Laura M Clark

Hunts Peak – 13,071

RT Length: 6.79 miles

Elevation Gain: 3528’

I’d attempted this peak last week (along with 2 others), but the gate had been closed just off the highway, just as the gates for the other two peaks had been. I was super bummed, and since all 3 of my potential peaks for the day had been shut down, I went home. (I leave my plan a, b, and c on the counter and if they all fail I go home because I solo and want to make sure someone knows where I’m at when I’m adventuring).

The gate to Hunts Peak said it was subject to seasonal closures, but didn’t have a reopen date. All the other gates said they were closed due to Sage Grouse mating/nesting/hatching season, and opening on May 15^th, so I crossed my fingers the gate would be open today (May 16^th).

I didn’t have a plan b today (mainly because I had a short window: my youngest has prom tonight), so I was thrilled to find the gate open.

From 285 it’s a 3.65 mile drive east on 980 to the good campsite. There are a few potential turn offs, but stay on 980.

At the junction of 980 and 982 you can either camp, or drive the .6 miles southeast and park just before the trailhead. Here’s the sign where the camping area is, and a view of the camping area (on the right).

Notes about this section if you choose to drive further: it’s narrow, there isn’t a spot to turn around/let someone pass, it can be muddy, and only 2 vehicles will fit at the parking area at the hill above the trailhead, so choose wisely depending on the day of the week you’re there and the time of day you’re entering. I have a 4WD vehicle, but didn’t need to put it into 4WD (good thing too, because my 4WD is currently out and I have a new truck on order that unfortunately won’t be here until the middle of summer: this seriously messes with my mountaineering plans!). Here are some pictures of the road

I parked my truck just before the second stream crossing at the top of a small hill. I’d advise doing this, especially if you don’t have 4WD (when I arrived it was dark and I didn’t want to chance it in my truck’s current condition). I parked and was on the trail around 4:40am. This was by far the warmest start to a hike I’ve had so far this year: 45 degrees at the trailhead! I opted not to put on my snow pants and was on my way (something I’d regret later). It was a short distance to the trailhead, and the creek was easy to cross.

I walked around the closed gate and followed the old road.

The road was easy to follow northeast

It was obvious this road hasn’t been used by vehicles since the fire, because there were downed trees all over the road. There was a little bit of snow as well, but totally manageable without traction.

Eventually the ‘road’ fizzled out. I followed the contour of South Rock Creek and then the mountainside as it headed east. In the daylight the route to the ridge is easy to see

I followed the drainage as far as I could, then headed east to gain the ridge. This was steep, but the bushwhacking was minimal due to the fire

I gained the ridge, and followed it southeast over this hump

I had a good view of Hunts Peak at this point

The rest of the route was straightforward: I went southeast over the hump, and then followed the ridge east to the summit

It was easy to avoid most of the snow, and what was unavoidable was consolidated

There was a short trek southeast to the actual summit

I summited Hunts Peak at 7:10am

Hunts Peak:

It was very cold and very windy. I regretted not wearing my snow pants now. Pulsing my fingers, I descended the way I’d hiked in. Advice here: the ridges look similar, especially if you’re summiting in the early morning/dark. Be sure of your route down! Here’s the route back

Back over the bump

Here was where I encountered the most snow of the day. It was mostly consolidated, with the odd postholing up to my thigh

Now it was back down the ridge and down the gully, back to the old 4WD road.

Once back on the 4WD road it was easy to follow it back to the gate, keeping South Rock Creek to my right

At the gate I turned right and followed the road back to my truck.

I made it back to my truck at 9am, making this a 6.79 mile hike with 3582’ of elevation gain in 4 hours, 20 minutes.

Here’s the easy part of the dirt road on the way out. I didn’t see another person/vehicle/grouse all day. I did see a few antelope though.

Unnamed 13,162 – Unnamed 13, 510

RT Length: 17 miles

Elevation Gain: 4750’

On my way to the Spring Creek Pass Trailhead I was the only one driving on the road. Probably because it was 1am. I did have to slow down for a moose who wanted to jaunt back and forth across the center line, and a herd of elk I surprised as I drove by (they’d been lying down by the side of the road). I made it to the trailhead before 1:30am and decided to get some sleep before starting out. My truck was the only vehicle in the lot. I love my heater.

