C2C of Big Craggy with Kiley.
We made it to the TH to camp the night before. Arrived just before it got dark. Camped on the map where it says Copper Glance Trailhead, about .3 miles north. This is where Eightmile Creek crosses under the road, in case the maps get updated sometime. This is not where the actual trail starts. Pitched two tents near the big, downed trees that outline the camp area.
On the way into camp, I noticed someone at a nearby site with a large DSLR camera and an impressive telephoto lens. I wasn’t sure what they were photographing—until around 10:20 PM, when we realized the Northern Lights had made a surprise appearance.
What followed was an absolutely breathtaking display. The sky lit up with vibrant waves of magenta, purple, green, and blue, dancing across the horizon. We stood in awe, watching the spectacle for nearly an hour, completely mesmerized.
Eventually, we had to tear ourselves away and crawl into our tents, knowing morning would come all too soon. But the memory of that night sky will stay with us forever.
We headed out from the trailhead at 6:20 AM. Making good time across the river crossing and up to the mine. The snow started when we rounded the final switchback that heads into the basin around 5,800ft. It was tedious trying to climb over the downed trees covered in snow as we were posting through. Not enough snow for snowshoes and the snow was too soft with the warmer weather to stay on top of the surface.
We headed up towards the SE ridge and took that to the slope below the summit. Took a route that was a mix of rocks and snow to the summit. The ladybugs were covering the summit blocks in a beautiful swarm. But not flying or moving on this day.
We carried crampons and didn’t need to use them because it was a warmer day. Didn’t carry or need snowshoes and avi gear.
Followed the steep snow on the descent for about 400 feet after leaving the summit. This helped make great time on the way down. Helping to make up for it feeling hard and slow on the way up.
Retraced our steps mostly and stuck to the ridge. We did cut over back to the trail to avoid going all the way into the basin.
What a treat to great viewing of the Northern Lights from the TH the night before! Something we’ll always remember. Yes, that’s Big Craggy with the Northern Lights!
I’m looking forward to going back again for West Craggy. We had hoped to get it on this trip, but with how slow we were moving through the wet loose and sloppy snow, we decided to skip it this time. As it would’ve added on a lot more time (distance over to West Craggy) and we would’ve had to go back through the basin where the snow was the worst with all the downed trees.
GPX: https://peakbagger.com/climber/ascent.aspx?aid=2509642
Comments