Author: k0mos

Signal Mountain (WØC/FR-127) can be reached from the Dunraven trailhead from the south, or from Pingree Park Road from the north. If you are lucky enough to have a shuttle driver, it makes a great 11+ mile hike from the north fork of the Big Thompson River all the way to the Poudre River. The peak is located at the north-east end of the Mummy Range  in the Comanche Peak  Wilderness which is part of the Roosevelt National Forest. The summits of Signal Mountain – as well as nearby West Signal – are pushing well above the treeline and thus provide unobstructed 360 degree views. The weather forecast was excellent (it cooled down quite a bit) and I was joined by my best trail-buddy, friend and wife – making this a great anniversary hike.

Trailhead: 7828 ft / 2386 m
Summit:   11262 ft / 3432 m
Elev. gain: 4064 ft / 1239 m
Roundtrip: 11.7 mi / 18.8 km

Compare this summit with my other activated summits

How to get there:
Take US34 from Loveland towards Estes Park through Big Thompson Canyon. When you pass through Drake, take a right on CR43 along the north-fork (scenic). Take a right on Dunnraven Glade Road (dirt road) which follows the north-east flank of Triangle Mountain. You can’t miss the parking lot since it is the end of the (public) road. A private road continues behind a locked gate all the way to Trails End Ranch.

Parking/Trailhead

View Larger Map

Red Tape:
Nothing comes to mind – rules of the Roosevelt National Forest apply.

The Ascent:
The official trail-head is about half a mile from the parking lot, following the fairly steep

private road after a locked gate towards Trails End Ranch. Shortly before you enter the ranch, the trail-head is clearly marked on your right side with the usual map/posters etc. From here, the trail climbs up the steep hillside to Bulwark Ridge through open terrain. After reaching the ridge, you have some good views to several nearby SOTA peaks such as Triangle Mountain (WØC/FR-Ø82), Crosier Mountain (WØC/FR-Ø57), West Crosier (WØC/FR-Ø64) and even more looking towards Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). Shortly after, the trail intersects with the Indian and Miller Fork trails. Taking the north-west route – following Bulwark Ridge – will lead to Signal Mountain through mostly forested area over a very well established trail. The treeline will be reached after about 3.5 miles, offering great views towards north/north-east.

The Summit:

The summit can be reached by crossing over the fragile tundra-like flora from the trail at the highest point before it leads back down on the other side towards Pingree Park. It is a large, barren, rocky and wind-swept summit with a small stone shelter at the very top where the summit-register is ‘hidden’. The summit is large enough for several SOTA teams if necessary… luckily nobody else was encountered during the whole trip. The views are unobstructed and stunning in all directions.

The weather was just perfect, with a few white and puffy clouds which provided a nice contrast on the blue sky. The setup was easy since space was not an issue and all the rocks lying around helped me with guying the mast in this windy environment . It was my first time with the newly acquired shock-corded mast from Buddipole. I really like the reduced weight of it but it requires a different technique to set it up and to change bands. All the ‘training’ in my backyard helped and I was on the air in no time. It was my first week-end activation and getting QSOs was definitely easier than on all my prior outings, even-though the propagation conditions were not necessarily better than before – at least that is my theory and I am sticking to it.

The Descent:
If you arranged for a shuttle in Pingree Park, you might enjoy a different route, but for us it was the same route back to the car.

Some video impressions:

If you would like to leave questions or comments, please do so through Youtube.

I activated this summit again on May 5th, 2012. You can find the trip-report right here:

!! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and bold mountaineers… there are no old-bold mountaineers. Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required – enjoy!

Crosier Mountain (WØC/FR-Ø57) is part of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains – close to Estes Park, a popular gateway to the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). According to my knowledge, there are three trails going up to the summit from three separate trail-heads along CR43.

1. Garden Gate trail-head: Is located closest to the village of Drake. It is just before mile-marker  13 and hardly visible from the road. You will find a gravel patch on the south side of the road with some sign of a wooden gate. It is a 5.1 mile trail to the summit of Crosier. The trail leads through some grassy meadows and continues via switch-backs though trees. There was a large wildfire (Bobcat Fire) in 2000 and the trail goes in and out through the burned area.
2. Rainbow trail-head: Located between mile-marker 10 and 9, a large gravel-pit on the left side of the road (coming from Drake) is the parking lot for the trail just across a wooden gate. It is marked as Crosier Rainbow Trail No. 981. The early trail ascends through aspens, pines and spruce trees. It will eventually lead to an 4-way intersection of all the trails coming from the valley and the trail coming from the summit. The overall length to the summit is about 4.0 miles.
3. Glen Haven trail-head (No. 931-2) : I have chosen this 4.1 mi trail (see description below) because it crosses Piper Meadows – a very scenic place – and it also provides a nice view on a previously activated SOTA summit – Triangle Mountain (WØC/FR-Ø82)

Trailhead: 7254 ft. / 2211 m
Summit: 9232 ft. / 2814 m
Elev. gain: 1928 ft / 588 m
Roundtrip: 8.0 mi / 12.9 km

Compare this summit with my other activated summits

How to get there:
Take US34 from Loveland towards Estes Park through Big Thompson Canyon. Take CR43 in Drake all the way to Glen Haven. It’s a scenic drive along the north fork of Big Thompson River. Going through Glen Haven (don’t blink) you will find a red barn on the left side of the road. The TH is just behind the stable and a gravel strip is located on the right side of the road – providing space for several cars.