I was on the trail at 4:30am. There are several ways to get to the snow mesa. Last time I was here I took the snowmobile route

This time I decided to take the Colorado Trail/Continental Divide Trail/813 trail. This is the one I’d recommend without snow on the trail. If there’s a groomed snowmobile track, take that instead. The trailhead is directly across from where I parked my truck.

From the trailhead it’s a nice uphill hike for about 2 miles to the mesa, heading east and southeast. Here’s an overview of where you’re headed

And what the trail looks like

You’ll know you’re getting close to the mesa when you parallel a gully to your right.

Be careful here in winter conditions: the cornices fall. Luckily for me, today there was a lot less snow than last year. I didn’t need traction to ascend into the mesa. From below, you can see a Colorado Trail marker. Aim for the marker. This is also where my flashlight ran out of batteries. I was glad it was starting to get light out.

Once on the mesa I followed the Colorado Trail / Continental Divide Trail markers for 3.3 miles. These markers are great most of the time. In the summer the trail is well defined and not needed. When I was here last they were covered in snow and useless. Today they were nice benchmarks, keeping me on track since there were no tracks. In the morning, the snow was firm (not so by noon). The trail initially looks flat, but you’re really losing and gaining elevation all the time. This was especially frustrating on the way back.

After a total of 5.1 miles since the trailhead I came upon a junction and continued heading north on 813. Note: The trail looked doable when I started. If doing this in winter conditions, I’d recommend taking the lower route (the one I took back, via 787). However, I wanted to stay high to avoid losing and re-gaining elevation, and I had all the necessary gear (snowshoes, crampons, ice axe, etc.) so I decided to go for it. Also, from the junction vantage point, all looked good. Here’s the route I took

Unbeknownst to me, there was a slide area directly on the trail. This area is prone to cornice falls/slides. I felt comfortable crossing the area so early in the morning, but wouldn’t advise taking this route later in the day. I knew immediately I wanted to take a different route back.

Here’s a look back on the slide area

After the slide area there was another solid area of snow. I decided to descend a bit to make this more manageable. I brought out my ice axe and traction here.

I was still ‘following’ the trail (under snow), and as soon as I started heading north it was time to head up the east side of PT 13162. Here’s what that looks like (as seen later in the day from point 13020). Solid line is path up, dotted line is the route I took down and across to the 13162/13510 saddle. I was just doing my best to avoid the snow.

When not covered in snow this area is covered in tundra. It’s steep, but an easy ascent.

I just kept heading west, until I was at the ‘ridge’, where I started heading northwest to the summit

I summited Unnamed 13162 at 7:45am

Summit of 13162:

From here I could see the summit of 13,510 to the northeast. It looks like it should be a simple ridge hike to get there, but unfortunately, there’s a steep section in the way, so I re-traced my steps back to scenic trail 813.

There was one section I was worried about after the 13162/13510 saddle. I was hoping I could just go straight over the area, and not around. (Note, when I first wrote this report, I thought what I labeled below was PT 13020, but it’s actually further east… in the same general direction, but it’s actually the small peak just above the saddle in this picture).

Ok, back to trail 813 and to the saddle of 13162/13510

Here’s the rest of the route to 13510

I made it to the saddle and the rocky area looked climbable. It didn’t get any harder than difficult class 2. The gullies in this area were either snow free, or the snow was avoidable. I stuck to the ridge, dipping to the left (west) when necessary.

The rock here was loose, but once again, difficult class 2

I gained the ridge and looked back at 13162. I’ve circled the area I was trying to avoid on my way down, and detailed my route down.

The rest of the route to 13510 was an easy ridge hike. The snow was either consolidated or avoidable.

I summited PT 13510 at 9:40am

Summit of 13510:

Interestingly, there had been a summit register on 13162, but there wasn’t one on 13510, so I left one. There were also a lot of crow droppings. I even saw a few flying around.

From the summit of 13510 I had a clear view of PT 13020 (unranked). I decided to go for it before heading back down. Here’s the route

Here’s looking back on the route I took from 13510

Time to head back. I didn’t want to take the way I’d hiked in back out because of deteriorating snow conditions and possible slide activity. Instead, I hiked directly down into the basin, heading southwest. Here’s a view of the route I took down from 13020, as seen from my way to 13162. I just did my best to avoid the areas of snow when possible (and the willows at the bottom).

