A Whale and a Dog

This was my first climb since I did Crestone Peak way back in January of 2022. I was happy to get back out there and picked Whale Peak because of it's proximity to the Front Range and it was dog friendly. I only knew of this peak because everyone and their dog seems to do it in the spring by way of The Whale's Tail couloir. It seems to not see much traffic in the summer months though.

Day of Climb - August 19, 2023

Peak - Whale Peak

Trailhead - Gibson Lake

Mileage and Elevation Gain - 6.82 miles and 2686 feet of gain.

I had my usual long work week so got a very late start Saturday morning for the drive to The Gibson Lake Trailhead arriving just before 9am. The last mile of the drive was a 4WD road that was pretty rough and I was super glad to have clearance. I had heard it was Subaruable but I think that's a stretch. Along the way I noticed 14 marked dispersed camping spots which looked to be very popular with the OHV crowd. Surprisingly, I was the first vehicle to arrive at the small trailhead parking lot. I hadn't expected the peak to be busy, but I had heard Gibson Lake itself was a popular hike and a good fishing spot. Looks like we would have it all to ourselves though.

My dog Leo and I were geared up and on the trail by 9:15 or so. This was a late start for us, but the forecast was perfect and I knew this would be a quick climb. The Gibson Lake Trail was easy to follow and well maintained all the way to the lake with a steady incline up to the basin. It took us about an hour to cover the 3 miles. It was a hot day so the shade through the forest was nice for the first couple miles. Once above treeline there were several easy creek crossings as we meandered through a willow section just before reaching the lake. We saw many wildflowers, old mining equipment and even a grouse along the way.

After a quick snack break we continued on our way. The route from here is pretty much a choose your own adventure up Whale Peaks east face. We started up from the right side of the lake and aimed towards the top of the willow batch. We went around those and then straight towards the summit staying on grassy slopes whenever possible. It was steep the whole way and got rockier towards the summit. Leo led a furious pace and we were on the expansive summit one hour and 48 minutes after leaving the trailhead.

After about 30 or 40 minutes soaking in the beautiful weather and views at the summit we started our descent. We had briefly thought about taking Trotter's south ridge route for some variation, but ultimately decided to return the way we came. The descent was uneventful and went quickly as we retraced our steps back to the trailhead. We passed another climber going up, and down lower in the forest we passed a couple parties hiking to the lake. On the drive out we encountered an OHV palooza with lots of trucks, trailers and OHV's zooming around. Whale Peak was a delightful hike and I highly recommend it.