Peak 8140 and Berry Ridge Summit via Balarat, 1/14/2006
We parked just before mile marker 24 off CO Hwy 7 where there is a pulloff next to the South St. Vrain Creek, and started hiking at 9:45.
Crossing the bridge over the South St. Vrain, we hiked up the Barking Dog Trail until 10:09, when we left the trail and turned left up a gulley where there is an old trail that soon fades away. We soon left the gulley turning left and made a beeline for Peak 7979, reaching it at 10:31.
From the summit of Peak 7979 we headed directly east to a knob (point 4) reaching it at 11:03. From this knob we headed northeast down to a saddle and then up to Peak 8140 reaching its summit at 11:40. Gerry Roach gives this peak a rank of 64 on his Boulder County Peaks list. On Peak 8140 we found a summit register placed there by Mike Garratt on Jan 5, 2003. Surprisingly the register had many entries and was about 80% full, due to many teenagers having visited it from the Cal-Wood Conservation Education Resource Center which can be seen from the summit to the south. There is also a nice view of Fairview Peak and Peak 8315 to the east.
From Peak 8140 we headed east to the Berry Ridge Saddle (point 2) reaching it at 12:49, then went northeast to the Berry Ridge Summit, getting there at 13:00. This summit does not have great views, being somewhat forested, but there is a view of the rough terrain to the north toward Hwy 7. There are places just below the summit where the views are better. We left a summit register here, then began our return at 13:17. On our return, we basically retraced our steps, but didn't return to the tops of the peaks, instead going around them. We returned to the parking place at 15:44.
The terrain on this trip was pretty nice, being mostly sparse forest. The slowest going was from Peak 8140 to the Berry Ridge Saddle. On that piece, we followed the ridge which was rugged granite terrain. Our return along that section was faster since we stayed well below the ridge where there is sparse forest with pretty smooth ground.
The total time for this hike was 6 hours. Elevation difference from lowest point (parking place) to highest point (Peak 8140) is 8140 - 6891 = 1249 feet. The ups and downs between the peaks probably at least doubles this number. There was lots of solitude on this hike; we didn't see anyone the entire day.
| Number | Description | Lat/Lon |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Berry Ridge Summit 7590' | 40.1693/105.3569 |
| 2 | Berry Ridge Saddle | 40.1659/105.3613 |
| 3 | Pk 8140' | 40.1640/105.3747 |
| 4 | Knob 1 | 40.1612/105.3780 |
| 5 | Pk 7979' | 40.1608/105.3867 |
| 6 | Pk 8051' | 40.1553/105.3879 |
| 7 | Balarat Site | 40.1593/105.3963 |
| Place name | Elev [ft] | Accuracy [ft] | Lat/Lon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parked near marker 24 off Hwy 7 | 6891 | 32 | 40.16786/105.38789 |
| Left Barking Dog Trail | 7402 | 21 | 40.16022/105.39210 |
| Peak 7979 | 8035 | 18 | 40.1608/105.3867 |
| Peak 8140 | 8206 | 24 | 40.16372/105.37350 |
| Berry Ridge Summit 7590' | 7669 | 20 | 40.16976/105.35645 |