From the summit of 13020, here’s the route back to Trail 787

Here I’ve outlined the route I took in (dotted line) and the route I took out (solid line). Trail 787 was dry on the ridge/elevation gain back to the snow mesa. I could see it from the summit, and aimed there, doing my best to avoid snow on the way down. I’ve circled the small slide area.

The snow wasn’t totally avoidable however, and I did posthole through the section of willows. From down in the basin, here’s a look back at my route down.

I hopped a small creek, then took trail 787 southwest to the snow mesa and the Colorado/Continental Divide/813 trail.

Here’s another look at the slide area. It’s small, but the trail goes right through it. Also note the cornices above.

Once on the mesa I followed the trail posts across the snow. The snow had softened up considerably, so I had to put on my snowshoes. Even with them I was postholing up to my knees. It was a very long 3.3 miles back.

Here’s a look at the decent route off the snow mesa.

And the trail back to the trailhead. At this point the snow was mostly avoidable, so I took off my snowshoes.

I made it back to the trailhead at 2pm, making this a 17 mile hike with 4750’ of elevation gain in 9.5 hours

When I got back to my truck I was a little disappointed, as Strava hadn’t engaged. Luckily, most of this route was done on established trails, so it was easy to hand draw this topo route (just note it is hand drawn, and I don’t have a GPX file to share for this one).

On to the next trailhead!

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James Peak – 13,272

RT Length: 7.84 miles

Elevation Gain: 2974’

I needed a win. The past 7 (yes, 7) trailheads I’ve tried to access have been closed due to snow, Sage Grouse mating / nesting season, and/or calving season. Note: these were trailheads to obscure 13ers, so there wasn’t a lot of information on them in the first place, especially for this time of year. One trailhead was open, but not passable due to snow. I tried it again the next week, thinking the snow would have melted out by then. It had, but now the gate was closed. Ugh.

So, even though there was a $5 parking fee, like I said, I needed a win. I arrived at the St Mary’s Glacier/James Peak trailhead at 3:30am, the first vehicle in the lot. I paid the $5 at the self-pay station (located near the porta potties) and was on the trail before 4am.

The trail starts at the north end of the parking area, and follows the road shortly before turning left and heading into the trees. There’s good signage here.

The trail started out a mixture of rocks, ice and snow, and eventually became mostly ice-snow. I quickly put on my microspikes and wore them for the rest of the day.

After hiking for .75 miles I came to St Mary’s Lake. It’s covered in snow right now, and to the left of this picture. St Mary’s Glacier is directly in front. Here’s the route I took, crossing the bridge, skirting the lake, and then heading up the slope.

Here are some step by step photos to the top of the slope.

Once at the top I came to a plateau, and could see James Peak in front of me. Well, I couldn’t really in the morning, as it was still dark, but I could tell it was a clear morning by the shooting starts I kept seeing (that was about to change). At the top of the slope, just head northeast.

This is where the wind started. The wind never stopped, and in fact just got more intense as the morning went on. I put on my balaclava and headed northeast. Here are some step by step pictures

The very last part of this hike included turning north and heading up this slope. I did not need crampons/ice axe on my way up (microspikes were fine) but I did use my ice axe on the way down. This could have been prevented by zig-zagging the slope (dotted line), but I felt it was better to get in some glissading practice.

I summited James Peak at 6:25am

James Peak:

I was surprised at how fast the clouds were coming in: The wind was stronger here on the summit, and soon I lost most visibility.

I headed back the way I’d come, careful to follow my footprints as it was getting increasingly difficult to see. I faced the mountain and used my ice axe for the initial descent, then turned and glissaded for a bit. Here’s an overall view of the route back down to the lake

And step by step, once I got out of the clouds

The wind never stopped, but the clouds stayed up by the summit, making it for a clear morning down below (by afternoon it was snowing).

It was still morning, but the snow was already turning to slush, and the steps I’d put in earlier were now ice. I kept slipping and couldn’t figure out why? I had on my microspikes, but they weren’t catching me like they usually do (it wasn’t until I made it back to the truck and took the spikes off I realized in the dark I’d put one on inside out, and the spikes were facing the sole of my boot. Whoops!). Here are some photos of the way down the slope and back to St Mary’s Lake

And over the bridge, back on the trail that led to the street.

