Point 10181 and the Iron Dike from Ferncliff, 05/12/2007
Parking in Ferncliff near the Peak to Peak Highway, we started hiking at 10:39 heading south, on an established trail, that begins where a cable crosses the path with a nearby sign that says "no hunting". We followed this trail uphill and south for about a half mile, then turned southwest, leaving the trail, and heading for Point 9327, getting there at 11:21, where the odometer showed 0.95 miles from the start.
Point 9327 is a wide rocky knob with great views, including Mt Meeker, Twin Sisters, Meadow Mtn, and St Vrain Mountain. We made a small cairn here, since there was none. From there, we headed south for about 1/4 mile to a second knob, then turned southeast toward Point 10181. The climb up to the ridge of Point 10181 was slow and laborious, because of both snow and brush, composed mostly of dwarf aspen and limber pine. We finally reached the ridge near point 5 at 12:35, at an elevation of 10116 ft, and the odometer showing 2.05 miles. Because of the snow, we decided not to head up to Point 10583, but instead turned northeast, following the ridge down, until we got to Point 9331.
Point 9331 is part of the Iron Dike geological feature, with its characteristic brown mottled rocks. From Point 9331 we followed the Iron Dike northwest, which happened to have a trail running along it, until we got to the east side of Buck Lake, at which point the trail turns southwest, and we continued following the Iron Dike northwest until we reached Hwy 7 (Peak to Peak Hwy) where there is a rest area on the other side of the road. We then followed the highway west and returned to our parking place at 15:10.
| Number | Description | Lat/Lon |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferncliff Trail | 40.1865/105.5080 |
| 2 | Start P to P? | 40.1861/105.4850 |
| 3 | Iron Dike (9331) | 40.1754/105.4925 |
| 4 | Point 9327 | 40.1771/105.5125 |
| 5 | Point 10181 | 40.1638/105.5111 |
| 6 | Point 10583 | 40.1536/105.5221 |
| 7 | Ironclads | 40.1688/105.4878 |
| 8 | Iron Dike? | 40.1838/105.4970 |
| Place name | Elev [ft] | Accuracy [ft] | Lat/Lon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parking at Ferncliff | 8304 | 6 | 40.18703/105.50893 |
| Our high point on ridge, near point 5 | 10116 | 17 | 40.16768/105.50822 |
| Iron Dike point 1 | 9064 | 16 | 40.17912/105.49549 |
| Iron Dike point 2 | 8807 | 10 | 40.18438/105.49763 |
| Iron Dike point 3 (next to Hwy) | 8444 | 16 | 40.18779/105.49952 |