Battle Mountain (11,710), Red Benchmark (11,816), & Wingle Ridge (11,997) by Brian Schultz Saturday July 17, 2021

Battle Mountain & Red Benchmark:
Roundtrip mileage: 8.0 miles from Lime Creek road (elev. 11,300')
Elevation gain: 2,300'
Start to finish: 5 hours

I truckcamped last night along Shrine Pass road, west from Vail Pass, in a large open camp area very close to the turn-off before Lime Creek road (FR 728). This morning I had to slow down while a shepherd moved hundreds of sheep off Shrine Pass road. I soon made the turn on to Lime Creek road, a good road suitable for 2 wheel drive vehicles. I used Paul Stratmoen's starting point for Battle Mountain at a nice camp area. A family had staked their claim to it but I parked on the spacious entrance to their camp, just off Lime Creek Road and well away from them.

I began at 7:30 AM under threatening skies and immediately happened upon a good trail in the woods. The old road/trail went almost all the way to Battle Mountain's summit. This was pretty handy and a half hour later, at 8:00, I arrived on top. Even though there was a 50% chance of storms/showers forecast at 10:00 AM, I continued on to Red Benchmark because it was still early and there's an excellent trail (Deadhorse trail) from just below Battle Mountain to the junction with the Two Elk trail at Two Elk Pass (photo 1, photo 2).

The remainder to Red would be on easy terrain and I could make relatively fast time (for me anyway) and hopefully be off Red before any storms rolled in. One person passed by me on my descent to Two Elk Pass. The terrific trail system is popular with mountain bikers and and on the return at least 15 wheeled by me on my ascent back to Battle Mountain.

The trail to Red Benchmark ends right after Two Elk Pass but the hike up Red's grassy slopes was a straightforward endeavor. There were signs and ropes marking a boundary which I stayed away from initially as I made my way up, thinking it was private property, but a large sign on top explained why they were there. The ropes marked a boundary where ski patrols end their services. I reached the large flat summit at 9:40 and stayed a half hour enjoying the clearing skies.

Back at Two Elk Pass, I crossed paths with 4 hikers who'd taken the Two Elk trail from Minturn. The trail back to Battle Mountain regains nearly 900' and I stepped off the trail many times as the mountain bikers streamed down the trail. Once back on Battle Mountain's slopes, I had the trail to myself and stopped a few times to take pics of the wildflowers. I made it back to my truck at 12:30. This was a nice outing.

Wingle Ridge:

Roundtrip mileage: 5.5 miles from Shrine Mountain trailhead
Elevation gain: 1,150'
Start to finish: 2 hours 35 minutes

I had plenty of time to try a couple more peaks and Wingle Ridge and Shrine Mountain were conveniently on the way. I suspected there would be people hiking to Shrine Mountain but was surprised to see the trailhead parking lot full and lots more vehicles lined up on Shrine Pass road. It's very popular trail apparently and maybe more so since it was a Saturday. The skies were now getting much darker as I put on my raincoat and pack cover and hit the trail at 1:20 PM. Many hikers were on their way back and only a handful of us were heading up.

People were raving about the wildflower displays on Shrine Mountain and I talked briefly to a fellow who'd gone to Wingle Ridge. He said the flowers weren't much to see on Wingle and recommended skipping it for Shrine Mountain. Not me, my priority was Wingle and I'd hike Shrine only if the weather held up.

The trail is excellent and when I finally reached the saddle, I turned left and made a beeline for Wingle. The terrain was easy and I caught up to another guy, who was moving slowly, and passed him. I reached Wingle's highpoint, marked with a pole, and immediately turned around. I passed by the fellow, who was close to the highpoint, and within moments, the skies opened up with a furious hailstorm. No lightning was flashing but I hurried as fast as I could, knowing the potentially dangerous situation.

When I reached the saddle, the hail stopped but the skies were still threatening and it was an easy call to skip Shrine Mountain. A large number of people were now coming up the trail, seemingly unconcerned about the weather, including a fellow with a baby strapped to his chest and a young woman with an umbrella. I made it back to the trailhead at 3:55, glad the weather had held and wondering if the tourists would be so lucky.