There was a sign near the bridge. I’m guessing it said “St Marys Glacier” or “James Peak Trail”, or something like that, but it was covered in stickers and useless. I thought to myself I should have brought some 14er Fireside Stickers. Oh well, I’ll be back to make this a ridge hike, or at a minimum get some 12ers in the area: I’ll bring stickers then.

It was less than a mile on the trail back to the parking area. Note: Some parts of the trail were slick, as skiers and snowboarders have smoothed down the trail.

I made it back to my truck at 8am, making this a 7.84 mile hike with 2974’ of elevation gain in 4 hours.

Dixon Trail to “Dragon’s Backbone” – 9170 and “Robbers Roost” – 9210

RT Length: 17.42 miles

Elevation Gain: 4099’

I’ve been asked to write up a trip report on the Dixon Trail from a few different people, but I was waiting until the conditions were right to take this hike. Contrary to popular belief, the Dixon Trail DOES NOT go to they top of Cheyenne Mountain: a reporter erroneously stated it did when the trail first opened, and the falsehood unfortunately stuck. This reporter obviously never hiked the trail before writing their article.

To start this hike I paid the $9 State Park entrance fee at the ranger station, and parked in the Limekiln parkin area of Cheyenne State Park. There was only one other vehicle parked in the lot when I arrived. I was on the trail at 6am.

The trail starts at the west end of the parking area, in between the bathrooms and information sign. I could immediately tell this was a mountain bike friendly park: there was even a station to fix bike tires.

At the start of the trailhead there was a register specifically for people hiking the Dixon Trail.

And a lot of signage. This park has tons of signs…

A word of advice: Even though this park has tons of signage, it’s obvious the area was designed for mountain bikers and not hikers: The trails aren’t efficient, and instead meander and do not take a direct line to the intended destination. It’s a good idea to have a GPX file for this route (message me if you need one) because, while overall you want to head west to gain the ridge, you’ll often times be heading south or north instead.

There are many ways you can get to the Dixon Trail from the Limekiln parking area. This is the route I took:

Yellow / Talon Trail
Green / North Talon Trail
Pink / Dixon Trail
Teal / Dragon’s Backbone Trail
Orange / Mountain Loop Trail
Pink / Dixon Trail
Followed the trail back via Green then Yellow trails

There are trail markers the entire way, indicating which route you’re on. I started by crossing the bridge, and following the Yellow / Talon Trail

Here’s a look at the Yellow/Talon Trail

There were a lot of information plaques

The terrain changed from prairie to scrubland and eventually to evergreen

After hiking for 2.75 miles I turned right onto the Green / North Talon Trail. There’s a 3 day junction here, where the yellow trail ends and the red and green trails begin.

I continued following the Green / North Talon Trail for about half a mile until it came to the Pink / Dixon Trail. This is where the switchbacks start, and unfortunately, don’t let up.

I hiked a total of around 3.5 miles to get to the start of the Dixon Trail. Here’s the start of the Dixon Trail

The Dixon Trail is 4.5 miles long (each way), and conveniently has mile markers every .5 miles.

After hiking for 2.5 miles on the Dixon Trail I came to what I initially thought was a camping area. Once I read the sign however, I realized it was a place to park your bikes/horses, as they aren’t allowed any further on the trail.

This sign makes the hike sound harder than it is. There are so many switchbacks and it’s mostly in the shade, so it wasn’t actually that difficult

The rest of this hike takes place in the pine trees.

Between markers 3-3.5 miles on the Dixon Trail I came upon pieces left over from plane wreck in 1957

There were bits and pieces of the plane strewn about the area. I was surprised no one had taken them, as some were easy enough to carry.

I continued following the trail north, through an aspen grove

The snow on the trail started picking up, and would be present for the rest of the hike

It was my goal today to take the Teal / Dragon’s Backbone trail. Here’s the cutoff

From here on out there were still signs, but there was also pink surveyor’s tape on the trees, making this an easy route to follow.

I gained the ridge and immediately came upon “Dragon’s Backbone”, an unranked peak

From there, I followed the ridge north, towards “Robbers Roost”, another unranked peak. There was a trail the entire way, with signs and markers indicating the route.

