"BISON VIEW" (11,380’)

November 3, 2017

By Tim Briese

9.0 miles, 2700’ elevation gain, 6:00 roundtrip time

It was good to get into the Lost Creek Wilderness again, one of my favorite late fall hiking destinations when snow has blanketed the higher peaks to the west. I left the 8700’ Ute Creek Trailhead at 845 am with my lab Abby. It was 29 degrees and a little windy but the weather steadily warmed as time went on. The trail goes along Ute Creek for a while, which was charming on this November morning, with its trickle of water gurgling around moss covered rocks and through small pools with dried aspen leaves floating on the surface.

on the ute creek trail

A couple of miles up the trail there was a couple from Buena Vista who were headed for Bison Peak today. The trail left the drainage at about 9500’ and began a steep grind to the heights above. The woman began faltering and decided to turn back while her husband pressed on. I slowly tramped on up to Bison Pass at 11,150’, where the Ute Creek Trail intersects the Brookside-McCurdy Trail. After a short rest I bushwhacked northwest up through the trees a few hundred yards to the summit of unranked Bison View, where I arrived a few minutes before noon. The gravelly summit plateau was surprisingly expansive, at least a hundred yards long, with nice open views through the scattered trees of Bison Peak to the east and distant snow-covered summits to the west and northwest.

bison peak, at the upper left, the highest peak in the lost creek wilderness

view of peaks to the west

This gentle summit was a pleasant and relaxing place to be on this sunny November day so I rested here for nearly an hour. I was not feeling too well today but found this hike and summit to be rejuvenating. About 1245 I left the top and headed back down the trail. 

a view down into the tarryall river valley on the descent

I arrived at the trailhead at 245 and headed for home.