Castleabra (13,803) by Brian Schultz Friday July 23, 2010
Roundtrip mileage: 7.4 miles from Pearl Pass road at 10,800'
Elevation gain: 3,143'
Participants: Pete Krzanowsky, Tim Briese, Brian Schultz
We drove up the Pearl Pass road last night to the 4x4 parking area at 10,800'. This is the Middle Brush Creek approach using the Roaches' directions, and though the road was wet in a few spots it traveled well for the most part. The last creek crossing was a bit sketchy, prompting Tim to get out and examine it to make sure it would go. It did, but crossing that one in in the dark would not be fun. We continued up the road and parked in a flat area just before a makeshift bridge of large logs at 10,800', slightly down the road from the meadow trailhead. As we scoped out the meadow for our starting point in the morning, a truck came rumbling down the Pearl Pass road and over the log bridge. The two fellows inside the truck greeted us as they bounced over the logs.
Pete pulled in just as we were eating dinner. After Pete set up his sleeping area and arranged his pack, Tim turned in while I stayed up and visited with Pete. Around 9:30 we were startled when a big flash lit up the sky overhead and thunder cracked immediately. Skies were overcast but what a surprise as it came out of nowhere- no rumbling or distant flashing beforehand. We braced for another flash/boom but that was it.
It rained throughout the night, a huge concern because the forecast called for storms today. We put on rain gear to protect from the soaking we'd receive in the willows ahead and began at 5:55 AM. We hiked through the grassy meadow and soon came up a trailhead register, complete with a box and self-issuing permits. I wonder how often it's checked? Tim did an excellent job of route-finding after the trail began to fade and we knew to stay on the right side of the creek no matter what. However, the trail doesn't always stay near the creek. Sometimes it meanders well away from it but whenever we lost it, we always found it again. We traveled high when it felt right, fought through tall willows at times, found respite on a talus field before engaging the willows again, and were quite pleased to arrive in Cumberland Basin exactly two hours after starting.
The skies were clearing nicely so we took a twenty minute break in the grassy basin. Wildflowers were in full bloom and we took lots of pictures before starting up again. Grassy slopes followed by talus led to the Castleabra/Point 13820 saddle, which we reached at 9:35, and from there we turned left up the ridge to Castleabra's summit. We stepped on top at 10:00. Tim and I sat down for an extended break while Pete prepared for tackling Castleabra's south ridge to UN 13550, nearly a mile away. We said goodbye to Pete and watched him on the ridge until he was out of sight.
There are impressive views of the surrounding peaks from Castleabra's summit. The ridge to Castle Peak looked especially intimidating with its menacing cliffs and towers and we were suddenly glad we didn't climb Castleabra from that direction, the way I first suggested climbing Castleabra when we talked about it years ago. We'd also considered the long approach up Conundrum Creek but ultimately decided on this route, thanks to Terri Horvath's detailed trip report.
We departed at 10:35 with the weather still holding nicely and took a long break in the grass of Cumberland Basin again. Two backpackers and a dog approached and we visited for a few minutes before continuing on. They were hoping to climb Castle Peak, return to the Castleabra/Pt 13820 saddle, and continue their backpack to Conundrum Creek. They weren't even sure which peak was Castle so we pointed it out and warned them about the rough ridge they'd be encountering.
Our descent through the willows went well and we returned to the truck at 1:35. We waited a while to see if Pete would show up but arranged to call each other in the evening if we didn't cross paths again. We didn't see him but Pete did call later to let me know he got out okay and that he successfully made his other summit.
This was an enjoyable day and turned out to be a great route for climbing Castleabra.
Trailhead to summit- 4 hours 5 minutes
Summit to trailhead- 3 hours
Start to finish- 7 hours 40 minutes