Point 7782 and North Sister of Miller Rock, 04/28/2007
We parked just off Hwy 7 (40.1684/105.4003), about 0.6 miles west of the bridge to Balarat (near mile marker 24), on the south side of the road where a rusty steel cable stretches across a rerouted part of Hwy 7.
We started hiking at 10:28, crossing over the bridge behind the cable, then going southwest, climbing a steep slope, and making our way to Point 7782. This part of the hike was rugged and steep. We reached Point 7782 at 11:06. At this point, the terrain becomes flatter, and we could see Mt Meeker to the west. From 7782 we headed directly west to Knob 1 (see point list below), and then southwest to Knob 2, getting there at 12:28. This is pristine country, untouched by man. Heading west from Knob 2, we soon came upon a forest road which we followed southwest for awhile until we got close to the North Sister of Miller Rock, where we left the road and beelined for the top, reaching it at 12:51.
The summit of the north sister of Miller Rock is a nice place to rest, since it has a few trees for shade, and rocks to sit on, although it has no views. If you walk to the north side of the summit plateau, you can see Hwy 7 below. On the south side of the summit plateau there are some large TV antennas, presumably so that the town of Riverside can watch their Denver TV stations. Before leaving the summit, we made a small summit cairn, since there was none.
We figured that if we got back on the road going back the way we had come, and then continued on that road, it would take us to Riverside, and then we could hike back on Hwy 7 to our parking place. We tried that but eventually the road dead-ended a couple hundred yards from our incoming path, at an intersection where forest service signs said "523C Dead-end" and "523D Dead-end", so at that point we decided to just return the way we had come. Stefan later suggested that if we had not taken a sharp right at a previous forest road intersection, then we would indeed have made it to Riverside. We returned to our parking place at 16:04.
Elevation difference from lowest (Parking on Hwy 7) to highest (N. Sister of Miller Rock) point = 8627 - 7097 = 1530 feet
Total trip time = 5 hrs, 36 minutes.
| Number | Description | Lat/Lon |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hwy 7 point where map shows creek north of Hwy | 40.1684/105.4003 |
| 2 | Point 7782 | 40.1654/105.4068 |
| 3 | Knob 1 | 40.1639/105.4218 |
| 4 | Knob 2 | 40.1561/105.4270 |
| 5 | North sister of Miller Rock | 40.1550/105.4419 |
| 6 | Riverside/Forest Road intersection | 40.1700/105.4387 |
| 7 | Miller Rock | 40.1487/105.4498 |
| 8 | Balarat Saddle | 40.1614/105.3961 |
| Place name | Elev [ft] | Accuracy [ft] | Lat/Lon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parking off Hwy 7 | 7097 | 20 | 40.16777/105.39933 |
| Point 7782 | 7807 | 19 | 40.16545/105.40711 |
| North sister of Miller Rock | 8627 | 13 | 40.15512/105.44182 |
| Forest Rd dead-end intersection, 523C,D | 7862 | 30 | 40.16303/105.42685 |