Shelly Baldy

July 4, 2017

With July upon us and our celebrations of statehood and national patriotism,  I am twisting this week's hike into a metaphor about Freedom.  This week’s hike to the summit of Shelly Baldy will use a forest service trail for the first half only, then you’ll have complete freedom to choose your own route to the top.  In “trail talk”, this is known as bushwhacking, or scrambling.  To plan, navigate, and execute your way to the top you will need to be able to read a map, use a compass, use a GPS and pack the right stuff to fuel your body for this 4-5 hour journey.  

Freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom to live my life how I want to live it are very important privileges to me, but for me, hiking is the embodiment of freedom.  To be allowed to go wherever my legs can take me, whenever I want to go there is a fantastic blessing and gets me excited when I have plenty of free time and a trail in front of me.  Freedom of choice is another biggie.  I can choose to be active, or lazy.  Drink soda-pop, or terrific and free Beaver water.  Choose to take the path of least resistance, or feel accomplished from trying a challenging way.  All choices come with consequences, some minute and some life-altering.  Best choices are made by getting educated, being prepared, and listening to others who have more experience or have been there before.  Making good decisions while you hike is critical and learning and practicing skills to help you get out of trouble is just as important.  Do not leave the established trail if you don’t know where you are, won’t know how to find your way back, or don’t have enough daylight or communications with help, should you get in a pinch.  

So last week I got a wild hair idea to take a flag to the top of Shelly Baldy and plant it on top to see if I could see it from my house afterwards.  Well I could! And that was pretty cool.  Here is how I got to the top, but you are FREE to CHOOSE you own way!  Drive up Beaver Canyon to mm 16.4 and turn left onto F. R. 123.  Drive 4 miles up to Big Johns Flat and take a left onto F.R. 544 where you will drive downhill to a dead end and the beginning of trail 058, known as the Bosman trail, or Big John to Tanner Hollow trail.  Park anywhere near the large green plastic map board and tie up those boots.  The trail heads westerly down to the West fork of Merchant Creek, which you cross, and then head up the hill, passing the 064 trail takeoff, and head generally southwest and uphill (stay on the 058).  As soon as the trail becomes level, you will go for another half mile and then encounter some spring flows, old remnants of beaver dams, and a flowing brook, called Shelly Baldy creek.   Anywhere in this vicinity you are FREE to find your way NORTHWARD to the foot of Shelly Baldy.  Again, there is NO trail to follow here at ALL.  But, use your map, your compass, your GPS, and your smartphone to help you navigate to the top.  If you are heading in the right direction, you should emerge above the treeline in about 30 minutes after leaving trail 058.  Once out of the forest, you can see the gently sloping southern approach to this summit,  It is nothing but rock and snow from here to the top, which you need to step cautiously to avoid rolling an ankle or knocking a rock on someone below you.  The scramble from treeline to the Stars and Stripes on top only took me 20 minutes,  but could take some folks a whole hour.   Round trip mileage is between 5 and 6 miles, depending on if you walk in straight lines, like your GPS will tell you to, or if you traverse uphill on appropriate grades, then readjust direction after gaining the elevation.  Back in March, a backcountry skier left a spaghetti sauce jar at the summit with note paper inside to record your name and date.  I hope to see some more names up there in a month!  The Tushars shall set you FREE!