Mount Ellen and Ellen Peak - 9.17.2010
At 11,522 feet, Mount Ellen is the highest peak in the Henry Mountains.
|
Drive ~30 miles east of Capitol Reef National Park on Hwy 24 to the town of Hanksville... turn south on Hwy 95 and find the Fairview Ranch Road between mileposts 9 and 10.
|
This sign is only 50 feet from Hwy 95... you will be on unpaved road from here to Bull Creek Pass.
|
Mount Ellen is #29 on the list of 57 'Ultra Prominent Peaks' in the lower 48 states... meaning that it has at least 5000 feet of prominence... Mt Rainier is number 1 on the list.
|
Bull Mountain.
|
Head for the Lonesome Beaver Campground.
|
The Fairview Ranch.
|
Fall colors are arriving in the Henry Mountains.
|
The Dandelion Flat Picnic Area.
|
The only one in the picnic area was this cow.
|
Heading for Wickiup Pass and Bull Creek Pass.
|
At Wickiup Pass follow the sign towards Bull Creek Pass.
|
Parking the car at 10,500 feet makes getting to the summit of Mt. Ellen a lot easier.
|
Looking down on Bull Mountain from the Mt. Ellen trailhead.
|
Our route to the Mt Ellen summit is pretty obvious.
|
Denali Girl is bundled up because it is very very windy... Bull Creek Pass is to her left.
|
On the way to the Mt Ellen summit... which we still can't really see.
|
Looking back across Bull Creek Pass to the southern high points on Mt. Ellen.
|
We've finally reached the ridge... but still have some work to do.
|
We still can't tell where the actual summit is... but we do know that Ellen Peak is on the far right.
|
Still trying to figure out where the summit is.
|
Denali Girl arriving at one of the false summits.
|
It looks like the summit is in sight... we can see a large cairn on the next bump.
|
The Mt. Ellen summit cairn (11,522')... and mailbox.
|
There were a lot of wind breaks on the summit bumps... indicating that wind is a problem on Mt Ellen.
|
Denali Girl decides to read the summit register while I continue on to Ellen Peak in the distance.
|
Looking south from the Mt. Ellen summit.
|
Ellen Peak from the Mt Ellen summit... looks like a simple stroll... but I had to give up 400 feet of elevation and then regain the 400 feet to the Ellen Summit... not that big of a deal, except it was very very windy.
|
Looking south to the Mt Ellen summit from the Ellen Peak summit.
|
Looking north from the Ellen Peak summit... it is so windy that sometimes I have to bend at the waist to keep my balance... this trip was 6 miles roundtrip, gaining ~1800 feet of elevation.
|
