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Base Camp
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- Statistics:
- Date Hiked: July 1, 2006
- Miles Hiked: 7.0
- Elevation Gain: 3,650'
- Hiking Partner(s): George
Barnes, Mark Brown, Matt Shepard
- Description:
- George and I had this trip planned for about a month with Mark and
Matt being late additions to the climb. Because of access issues in
Silver Pick Basin, we had planned on an alternative approach that is
supposed to avoid private land. Once safely in the basin above the
owners cabin, our route was then to be decided based on conditions. We ended up
ascending the standard west ridge and descending the west face; however,
the hike didn't go off without a confrontation.
- We started hiking at 3:45 am. As we approached the land owners
residence, we left the road and bushwhacked through some trees to the
scree slopes above his house. Surprisingly, we picked up a faint
trail in the scree that led us to the mining road that we thought was
public. We hiked up the road after a short break thinking we were
well above the land owners house. Shortly afterward, we panicked
after seeing lights behind us and scrambled above the road again.
This scramble placed us on the old "Burro Trail" which again we thought
was public. The lights ended up being other hikers, but we remained
on this trail above the standard road.
- After hiking a while, we had the option of staying on this trail for
the west face route or tying into the Silver Pick Trail for the west ridge
route. Although a snow route appeared feasible on the west face, we
opted for speed and headed up to Rock of Ages Saddle since we were more
familiar with that area. Instead of staying on the trail, we climbed
a short snow field and rotten rock to gain the saddle. The views of
Wilson Peak and El Diente were great, while Navajo Basin was filled with
climbers starting towards Rock of Ages.
- We took another short break and then climbed to the saddle between
Wilson Peak and Gladstone Peak. From this point, we followed cairns
and a use trail to the summit. At the notch just below the summit,
which I would also consider the crux, we viewed the west face more
closely. After summiting and taking a short break, we decided to
descend the west face. With the exception of a hundred feet of
rotten rock at the top of the notch, the snow descent was moderate at
worst. I was slightly disappointed that we hadn't climbed this route
after descending it. At the bottom of the snow, we de-geared and picked up the
Burro Trail. The trail was easy to
follow; however, it deposited us on the road right
at the landowners house.
- We reviewed the map and were convinced we had remained off his
property (at least on the descent) so we simply started hiking down with
full intentions of picking up the scree trail we were on earlier in the
morning. We almost got past the the house when the four-wheeler
fired up and a young man caught up to us. He initially talked to
Mark and appeared rather upset about us trespassing. We discussed
our hike and explained that we used the west face route which we thought
avoided any private property. He had obviously seen the map we
showed him several times and indicated to us that it is wrong and we
crossed his property even using this route.
- Tensions eased as he began to explain their reasons for closing the
route. He also stated that for a $100 donation, anyone can climb
through Silver Pick Basin on the old standard road route. He was
actually very nice and we apologized for the misunderstanding. After
our discussion, he even told us to hike out on the road. The
confrontation was something we had hoped to avoid, but we did learn more
about the access. Glad to have Wilson Peak done, we went back to the
trailhead and had a beer. My recommendation would be to either pay
the $100 and be upfront with the land owner, or hike it from Navajo Basin
where the odds of running into anyone is slim. The reason I say slim
is because the man we talked to did indicate he hikes the peak on
occasion. I have no idea how often or for what reason.
- Maps:
-
Click here
to view a
2D
map of the area where this hike is located.
- Photographs:
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