RT Length: 8.49 miles
Elevation Gain: 3896’
I drove in to the trailhead the night before, on a 2WD dirt road outside of Dunton, CO. This was a nice, wide, 5 mile drive that led me to fish creek (NOT to be confused with nearby Fish Creek Trailhead).
There’s a dispersed site here where I parked, and if you have a 4WD vehicle you can park a little further up the trail (about 50 yards or so) to an area where you can also disperse camp. There are several spots there. Here’s a view of where I parked.
I was up and on the trail at 6:30am. It was a cold morning, with frost on the ground. From the upper dispersed camping area I headed north and quickly crossed Fish Creek
An obvious game trail picked up on the other side. On my way back, I found this sign behind some very overgrown willows. It was difficult to make out, but shows this used to be an actual trail at one point. Now however, it can be difficult to follow.
I followed this trail for 1.3 miles as it stayed to the right of Fish Creek, losing the trail every now and then, and then finding it again.
After 1.3 miles of hiking I crossed Fish Creek
I gained the ridge, and followed it northeast to treeline.
I was trying to avoid this waterfall/gorge area.
Once at treeline I needed to get here
In the morning I went high, sticking to the talus, and I would not recommend this route. Stay low, and the terrain is much easier to navigate (2+).
I now wound my way northeast through the upper basin, staying to the left of the creek/waterfall on the only available grassy slopes in a very rocky area.
I continued heading up the center of the drainage, towards the Middle/Dolores saddle
Once at the saddle I turned right to head up the ridge to Dolores Peak. If you stay on the ridge directly, you’ll find game trails through the rock leading to the summit. This is all class 2, choose your own adventure heading southeast towards the summit.
The summit was obvious
I summited Dolores Peak at 9am
Dolores Peak:
I could see Middle Peak to the northwest
To get there I re-traced my steps back to the saddle, then followed the ridge proper towards Middle Peak. This is the route I took:
And some step-by-step pictures
Here’s looking back at Dolores from the saddle
And now to follow the ridge up to Middle Peak. This was all class 2 on talus and scree
This was a false summit, as the true summit was further to the northwest, following the ridge proper. This was all class 2, but with some exposure. The rock was very crumbly.
I summited Middle Peak at 10:30am
Middle Peak:
It was now time to head back, so I retraced my steps back down the ridge and into the basin.
Exiting the basin was very straightforward, as I simply followed the drainage down, staying to the right to avoid the waterfall.
Then it was back down that scree slope and into the trees
I hugged the right side of the creek until the ridge made its way to the creek.
I then crossed Fish Creek, and picked up the game trail on the other side. There’s a small cairn indicating where to cross Fish Creek
I followed the faint trail back to the trailhead
Crossing Fish Creek one more time, then walking back down the road
I made it back to my truck at 12:30pm, making this an 8.49 mile hike with 3896’ of elevation gain in 6 hours.
On to the next trailhead!
P.S. You’ll notice on the topo map “Middle Peak” is labeled as being further west than where I summited. Here’s a picture of what the map is referring to, taken from the summit of the ranked Middle Peak. This point sits at 13261’, and is named, but not considered a ranked or soft ranked peak.
Wild Wanderer 