On Saturday I drove my almost-always-trusty Subie out Turquoise Lake Road and parked at the intersection with CR9B/FSR107, which is the road to Uncle Bud’s Hut.
I jogged up hutward with no plans to go anywhere in particular — a situation that usually results in me either having an outstanding day in the mountains or a really, really bad day in the mountains. Fortunately, Saturday was an outstanding day.
After arriving at Bear Lake trailhead at the top of 9B/107, I started postholing up in the general direction of the Colorado Trail and then randomly decided to aim for some high ground I saw to the northwest. As I discovered later that night after consulting a map, that high ground was the east ridge of Galena Mountain.
Here’s a shot from the top of the ridge, looking back at Turquoise Lake:
After fighting west along the ridgeline and through nonstop volleys of knock-me-over wind, I eventually came to a cliffy area that I wasn’t interested in exploring further. Turns out I was just shy of the summit of Galena Mountain.
The next picture perfectly captures the breathtaking fog I saw to the north from the almost summit:
Isn't it pretty? For my return trip, I decided to slip and slide down into the bowl south of the ridge. I found Saint Kevin Lake at the bottom. Here’s what that looked like:
Those peaks way off in the distance are Sherman and Sheridan, fwiw.
According to Summit Post, Galena Mountain is at 12,893 feet. The correct way to climb it is from Timberline trailhead to the south, also according to Summit Post. Maybe next time I'll get it right.