I came upon this sign (which talks about weather, lightening, etc.), turned east (right) and scrambled to the top. I’d consider this a quick but committing class 4 scramble, especially with snow.

The top is flat

And has some great views!

Here’s looking back on the Dragons Backbone Trail

I climbed back down, grabbed my stashed gear (I hadn’t worn my pack for the short climb to the top) and decided to climb another outcropping to see if it was higher (it wasn’t).

I did get a good view of “Robbers Roost” though

I climbed down and continued heading north on the trail, making this a loop.

I decided to take the Orange / Mountain Loop Trail

This gave me a little extra elevation, and mileage

They obviously don’t want you going by any of the communications towers

I circled back around to some aspens

And the end of the Mountain Loop Trail, the beginning of the Dixon Trail (or end, depending on how you look at it) and the Dixon Homestead site.

I followed the Dixon Trail back to the crash site

And continued following the Dixon Trail back the way I’d hiked in. Here are some pictures of the way back

Then back to the green trail

And the yellow trail

I took the Yellow / Talon Trail back to the trailhead

I made it back to the (now full) trailhead at 12:30pm, making this a 17.42 mile hike with 4099’ of elevation gain in 6.5 hours

Humphreys Peak – 12,633 – Arizona Highpoint

RT Length: 10.55 miles

Elevation Gain: 3649’

Last week I saw a post indicating someone had successfully summited Humphreys Peak from the summer trailhead, so I decided to give it a go. (Humphreys Peak Trailhead / Kachina Peaks Trailhead / Snow Bowl)

I woke up at 2am, worked out for an hour on the treadmill, and then drove to Arizona, stopping along the way for a few work calls. I’m not a big fan of the New Mexico city of Gallup: Nothing good has ever happened to me there. This time, as I was getting gas, a man was sitting in front of the gas station entrance cleaning a knife with a blade at least 8 inches long, swinging it around every few minutes like he was practicing martial arts moves. Also, all of the bathrooms in the gas stations and fast food establishments in NM and AZ are closed due to covid. So was the bathroom at the Bookman’s I stopped at in Flagstaff. I had a voucher for Bookman’s I’d received in 2016, and since I was in the area I decided to use it. I got this very appropriate book

Then I drove to the Snow Bowl, where the trailhead is for Humphrey’s Peak. There were a lot of skiers driving down the mountain, but I was the only one going up. On the drive in I saw a sign that said “Skiing Open 10am-4pm, TH-SU”.

I made it to the parking area and found a place to park. This is the trailhead

I walked around the trailhead, and noticed the beginning part of the trail goes right under a ski lift. I also saw this sign:

Ugh. That was unexpected. I’d driven all the way from Colorado only to be thwarted by a technicality. As I was standing there, I noticed two female hikers walking towards me, directly from the ski area where it said pedestrians weren’t allowed. They told me they hadn’t had any issues (indeed, at least 5 more hikers came down after them, and all said the same thing). I decided to hike the following morning, early, and try to make it down before the 10am skiing session began. Side note: these women were badass, and had a great list of mountaineering accomplishments. We talked for a bit, and I gave them some fireside stickers.

I sat in the back of my truck and started making dinner. A young man pulled up with a similar set-up and got out to enjoy the sunset. He spent his time sitting in a chair enjoying a beer, alternating drinking with doing push-ups. I went over and talked with him for a bit, and we ended up doing a few whiskey shots together (both of us had various bottles in our rigs). He was a nice young man (reminded me of my son) and this was his third time this week at the trailhead. He hoped to summit the next day as well. After the sunset I wished him good luck and told him I’d see him tomorrow on the trail (either up or down).

My view tonight

I went to bed and had a peaceful night’s sleep, waking up to my alarm at 2:45am, I was on the trail at 3am. Interestingly enough, as I was leaving a vehicle pulled up: it looked like there was another hiker hiking with me this morning. We ended up leap-frogging each other on the trail. The trail starts at the north end of the parking area and heads northeast, across the slop and into the trees, before zig-zagging up the west slope.

