!

Tom

fantastic. Thanks!

[Splintercat]

Visited with a delightful young hiker while I was up there -- she had hiked all the way to McNeil Point and was rewarded with a brief break in the fog, too. She reported a bit more snow up above, and was wearing traction, but apparently had no trouble getting that far. Weird for December... but not unheard of, either.

Tom

[Bosterson]

Hey Tom, do you know which ridges those are? I'm guessing, based on the angle of the ridges as one would see them from Lolo Pass, that the one on the left must be Yocum, and thus the area between the two ridges is the Reid Glacier Headwall? (Eyeing the climbing options! ) Nice photo, glad to see there's actually some snow up there!

[Splintercat]

Hey Nat, yes, that's Yocum Ridge crossing the center of the photo, and I believe Hawkins Cliffs on the horison (leading down to Illumination Rock) with crevasses in the Reid Glacier in the lower right.

Tom

[weathercrazy]

That is a stunning pic of Hood!

[Don Nelsen]

Tom,

Looks like you have a start on the calendar for next year! Excellent photos.

dn

[rainrunner]

Totally stunning photos! So stunning that we almost pulled our trip report.