Parking along road (851) to North McCullough Gulch TH

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benopp
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Parking along road (851) to North McCullough Gulch TH

Post by benopp »

Well, I was looking forward to doing a potential loop hike of Crystal, Pacific, Atlantic this week, but then I looked into parking via McCullough Gulch trailhead, and it is a clusterf***. I'm happy to pay some money for sustainable parking, but $50 for the whole day on a Tuesday seems too steep. I notice there's a road to N. McCullough Gulch Trailhead, and somebody said on this site that it is possible to park along this road without going to the end (not gonna make it in my Subaru Outback). Is this a possibility?-- tried to attach a map.

Anyway, it's good that they offer a free shuttle, and I would take part, but I doubt they would have one at 5:30 am in the morning, though I'm happy to check.

If there are other recommendations, let me know, as this may be helpful for others as well. Francie's Hut High Parking seems difficult for my car.
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cottonmountaineering
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Re: Parking along road (851) to North McCullough Gulch TH

Post by cottonmountaineering »

you might want to try from the other side, mayflower gulch. no parking nonsense there
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Geckser
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Re: Parking along road (851) to North McCullough Gulch TH

Post by Geckser »

We parked at Blue lakes trailhead, walked to the quandry trailhead and caught the shuttle to mcculough gulch. We then hopped the ridge and went up to crystal. We added Drift and Fletcher which made the loop much more simple, though getting to Fletcher from Atlantic was a tough traverse. Not very highly recommended.

https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... trip=21414
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Re: Parking along road (851) to North McCullough Gulch TH

Post by derekpetrie »

I drove up N McCullough Gulch on Friday in a factory Yukon (8.7” clearance) and had only one spot until that sharp left which I had to think about. Not sure how it is after left as moose distracted me and I ended up staying lower.

That said, there is a large electronic sign at the split reminding people of the enforcement, and that does extend to both forks.
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Re: Parking along road (851) to North McCullough Gulch TH

Post by BillMiddlebrook »

Here’s an option to consider:

Park on the Spruce Creek road (aqueduct junction) and:
1) Climb Pacific’s east ridge to the south side of Pacific Tarn,
2) Go grab Atlantic to the south and return
3) Climb Pacific
4) Traverse to Crystal
5) Descend Crystal’s standard route to the Wheeler trail, near Francie’s cabin
6) Take the Wheeler trail to the aqueduct road and to your car

This loop would have Class 3 on Pacific’s east ridge and a bit of bushwhacking at the start, to gain PAC’s lower east ridge, but also keeps you from regaining summits. Might be harder climbing than you want but a viable option to get these 3 peaks.
"When I go out, I become more alive. I just love skiing. The gravitational pull. When you ski steep terrain... you can almost get a feeling of flying." -Doug Coombs
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Re: Parking along road (851) to North McCullough Gulch TH

Post by benopp »

All good advice. Yeah, I'm going to avoid Atlantic to Fletcher.

Thanks for this tips Bill. What is Spruce Creek and Aqueduct? Is that Francie's Hut High Parking on the map? Is that reachable with a standard Outback?

Wasn't thinking the Pacific East Ridge, since it is so long, but it looks pretty epic.
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Re: Parking along road (851) to North McCullough Gulch TH

Post by BillMiddlebrook »

Yeah, that label called “Francie’s High” isn’t really anything but a pull off at the south end of that crossover road (aqueduct road) between Spruce Creek and Crystal Creek roads. It’s about one mile up from the 2wd Crystal Creek th. While rough, Ive seen plenty of Subis up there
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Re: Parking along road (851) to North McCullough Gulch TH

Post by benopp »

I was by myself today, so I thought it was best not to try something super ambitious. Went to Square Top and Argentine instead. A fair bit more snow than expected there (as well as in the Ten Mile Range from what I could see). But this route will be a top 13er hike for me next year.
One's 13er list should be longer than one's 14er list. There are like 10x more of them afterall.
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