Plot twist: When I started out at the trailhead it was dark, all except for a really big light, accompanied by a loud buzzing sound. Turns out they groom the trails at 3am, and there was a snow groomer working this morning. Drat! I decided to turn off my flashlight and wait until the groomer had passed me, then darted across the field to the safety of the trail in the trees, where I turned my flashlight back on. I’m sure this would have been comical to watch.

There was another trailhead once I entered the trees. Note: I wore microspikes for the entire hike, and didn’t need snowshoes. If hiking later in the day, they would have been necessary.

Once in the trees there was a lot of snow, so I had a hard time following the trail. There were several downed trees covering the trail, and a lot of social trails. If you’re doing this peak in summer it will be a straightforward, class 1 trail. If you’re doing it with snow on the ground expect some route-finding. I switchbacked northeast to the saddle. The saddle you’re aiming for is the one that’s directly east of you from the parking area (it’s a clear, skiable path).

As I neared treeline the snow declined and there was no longer a trail. I kept heading northeast to the saddle

Once at the saddle I turned left, and followed the ridge north. (Going right will take you to Agassiz Peak) There’s a faint trail here that picks up as you go along, as well as wooden posts to guide the way. Stay to the left while on the ridge.

There’s also a trail sign here, indicating the way

I followed the ridge north/northeast as the sun began to rise

The girl I’d been leapfrogging with took a different route up (there were several snowshoe tracks to follow), and when we hit the ridge she got out a sleeping bag and decided to watch the sunrise. She never did go to the summit, and was gone when I made my way back down.

I continued on, following the ridge

I made it to the summit at 6:20am. There were a lot of windbreaks at the summit

I found a buried summit register, left it there, and took a picture with the broken summit sign

Humphrey’s Peak:

It was cold and windy, so I decided to head back. Here are a few photos of the route down. I (mostly) re-traced my steps.

Here’s the saddle I was aiming for

And the ridge to get there

Once at the saddle I did my best to follow my tracks back down

Taken from the saddle, the parking area is circled. Here you can see it’s a straight shot west from the saddle, but that area was all skiable and off limits, so I did my best to switchback down the mountainside, following the summer trail.

I lost the trail several times, but was able to follow snowshoe tracks down. If you’re blazing your own trail, you can stay in the trees and parallel the ski area by heading west, which will lead you to the parking area.

Here’s the exit route back to the parking area

I was still really early, and there wasn’t anyone on the slopes. I was making tracks on the newly groomed snow however.

I made it back to a still empty parking lot at 9:00am, making this a 10.55 mile hike with 3649’ of elevation gain in 6 hours. I never did see that man I met in the parking lot last night. I can only think he had more whiskey than he could handle and had a hangover. That’s what he gets for drinking with a pro.

Here’s a topo map of my route

Ormes Peak – 9727’

RT Length: 1.91 miles

Elevation Gain: 606’

Last on my list of peaks for the day was Ormes Peak. I drove 1.7 miles further than where I parked for Notch Mountain, turned right onto 303, and continued as far as I could before the snow took over the road. There were several mud puddles here, and I had fun running my truck through them and getting mud on my tires.

This puddle was particularly satisfying, as it was covered in ice and all of it broke when I crashed through it with my truck. Also, the windows were open and I may have accidentally got some mud inside my truck (I closed my windows on the way out)

About half a mile from the trailhead the road became impassible. I parked, and was on my way.

I followed the road for half a mile to an obvious turnoff, and turned left.

Here’s an overall view of the route:

Here’s the junction where you turn left and follow a ‘trail’

This is an area you could disperse camp for the night.

What there was of a trail was covered in snow, which made the cairns helpful. I just kept heading east

I came across some turkey tracks

And continued heading east until I made it to the ridge. Once at the ridge I headed north, ascended a small class 2 gully, and was at the summit!

There was a summit marker here, but no register, so I left one

And took a summit photo

There was a great view of the back side of Blodgett Peak

And also of Pikes Peak

I headed back the way I’d come, but quickly became disoriented: in fact, I never saw a cairn. I went too far south, but it was easy to correct my mistake: I headed west and soon came to the dispersed camping area.

