Gold Dust to Pika
Date: 07/25/2021
Partners: Heather Ryan, Becky White, Mike Johnston (photos by all)
TH: Fulford Cave TH
Distance: 12 miles
Elevation Gain: 4700ft
Summits: Gold Dust Peak, Pika Peak
Difficulty: Gold Dust (Class 2+), Traverse(Class 4), Pika(Class 2)
Duration: 9 hours 40 minutes
GPX
Gold Dust Peak 14ers Page
Pika Peak 14ers Page
We made good time up the easy-going Lake Charles trail before heading left(east) on a faint trail about 3 and a quarter miles in. From there we made our way up to Negro Basin (wonder when that name will change?) along the right side of a creek. We even found some fun scrambling below tree line on the way. Before long the basin greeted us with lush marshes, ponds, wildflowers and views of the rugged ridge between Gold Dust and Pika.
We traversed the basin and gained Gold Dust's rocky western slopes. The scree and talus seemed endless as we climbed to the summit ridge.
The ridge exposed amazing views of Finnegan Peak and New York Lake to the north. The name Finnegan seems to be a name you would give to a cuddly teddy bear... not a mountain as proud and bold as Finnegan Peak.
The west side of Gold Dust's summit ridge is where the scrambling begins, and we didn't hesitate to make our way east to Gold Dust's true summit.
After some quality summit time we descended Gold Dust's fun and seemingly solid class 3 ridge to the saddle with Pika. Along the way we managed to knock a microwave size rock off the side ridge. The hairs on my neck stood up as I watched the rock accelerate and crash to the bottom. Would not want to be on the receiving end of that one.
From the saddle we rounded the first tower on the left hand side and ascended a loose gully that lead to a class 4 dihedral. I think this was at the north side of the second tower.
Close to the top of the gully (before the dihedral) another large rock was knocked loose bring it and other sizable rocks down with it. Only this time two members of our party were in the gully below. Thankfully they were able to get out of the way without incident. Another reminder to evaluate risk and exposure to rock fall and develop strategies for climbing sections like this safely.
We took a collective sigh of relief and climbed the dihedral. Near the top of the dihedral, the terrain transitioned from class 4 to low 5... an indication that we were off route. From that point we descended a class 4 gully to the east. Midway down, we ascended another steep class 4 gully to the right that terminated on the south side of the second tower. From there we spotted some cairns and climbed Pika's north ridge to the summit on solid rock.
After enjoying some summit time, we descended Pika's tedious western slope to Lake Charles where we soaked our feet before heading back to the trailhead for happy hour in the newly minted "Paco Fondue Lounge". Another great day in the books!
12m - 4700ft - 9hrs 40min
After 3.25 on the main trail we followed a faint trail on the left and climbed to Negro Basin
We found some fun scrambling along the way
PANO: Entering Negro Basin
Nego Basin
Making our way to Gold Dust's western slopes
Fools Peak (a must climb high 12er) over Pika's west ridge
Hands on Her Hips Heather - Pika and it's tricky ridge towers behind
Becky loving the the endless scree to the summit ridge
R2L: Finnegan Peak and New York Lake.New York Mountain far left
Gold Dust's summit ridge
Traversing east to Gold Dust's true summit
Class 3 summit ridge
Finnegan Peak looking bold, proud and bulky
Heather starts down Gold Dust's south ridge towards Pika Peak
Descending Gold Dust's south ridge was fun class 3 scrambling
This zone of the Sawatch is rugged and tough - feels a lot like the Gore
Becky scoping options
hmmmm...
Small feet, lay back hands and a twirl or two and this knife edgy section is behind you
Pika gets bigger and more intimidating the closer you get
Without dropping too much go left of the first tower or two and find your way up
The class 4 dihedral
Mike climbs the dihedral - Gold Dust in the distance
Heather ascends the dihedral
From the top of the dihedral we descended this class 4 gully
Heather tops out on the second gully - Views of Mount Jackson and Big Spruce Lake
We bypassed this tower on the east side of the ridge
PANO: We did not climb either of the towers in the forefront of this image
Mike makes his way up Pika's fun north ridge
Summitting Pika with Gold Dust behind - Finnegan further
Heather on Pika's false summit to the south
Pika, Gold Dust and Finnegan all lined up from Pika's false summit
PANO: Views near the bottom of Pika's tedious western slope. L2R: Eagle Peak, Fools Peak and Lake Charles
Moose sighting close to the trailhead
A guide service loaded up their lamas and packed in to Lake Charles