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A long drive wasn't desirable after hainging out in the West Elks the previous weekend, so it was another quick trip to bag Clear Creek summits. Arriving at the Waldorf site at 7:30 am, I set out downhill toward the slope featured in the photo on the right. At first, the going was fine, though I didn't find the small two-track heading to the old shacks. I kept plodding along until I found myself backtracking from swampy tundra - over and over again. It didn't help that I was wearing running shoes, getting soggier with each attempt to cross the drainage. I began a very time-consuming bushwhack through 7' tall willows southwest back toward the road and a steeper and thus theoretically drier crossing. A half hour later, I finally made it out to just about where I started from the Waldorf site. The willows still put up a fight, but I eventually did find a drier route.
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The wind allowed a preview of conditions to come as I ascended the slope through the trees and now more sparse willows to gain the North Ridge. I followed the right side of a gully up the slope, slowly but surely making progress out of the basin. I reached the ridge at 12,200' and after a little more elevation gain could see a welcome flat expanse below Wilcox's North Slopes (photo on left). The sun made things warmer and enjoyable. I was pleased that snow was not a factor on this hike, a luxury that certainly would not last much longer into the year. The 1,400' went by relatively quickly on the bare yet somewhat steep slope, arriving at the summit at 9:20. The East Face of Argentine Peak, partially decorated with snow, was a nice contrast to the bare condition of Wilcox (photo below).
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Getting down the slopes to the saddle with Otter Mountain was of course much faster. I skirted the false summit between Wilcox and Otter on the south side, and made the descent to the low point between the peaks in short order. The two miles between peaks did not seem so, as the easy terrain allowed expedient movement. Below, Otter Mountain is hardly more than a bump in appearance and offers a gentle grade. I made my way back on the north side of the false summit and continued west rather than the ascent route I took to gain the ridge. Sidehilling for a half hour led to a steep descent through the trees, where I spotted the two-track below. Sans willow-whacking, this would have been a much less pleasant ascent route I took up the gully further south. This steep slope is however the route suggested in Colorado Summits for Everyone. The two-track ended up being a swamp in places anyway, so I had a little reassurance that I wasn't a "complete" fool.
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A look back toward Mount Wilcox from Otter Mountain:
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