Which led me back to the road and my truck

It was still early, and there were several other peaks in t he area I could have attempted, but I also had to get to work, so I stopped my tracker and was on my way

I kept driving north, towards Woodland Park to make sure the road was clear: I may just attempt a few more peaks out this way next week…

“Notch Mountain” – 9665’

RT Length: .64 miles

Elevation Gain: 359’

Second up for the day was Notch Mountain. This was a very quick hike, and I’d recommend linking all three up together (or more). Just for reference, I hiked Tuesday Peak, Notch Mountain, and Ormes Peak today. From where I was parked for Tuesday Peak I drove 1.15 miles further north on Rampart Range Road. If you’re starting from Rampart Range Road in Garden of the Gods it will be 13.15 miles total to the parking area for Notch Mountain. As I was driving, I could see “Notch Mountain” ahead of me.

I parked at the base of the ridge and started hiking. This is a quick and easy ridge hike, starting in the burn area

The most difficult part of this hike was navigating all of the deadfall. I just kept heading northeast along the ridge.

This brought me to a rocky area

And then, I was suddenly at the summit. The summit is relatively large and flat.

I took a photo to prove I’d summited, and left a summit register (no marker on this peak)

The views aren’t that good here, because the trees on the summit obscure them. The good part is there are actually trees at the summit that made it through the fires

Here’s a view of Tuesday Peak from the summit of “Notch Mountain”

I turned and headed back down the ridge.

And my truck

The entire hike probably took 20 minutes.

Here’s a picture of the route from Tuesday Peak

Now, on to the next trailhead!

Tuesday Peak – 9620’

RT Length: 1.49 miles

Elevation Gain: 323’

It’s springtime, and in the spring I either travel to state highpoints, or stay local and hit county highpoints. They traditionally open Rampart Range Road every year on April 1, and when I heard the road was open, I decided to take advantage of a beautiful (if windy) day and hit some highpoints. This is the first of 3 El Paso County highpoints I hiked this day.

I started at the southern entrance to Rampart Range Road, near balanced rock inside Garden of the Gods.

As the sun rose, I was able to see a lot of the Waldo Canyon burn scar. It doesn’t look like much has grown back in the 9 years since the fire.

I drove along the 2WD dirt road for 12 miles, and parked at a small parking area for trail 644. There’s a plaque here commemorating the road

I gathered my hear and continued hiking along the road to the trailhead. It was a short distance (less than a quarter of a mile), and in the summer, you might be able to park at the actual start.

The trailhead starts at a bend in the road, marked by broken barbed wire and hot pink surveyor’s tape. On a topo map it says this is 4WD road 300Q. It’s been a very, very long time since this was ever a road. Now it looks like a teenage hangout/camping area, littered with broken glass and discarded remnants of campfire circles.

I headed northeast, following the ridge to the right

I came to a small dip, where I could clearly see the peak

Now I stayed to the left (north) side of the ridge. There were a lot of downed trees, but nothing that kept me from making it to the peak. There was snow here, but not enough to need traction. I did posthole a bit. I aimed for the small saddle

Once at the saddle there was some class 2 scrambling to do to make it to the summit. This is much easier than it looks.

Here’s a picture of the summit

I knew I was at the summit because there was a summit marker. I left a summit register at the marker

And took a picture at the summit with Pikes Peak in the background

It was very windy, so I didn’t stay long, and quickly retraced my steps back to the saddle. Here’s the overall route

And step by step

Back down the dip, where there are some very faint tire tracks that have now become social/game trails

And following the ridge southwest to the road

I then followed the road back to my truck.

This was a quick and simple hike. Here’s a topo map of my route (I parked just before 644):

Now, on to the next trailhead!

Mt Audubon – 13,223

RT Length: 13.07

Elevation Gain: 3285’

The last time I attempted this peak (earlier this winter) I arrived in the dark while it was snowing. I was unable to find the parking area (it was covered in snow) and turned around and drove home before the hike even began. This time I decided to arrive during the day, and I was a bit embarrassed I’d turned around last time: the parking area is huge and hard to miss (unless the entrance is covered in over a foot of snow). Here’s a picture of the entrance

This is the parking area. There are bathrooms here and an information center. I’m guessing 75 vehicles can park here.

I parked at the east end of the parking lot and took a look around. Not a bad backyard view for the night.

I spent the next two hours relaxing. I love making it to the trailhead the night before and just enjoying the quiet time. I watched the birds fly up and down the trees, looking for insects. I people watched, sat and watched the clouds, admired my view of Mt Audubon, and got out some whiskey and read for a bit. I also ate 3 snack sized bags of chips. I went to bed earlier than I would have if I’d been at home, but as always when I sleep in the back of my truck, I slept soundly.