Parkinglot/Trailhead

View Larger Map

Red Tape:
Several signs indicate that the locals do not like when you park the car in Glen Haven or in their driveway. Make sure to park on the gravel strip indicated above. The trail borders to private land, indicated through a barbed-wire fence.

The Ascent:

The trail-head is just across the street of the parking lot where you will find the first brown trail sign . The first few yards (~150) lead you up a dirt road through an area with private homes. The amount and size of the signs pitched in their driveways  are an indication of the numbers of unconsiderate hikers who seem to park wherever they see fit. It’s a rocky trail going uphills to an opening (~0.8 mi) with a nice view (specifically early in the morning) and two trails splitting off to the south and north-east. the main trail continues down through a small canyon before climbing up again to Piper Meadow.

Apparently Henry Piper operated a dairy farm up here from 1913 into the 1930s. You can clearly identify some foundation walls along the way. The trail follows the meadow on the north side until it sharply bends to the north-east, going uphills with several switch-back to a ridge (with a nice view to Piper Meadow and Triangle Mountain) and finally to the Rainbow Trail junction. The next one and a half mile is a dull hike through very dense Lodgepole pines on a well established trail. The trail takes you all the way around the summit and the final ascent is from the east. About half a mile before the summit you will encounter the Garden Gate Trail intersection.

The Summit:

The trail ends at a steep cliff to the south with a spectacular view into RMNP and Estes Park. The summit is quite large, providing ample space to setup the antenna and even to set up an overnight camp in the woods if you wish to do so. Trees and rocks give plenty of opportunities to guy the mast and also allow a comfortable and shady place during operations.

The Descent:
Since West Crosier (WØC/FR-Ø64) is only about one mile from the summit (as the crow flies), I planned to bush-whack my way down to the saddle between the two summits. Going downhills, the thick stand of Lodgepole pines made it very difficult to keep my bearing and to navigate in general.  You never see the saddle or the summit and the trees are so close together that I had to pick my route carefully to fit between the trees. I did not realize a big thundercloud moving in, since it was very dark to begin with – sunlight had a difficult time to find its way all the way to the ground. I only realized the upcoming thunderstorm when the first thunder rolled through the valley. I decided to abort my quest to cross to the other summit and headed north-east instead, trying to find the trail down to the car. I finally stepped out of the trees when the first rain started to fall and the cadence of thunder increased. It was an unexpected and surprising morning thunderstorm (it was only 11:00 AM) which drove me down the mountain. The rain cooled me off on my way to the car and I joined a guy from the phone company who also waited for the thunderstorm to pass before climbing back on the poles to take some slack out of the phone line.

Some video impressions:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nELv-FOZ10s

If you would like to leave questions or comments, please do so through Youtube.

!! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and bold mountaineers… there are no old-bold mountaineers. Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required – enjoy!

Triangle Mountain (WØC/FR-Ø82) is part of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains and within a one hour drive from my home QTH.

The summit is located within the Roosevelt National Forest and ranked 147th tallest peak in Larimer County. There is no established trail that goes all the way to the top (so don’t look for one on a map), but it seems to be climbed regularly by visitors from nearby Estes Park (a popular gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park [RMNP]). A clearly visible trail goes about about half-way up the mountain, before it fades out. Be prepared to use your map and compass. I certainly needed my navigation equipment on my way down. There are some steep cliffs on the south-west side of the summit which you should definitely avoid. The summit provides some very scenic views into the nearby Mummy Range and some impressive 14ers in the heart of the Rockies.

Trailhead: 7020 ft. / 2140 m
Summit: 8415 ft. / 2565 m
Elev gain: 1987 ft. / 606 m
Roundtrip: 3.5 mi / 5.6 km

Compare this summit to my other activated summits

The trail-head is a very close to a picnic area at the north-fork of Big Thompson River. The drive up the canyon from Loveland is quite scenic.

How to get there:
Take US34 from Loveland towards Estes Park through Big Thompson Canyon. When you pass through Drake, take a right on CR43 along the north-fork. Park at the Lower North Fork picnic area on the left side of the road. There is space to park about five cars.

Parking/Trailhead

View Larger Map

Red Tape:

The east side of Triangle Mountain is private property. The trail follows the fence line closely at some points. Since you have to bushwhack part of the way, you will find out that most of the flora has some sort of poky, prickly and/or thorny part. Make sure to stay away from the steep cliffs on the south-west side.

The Ascent:
Look directly across the street from the picnic area where a faint trail leads up the steep hillside. The trail becomes more prominent until a grassy  area where the trail becomes faint but marked with some stone cairns. Follow the ridge line and climb across the rock outcroppings. The south-west side is private property and your route might get very close to it.

The Summit:

The summit is on a nice rock-outcropping and gives you unobstructed views in all directions. Most spectacular are the views into the nearby RMNP and Crosier Mountain (another SOTA summit). Is is a rather small area and a larger group cannot setup on the summit. More space is available a few feet below the actual summit (without the breathtaking views).

The Descent:
Basically you go back the same way, following the ridge. Unfortunately I made some unplanned detours, exploring the cliffs on the south-west side – not recommended. Map and compass brought me back to the ridge and finally to the trail-head.

Some video impressions:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJn_HwEeyUs

If you would like to leave questions or comments, please do so through Youtube.

!! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and bold mountaineers… there are no old-bold mountaineers. Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required – enjoy!