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After a big day the day before I needed something easy. New-to-14ers.com thirteener "Dorothy Peak" met that criteria. Its southwest ridge looked interesting from afar: maybe a scramble. I went to find out.
"Dorothy" and her southwest ridge.
Starting from the junction of the Gothic Road (317)/Rustler Gulch Road (317.2B) I hiked a mile up Rustler Gulch before turning off into the tall plants blanketing the entire gulch. Crossing the unnamed creek cost me about 100 feet of vert but I was able to locate a couple of large logs to keep my feet dry.
Where I left the road. Chest-high plants from here to about 11,400 feet.Logs across the creek. Sorry for the washout.
Attempting to stick to the forested areas was somewhat useful in avoiding the tall plants that otherwise snagged, snared, and slowed. Occasional animal trails helped. Eventually the ridge began rising and I gained it via a little saddle of black scree.
Toe of the southwest ridge.
A bit of bushwhacking took me to the first rocky bit.
Where's my scramble?
OK, tedious angular talus first. It's the Elk, after all. Maybe after treeline there'd be some goodies.
Nope.
My my, this trip (and trip report) are super disappointing, huh? Obviously I wasn't going to stop but so far there was no reason to take my hands out of my pockets. The creek crossing was the most technical thing I'd done. Near the summit I finally encountered some scramblingtiny outcrops absolute lies that I got about five seconds of forced Class 2+ out of and that was it for the ridge. Just scree to the top.
Maybe the bush would have offered difficulty.Precarious Peak, "Cassi Peak", and "Golden Tops". The notch over to "Golden" looked impossible so now I know where all the scrambling is.
As usual the Elk views were good. I needed something after the ridge proved to be nothing. The northwest ridge was pretty and had no false advertising, so down I went.
Northwest ridge and a sea of colors.
When at the saddle between white and yellow rock I turned down to my left. Honestly, this was the hardest part of the day - the terrain was steep and the plants were so tall and thick I couldn't see what I was walking on. It was slow and careful going lest I slip.
Rustlin'.Green and pleasant.
Some route finding in the rolling lower gulch took me back to the creek and eventually the road. Sorry, Dorothy. You're a bit boring. No second date for you.
Statistics
Climbers: Ben Feinstein (myself) Trailhead: Rustler Gulch
Total distance: 7.09 miles Total elevation gain: 3,522 feet Total time: 4:53:50 Peaks: One unranked thirteener
"Dorothy Peak", 13,018'
Splits:
Starting Location
Ending Location
Via Time (h:mm:ss)
Cumulative Time (h:mm:ss)
Rest Time (m:ss)
Rustler Gulch
"Dorothy Peak"
2:40:26
2:40:26
7:37
"Dorothy Peak"
Rustler Gulch
2:05:47
4:53:50
Trip End
My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload):
Welcome to the Dorothy club.
It's a great little 13er with awesome views.
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