{"id":4881,"date":"2015-02-09T22:22:11","date_gmt":"2015-02-10T05:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/?p=4881"},"modified":"2017-01-28T21:37:17","modified_gmt":"2017-01-29T04:37:17","slug":"w0cpr092-gray-jay-mountain-3336-10965-ft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.schnizer.com\/SOTAblog\/sota-trip-report\/w0cpr092-gray-jay-mountain-3336-10965-ft\/","title":{"rendered":"W\u00d8C\/PR-\u00d892 (Gray Jay Mountain) – 3342 m \/ 10965 ft"},"content":{"rendered":"

W0C\/PR-092
\nGray Jay Mountain
\n3342 m \/ 10965 ft
\nAugust 24, 2014
\nFirst Activation<\/p>\n

By KX0R<\/p>\n

Gray Jay Mountain<\/a> is a minor summit near Mount Ida<\/a> and the Continental Divide<\/a> in Rocky Mountain National Park<\/a>. Because the peak is in the wilderness, far from roads, it takes a significant effort to activate it \u2013 but it\u2019s fun! I combined this summit with an activation of nearby Jackstraw Mountain<\/a>, and it was a long day. Most of the report for Jackstraw applies to Gray Jay<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n

\"Gray<\/a>

Gray Jay Mountain from Timber Lake Trail<\/p><\/div>\n

There is no trail to the top of Gray Jay, but a little-used, un-maintained trail runs to Long Meadows<\/a>, about 1\/2 mile east of the summit. The off-trail hike to the summit is a classic bushwhack trip through a swampy sub-alpine forest full of downed trees and slippery logs. Please do not attempt this trip, unless you actually enjoy this kind of travel, and only if you have enough navigation experience to do this right. The area around Gray Jay is wilderness, and the penalty for error might be extreme.<\/p>\n

\"Gray<\/a>

Gray Jay Route 1<\/p><\/div>\n

To reach the trail-head, drive to Estes Park, continue into the Park, drive over Trail Ridge Road, and descend into the Colorado River drainage on the west side of the Park. Continue south for about 1.5 miles from the last switchback, and park at the marked Timber Creek trail-head<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The trail starts at 9050 feet and leads south, gradually ascending the west side of Jackstraw Mountain. The route is steep from 9200 to 10,000 feet, and then it moderates. Unfortunately there is a huge mudslide at about 9900 feet, and a tricky detour is required to climb above the head of the slide and back down to the trail. There are strict warning signs; crossing the slide is virtually impossible, because it is a dense 3-D matrix of interlocked trees and branches. Getting around the slide is the hardest part of the hike – hopefully the trail will be restored in 2015.<\/p>\n

\"Landslide<\/a>

Landslide Warning on Timber Lake Trail<\/p><\/div>\n

To climb Gray Jay, follow the Timber Creek Trail west past the mudslide, continue up to about 10,200 feet. Keep an eye out for a sign and a trail heading right (south). Other than the main trail up to Timber Lake, there is only one trail that splits off and crosses Timber Creek. You must find and follow the trail that goes to Long Meadows and eventually leads into the Onahu Creek area. Note that the Long Meadows trail is incorrectly located on the USGS maps, Google Maps, National Geographic-Trails Illustrated, and my Garmin GPS map \u2013 those maps show the trail junction and creek crossing place at about 10,600 feet, but my GPS track puts this spot near 10,200 feet. Perhaps the trail has been re-located. This junction was clearly marked in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\t\t