It's been a dream of ours, over the past four years, to complete a series of trails, that when combined together, would make a loop around the Tushar Mountains at or near tree-line. The final leg presented us with a challenge, due to the time consuming logistics, involved with the dropping off and retrieving of our vehicles. But, it all finally came together today, as Tom & Allison started from the Bullion Pasture Trailhead and Kent & Nathan began at the Alunite Ridge Trailhead and both parties met near " The Pocket", exchanged truck keys, then continued on to other's vehicle. The plan worked like a charm! Oh yeah, the hike was pretty wonderful, too!
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It was definitely a cool October morning, so we weren't too surprised to see a little graupel,
near the trailhead, from a storm that blew through a few weeks earlier |
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Bullion Pasture opened up before us as we exited a treed section of trail . . .
The sun is warming us up, there's no wind and the skies are a brilliant blue . . . it's going to be a special day! |
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We kept an eye out for Mountain Goats in the upper meadows . . .
Although we didn't see any, the Tushar's are well known for their herds |
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After hiking the Bullion Pasture Trail for about a mile and a half, we arrived at the trail
junction that will lead us to "The Pocket." This trail obviously doesn't get a lot of use . . .
but it certainly isn't due to lack of great signage! |
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| Shortly after beginning this new section of trail, we crossed Pine Creek . . . it was flowing cold & clear |
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The sun was peeking over the ridge as we traversed a steep section through an unusual forest
What's unusual you ask? Notice how free the forest floor is of "litter" from vegetation and deadfall |
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After exiting the forest, it was time to cross some purple rock and begin our approach to The Pocket.
What a beautiful view . . . on a perfect Fall day! |
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| Tom, Ezy and Allison are hoping to meet up with Kent & Nathan within the next hour |
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| Tom is approaching several rock moraines left by a retreating glacier that formed The Pocket |
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One can only imagine how much snow piles up in basin every winter . . .
One of the unique features, of The Pocket, are the springs at the base of each of the moraines |
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A panoramic view looking back as we leave this truly special place
(Click on the picture to expand it into a full screen view) |
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| Between the many ascents & descents there was a lot of frost on the foliage |
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| The views have been amazing so far and we still have several miles to go! |
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| The trail fades in and out, after leaving The Pocket, and heads for the South Fork drainage |
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What a fun surprise . . . we rarely see elk . . . Tom counted about 15!
(And to think . . . today is opening day for elk season) |
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A nice 6 point bull elk!
Just stay in these valleys, big guy, and keep away from the nearby roads |
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We finally made contact with Kent & Nathan, on the walkie talkies . . .
Since they were 45 minutes away, Tom decided to bag Peak 11416 . . . so off he went! |
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While Tom was working his way back down Peak 11416,
Allison spotted Kent & Nathan making their way slowly up the trail
(In the background, you can see Mt. Brigham . . . in the saddle, to the right, is the Alunite TH where they began and where we will finish) |
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| After enjoying a lunch break and comparing routes, we exchanged truck keys and took a quick group picture before parting ways and continuing on to our separate destinations |
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Another view of what's to come for each of us
(Click on the picture to get a better look at the dividing point of our hike) |
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| Nathan & Kent are heading for The Pocket |
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| Tom, Allison & Ezy are heading toward the South Creek drainage |
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| We have come 5 miles up to this point . . . 3.5 more miles to go! There's still so much more to see! |
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| We walked down to check out the neat rocks that South Fork Creek has carved |
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| Not far way was a mine adit |
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When we reached the first cabin, graupel started to fall, bouncing off the tin roof!
The cabin was well built and still in great shape for its age . . . still had two stoves and a bed! |
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| More remnants from another old ornate cook stove |
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| Below the cabin, South Fork Creek cascaded into a nice waterfall |
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The aspens were bright yellow with some bright orange interspersed
(Looking towards Copper Belt Peak . . . another wonderful hike!) |
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| About a mile down the trail there were three more cabins |
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This cabin had dirt piled on the roof . . . maybe it was a sod roof at one time . . .
Probably for insulation? |
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| Ahh . . . The views open up, again, as we begin switchbacks on our final ascent |
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Tom is working his way up to the Alunite Ridge Trailhead . . . our destination!
(However, the truck is still a mile down the road on the other side) |
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Just a little further and we'll be home free!
What an amazing hike this has been! As the crow flys, it's probably about 4.5 miles from Bullion Pasture to Alunite Ridge. For us it was about 8.5 miles with 2600 ft elevation gain . . . Woohoo! |
This hike was everything we hoped it would be! A special thanks to Tom & Nathan who helped make it possible for us . . . without them it would have been a very long out-and-back hike for us . . . definitely a lot more fun the way we did it! Please check out our "
Video" tab that has a short five-minute clip that Tom shot with his GoPro . . . it adds another "layer" to our already great hike! Also, if you'd like to see a topo map and downloadable GPS tracks for this 8.5 mile hike (9 miles for Tom) you can click
here and you'll be redirected to Tom's Peakbagger.com post.
