🏔️ Mount McCrae (+ UN2647 & UN2731) | Bikes, Larches, and the Art of Overcommitting

🥾🚴‍♂️🧭🪨🌞🍂🌌😏 Mount McCrae is one of those peaks that looks perfectly reasonable on paper—and then quietly expands into a full-scale day once you actually commit. Tucked above Loomis Lake along the Great Divide, this trip combines biking, hiking, scrambling, and a completely optional amount of extra peaks into a long but wildly scenic fall outing. Naturally, it seemed sensible to do it solo. The day starts with an early drive and a slightly questionable parking choice along Highway 40, followed by the first key decision: bring the bike. This turns out to be the correct call… eventually. The Odlum Pond Trail is wide, flat, and deceptively friendly, lulling you into confidence before delivering multiple unbridged creek crossings, muddy climbs, and sections that answer the age-old question: “Is this still riding, or am I just pushing a bike now?” Somehow, the riding just keeps going. Past the Bishop junction. Past expectations. Nearly 9.5 km in, the bike finally gets ditched, legs slightly confused but morale high. From here, the hike improves dramatically—tight forest trails, bubbling streams, surprise alpine meadows, and then suddenly larches, because of course there are larches. This is now officially a good decision. The climb to Loomis Lake is one of the highlights of the day. A winding trail climbs through golden trees and breaks out at a deep blue lake tucked beneath steep limestone walls. Any temptation to linger is quickly overridden by “peakbagging mode,” and a very obvious goat highway traverses above the lake toward McCrae’s intimidating headwall—which, predictably, turns out to be far friendlier than it looks. The headwall breaks into excellent ledge scrambling, delivering easy passage to McCrae’s south ridge. Here’s where the route briefly pretends to be serious. Slabs, rubble, and multiple line options keep things interesting, especially if you overthink it (which happens). Eventually, the ridge sorts itself out and leads to the summit of Mount McCrae, where strong wind and building clouds encourage efficiency over celebration. From the McCrae–UN2647 col, things escalate politely. UN2647 is quick and enjoyable, while UN2731—clearly visible and annoyingly far away—requires one of those classic internal negotiations. The answer, unsurprisingly, is “yes.” The traverse delivers moderate scrambling, small cliff bands, and just enough route-finding to keep things engaging without crossing into regret. Summit views come and go with passing clouds, lighting up larch-covered ridges in short, dramatic bursts. Lakes glow, peaks stack into the distance, and the realization slowly sets in that this has turned into a three-summit day with a very long way home. The descent retraces familiar ground—goat trails, scree highways, Loomis Lake, golden forests—and eventually ends with a surprisingly fast bike ride back to the highway. Tired legs, muddy shoes, and zero regrets. Exactly how these days are supposed to end. 📷 Trip snapshots 📅 September 27, 2025 🕒 ~9.5 hours round-trip 📏 32.5 km total distance ⛰️ ~1,650 m elevation gain 🧗‍♂️ Scrambling SC6 / Class 3 🚴‍♂️ Bike + hike + “why not another peak” approach 📓 What this journey captures Why bike approaches are always worth it… eventually How “one peak” quietly turns into three The reliability of goat trails over human ones Why larch season forgives questionable decisions That overcommitting is fine if the views cooperate Mount McCrae delivers everything a fall Rockies day should: long travel, excellent terrain, glowing larches, and just enough complexity to make you feel like you earned it. Add a bike, toss in a couple of unnamed peaks, and suddenly a reasonable plan becomes a fantastic one—whether you meant it to or not. 📌 Route details, distances, difficulty notes, and photos can be read in the original trip report at https://drive.google.com/open?id=19I6....