Soundly that is, until 3am. That’s when I heard a couple walk back to their vehicle, which had (unfortunately) been parked right next to mine. They started the car, and chatted for a bit before taking off. I thought it was a weird time to make it back to their car, and wondered why they’d been so loud? There were obviously several people boondocking in their vehicles, trying to sleep. I lay there for the next hour, wanting to get up to pee but not wanting to leave my nice, comfy bed until it was time to do so (we’ve all been there, right?). At 4am I was up and on the trail by 4:15am.

I started at the winter closure, marked by this gate and entrance station.

I followed the road, and a well packed trail, for 3.3 miles to the Mitchell Lake Trailhead. At times the snow on the road was well over my head, and I wondered how long it will take to melt out for summer visitors?

I made it to Brainard Lake and continued following the road

The Mitchell Lake Trailhead still had quite a bit of snow as well

Here’s where the nicely packed down trail ended, and the post-holing began. Obviously, there’s a lot of snow here.

I was happy there was a semi-noticeable trail however, as I’d expected to be trenching today. I wasn’t trenching, but I was postholing quite a bit. The temperature had only reached a low of 37 degrees last night, making the snow too firm to trench with snowshoes, but easy to post hole through without. I followed the trail as it headed northeast towards the ridge.

Just below the ridge the trail stopped near a rocky area and I had to rock-hop up to the ridge. It looked like whoever used this trail yesterday had purposely glissaded down in snowshoes, ruining any chance I had of using their tracks. I easily avoided their slide by going to the right, and then catching up with several other tracks that led to the upper basin/ridge.

This is where I encountered the most snow of the day. I continued northwest to treeline, staying just below the ridge

Here’s an overall view of the route I took to the summit of Audubon (note: in the summer there’s a trail that takes a different route more to the north, which was indistinguishable to me at this time of year due to the snow, so I followed the east ridge instead)

This was a simple ridge hike. It seemed like the ridge kept going on and on, but I was never tired/winded because it was a gentle slope, mixed with some unavoidable areas of snow, and a little bit of minor rock hopping.

Just when I thought I’d reached the summit (there was a wind break) I noticed the true summit was about 20 yards southwest.

I followed this small ridge to the summit. This is when the wind that had been nonexistent but predicted for today materialized.

I summited Mt Audubon at 8:20am. It was Easter Sunday, so I’d decided to hike wearing Easter Bunny ears. The wind was so intense it blew them off my head and I put them away right after this photo (you can see them in my hands as I’m takin the video). I didn’t attempt a second shot.

Mt Audubon Summit

Surprisingly, I didn’t get any good photos while on the summit: It was windy and cold and all I could think about was getting out of this wind and back home (it was Easter, after all, and I wanted to spend it with my kids). A balaclava would have been helpful, but putting it on at this point overkill, as I just needed to get off the summit and out of the wind. I re-traced my steps back to the false summit

And back down the ridge to treeline.

While I was on the ridge I could see someone dressed in all black, meandering in the distance. This person (and it was obviously a person) was walking without a rhyme or reason, wasn‘t carrying a pack, and eventually hiked out of my sight. Though I looked, I never came across their tracks on my way down, and wondered how they got there and what was going on with them? It was obvious they hadn’t summited Mt Audubon today, so why were they out there?

You’d think it would have been easy to just follow my tracks back down, but there were such large segments without snow I often lost my tracks and hiked down without coming across them (most of the time). I just kept aiming here. Also, the willows sucked (but were avoidable if you want to go around: I went straight through them).

Then stayed right of the ridge as I made to back to treeline, finding my old tracks in the snow.

These led me back down the ridge, to the ‘trail’

I was worried the sun would have warmed up the snow, but I was still fine in microspikes. In fact, the snow was of a similar consistency as it had been in the morning, or I would have put on my snowshoes to solidify a trench. As it was, I just stepped in my morning tracks and was fine.

Back at the trailhead I followed the road back to the winter closure

I made it back to my truck, and a trailhead full of vehicles, at 11:15am, making this a 13.07 mile hike with 3285’ of elevation gain in 7 hours.