BALD MTN A - 13,684'

But is it 13,684'? That's what shows on the .com at the time I'm writing this TR. GAIA shows 13,638'. Lists of John says 13,703', possibly the elevation from the most recent LiDAR scan.

Ok, so it's a 13er. And if you're looking for a professional Duck Duck Goose player, Bald Mountain A is where it's at! It's a delightful peak, overall, but it's hard to ignore the false summits, and it's even harder not to laugh when you get to the last false summit and emit that ever-so-recognizable groan of despair.

STATS

Total elevation gain = 2470'
Total mileage = 6.5

Approximate gain/mile splits:
Mile 1 = 249'
Mile 2 = 1155'
Mile 3.25 (i.e., to summit) = 827'
Return trek = approx. 239' re-gain (this seems less than how it FELT but I think is close to accurate)

THE HIKE

With an unexpected early monsoon set to arrive, weekend hiking plans flip-flopped enormously. Insisting on not being deterred, it seemed like Bald would fit perfectly into the few hours' weather window we had, so off we went super early.

There are a couple of different approaches for this peak. We opted to start at the summit of Boreas Pass and start off on the Black Powder Pass trail. Just past the old railroad crossing, the trail starts off to the left and has a sign. (And, no, that is NOT Bald's summit that you're seeing in the distance!)

This was our first peak since having COVID, and we were both challenged with lingering symptoms, most notably a cough. I'd attempted a local hike a few days prior and had to turn around because I couldn't get a deep breath to save my life. Today, the first 800' or so was very rough for my lungs, but I at least felt ok, overall. If anything had happened to us on this peak, SAR would have had no trouble locating us. We both coughed and wheezed the whole ascent. Undoubtedly, people as far away as Quandary heard us...

Starting out on the Black Powder Pass trail is pretty sweet! It's very distinct and well-maintained. Even has a couple of little boardwalk sections for the more marshy times of the year. However, it becomes a bit less distinct as you ascend toward the pass itself but still very easy to follow.

You do not need to go all the way to the summit of the pass before you turn north to head to the ridge! I wouldn't turn TOO soon because that seems unpleasantly steep and direct - and possibly contains more talus. In my opinion, the "sweet" spot is between 11,900' and 12,140'. I know what you're thinking, "12,140' seems awfully specific, Mary." You're right. At 12,140' there is a very faint fork in the trail. Black Powder Pass trail is obvious and keeps on heading up to the pass, and a very faint social trail starts jogging to the left where RyGuy is standing. (It is faint but more obvious to the eyes than the 2nd photo below implies.) In the absence of snow fields, I would have preferred making the turn closer to 11,900' as the turn we took really wasn't as direct as I'd like, but we also had a couple snow fields to skirt around. It worked out fine, and ultimately as with any trail-less 13er, it's your adventure!

The faint social trail fades after a very short while, but as the picture above portrays, you know where you need to go. It's not complicated. Aim for the ridge!

Stop to enjoy the views around you once in a while! In particular, it's cool to see Boreas from this vantage point. I'd already hiked it previously and really enjoyed it; found it to be a very unique summit, and that's illustrated well from this angle. By the way, you will hit talus pretty soon once close to being on the ridge proper, and there is a LOT of talus on this peak.

And take time to have some fun. ;-) Our album "Pointing on Peaks" drops Monday!

And then it happened. Per the norm, RyGuy floated across the unavoidable snow fields like Jesus on water, and even though I weigh less, I find all of the traps. Every. Last. One. The foot gets lodged under something, I emit at least one "SON OF A!", and then I crawl out and - you guessed it - find another trap almost immediately. **shakes fist in air!!**

So, it's pretty simple. You just keep following the ridge. But let me illustrate to you the many ways in which the ridge is a false summit nightmare.

The return trek wasn't terrible. There is some re-gain that looks worse than it actually is and really isn't that bad. And as you'll see in the map I've uploaded, we took a more direct descent path in order to rejoin the Black Powder Pass trail because we no longer felt it necessary to skirt around snow fields especially once on a downhill trajectory.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It really is a nice little peak, but I wouldn't say it's very interesting. I think it would be a more interesting day - and certainly more challenging - to try and pair it with Boreas. (To that end, BMcQueen has a nice TR about that.) Unfortunately, when I did Boreas, it was kind of on a whim when I needed something short and simple. It was only once I was on the summit looking over at Bald that I thought, "You know, I really should have thought this through a little better." But, as we all say, the mountains aren't going anywhere, and it turned out this was just right for us on this particular day. I do think Bald is a mountain I would recommend to someone wanting to start dipping their toes into 13ers and trail-less route-finding, i.e., it's really a nice intro (as is Boreas) without having high consequence.

As always, please strive to leave no trace wherever you may find yourself exploring out there.