truro peak – Wild Wanderer

RT Length: 8.49 miles

Elevation Gain: 3489’

As I sat down to type this up, I’m already at the next trailhead. I got out my computer, camera, etc. and set it all up to write a trip report. Just as I was starting, a huge gust of wind blew through the site, creating a whirlwind of dust. All that dust is now inside the topper of my truck, as well as all over my computer, bedsheets, etc. Oh, the joys of living out of your truck! I swept it up as good as I could, but dirt and dust went everywhere! My poor electronics.

Ok, on to the trip report. I parked past Grizzly Reservoir at 10800’ at a nice dispersed campsite to start this hike.

The drive in was easy 4WD, with a lot of creek crossings and potholes to maneuver.

I was up and on the trail at 5:45am. The trail starts at the wests end of the parking area, and almost immediately crosses Lincoln Creek. I put on my stream crossing shoes and was on my way.

Here is an over view of where you’re going. There are game trails to get you to the upper basin, but there are a lot of downed trees to contend with. I just kept heading west, staying right of Truro Creek I could hear in the distance, following game trails as I went

Once I made it up the ridge, I continued west to treeline.

Once I got past the trees, PT 13102 was to the northeast. It was choose your own adventure to make it to the ridge.

Here are some pictures of the easy tundra walk to the ridge

I put on my helmet, turned right, and headed north to the summit. This was class 3, but solid and relatively short.

I summited PT 13102 at 7:30am

PT 13102:

From here on out, this was a ridge hike to West Truro. There were sections of class 2 and 2+, but most of it was class 3 and it was slow going, trying to figure out the best route to take. I believe there are several ways to do this ridge, so you can choose how spicy you make it. I found I stayed on the ridge proper, dropped to the left, and dropped to the right about equal amounts of time. Just be forewarned: once you commit to the route, there are few bailout points.

I headed southwest back down the ridge.

From here on I was following the ridge basically west. Since this is choose your own adventure, I’ll highlight a few pictures, and the route I took.

I was now halfway through the ridge to West Truro. I sat down for a bit of a rest, and looked at the route before me.

This second half of the ridge looked easier than the first, and indeed it was. For this part of the ridge, I stayed mainly to the right. Here are some pictures of this easier part of the ridge

Most of the ascent up West Truro from the saddle was class 2 and stayed on the ridge, until just before the end.

There was a short class 3 chimney to scramble (class 4 is to the right), and then a short scramble to the summit.

I summited West Truro at 9:30am

West Truro:

I could see Truro Peak to the northeast of me

Just for reference, this is how I climbed it (although this is choose your own adventure as well)

I wanted to skirt the south side of West Truro to make my way over to the West Truro/Truro saddle, so I made my way back down that class 3 chimney.

At 13050’ I descended down a game trail that led me to a scree filled gully. I put on my microspikes for this part.

This is where I was headed, so I lost and then gained elevation back to this point.

From here on our I just hugged the side of the mountain, making my way back up to the saddle. This is also choose your own adventure, all class 2

Now at the West Truro/Truro saddle, I had a good view of Truro Peak

I stayed to the left on the tundra, and when the tundra ended the class 3 climbing began, and lasted until I made it to the summit. On the class 3 section I stayed to the right and took the ridge, but it looks like there’s tons of class 3 options here.

Just before the summit I dropped down to the left, then scrambled up. There are game trails here to guide the way.

I summited Truro Peak at 10:45am

Truro Peak:

I turned and headed back to the Truro/West Truro saddle

From the summit I had the brilliant idea to descend via the gully that goes left (south) and skirt the east side of the mountain to make it back to the trailhead. My reasoning was I didn’t want to descend the steep, scree-filled east gully back to Truro Lake, and then rock hop for half a mile before hitting a trail. Solid reasoning, but in implementation, I wouldn’t recommend the route I took. Bushwhacking at the end proved cumbersome, whereas with the north gully, it would have all been above treeline. In any event, this is how I descended. I’d still recommend going right and taking the north gully if you’re ok with a steep, scree filled descent.

I stayed high to avoid the willows, and then dropped down into the trees. I stayed climbers left of Galena Creek (east), and made y way back into the trees, following game trails where I could and getting whacked in the face with willows where I couldn’t.