Tag: 13159

Bridal Peak – 13,514 and PT 13159

RT Length:  11.85 miles

Elevation Gain 4033’

Driving to the trailhead had me crossing Mineral Creek.  The water was low, and it was easily crossable, although I saw several capable vehicles turn back. 

I parked the night before near Imogene Mine, a great view of the Million Dollar Highway below.  I was worried I’d hear traffic all night long, but very few vehicles went by. 

When I woke up, there were several other vehicles parked near me, so I did my best to be quiet as I got my gear together.  I was on the trail at 4am.  I followed the 4WD road south for a quarter of a mile to the actual trailhead.

I headed up Columbine Lake Trail 509.  This is a class 1 trail that goes all the way to Columbine Lake.  There are several ways to get to the summit of Bridal Peak, but if you don’t want to lose excessive elevation, heading to the lake first is a great option.

This trail steeply switchbacked up the hillside to treeline.

I entered a small basin, and continued following the trail to the upper basin.  I could hear dozens of ptarmigans and their chicks chirping all around me.  That’s one of my favorite parts about hiking this early in the morning:  hearing everyone waking up. 

I crossed over into the Mill Creek Basin, and continued following the trail west. This is still a class 1 trail. 

From here you can see Bridal Peak, but to avoid losing and re-gaining elevation, I headed to Columbine Lake first.  Here’s my overall route.

Right about now the sun was beginning to rise…

Here are a few more pictures on the class 1 trail to Columbine Lake

I made it to the lake, crossed the small dam, and followed the shoreline west

I wanted to ascend to the ridge.  It can be done at just about any point before the small waterfall.  I took a slightly different route up than I did down, but they all lead to the correct area.  This is the route I took

Now to cross the upper basin and head north to the ridge.  Here’s my overall route

And some step by step pictures

Once on the ridge, it was an easy class 2 trek to the summit.  There’s an obvious trail, but if you don’t see one, stick to the ridge.  This area is covered I shale.

I summited Bridal Peak at 7:10am

Bridal Peak:

From Bridal Peak I could see PT 13159 to the southeast.

To get there, I made my way back to Columbine Lake

Here are some pictures of the route back to the lake

Once at the lake the sun started to come out, so I took a few pictures.  This is an extremely popular hike, and I started seeing people like ants along the trail.  The lake was beautiful.  Pro-tip:  You get better pictures of the lake, and the mountains mirrored in the lake, from up high. 

I made my way back to the trail

And then followed it east to 12550’

At about 12550’ there will be a post.  At this post, I turned right, and headed south up a gully

Before going up the gully, get a good look at the route before you.  This can be kept class 2 (maybe easy class 3) if you know what you’re doing ahead of time.  I made this class 4 in sections, not knowing where exactly to ascend at the end.  I kept wanting to ascend too early, and then I’d cliff out.  This is the route you want to take

It might have been due to the recent rain, but this gully was easy to ascend. 

At the top of the gully I turned right, and followed the ridge

Once I got here, I dipped down a bit.  No longer try to stick to the ridge, as there are large gaps in the boulders too big to jump across.  Also, don’t try to ascend yet:  it’ll be class 4, and the final ‘summit’ is also too far to jump to get to. 

This is what the summit looks like, but it’s actually easy to access, if you go from the left

Go around the boulder, then it’s a simple walk to the summit

I summited PT 13159 at 8:55am

PT 13159:

From the summit, I re-traced my steps back to the gully. 

Then descended the gully, and picked back up with the Columbine Lake Trail

I took the Columbine Lake trail back to the road

Then followed the road back to my truck

I made it back to my truck at 10am, making this an 11.85 mile hike with 4033’ of elevation gain in 6 hours.

On to the next trailhead!

PT 13159

RT Length:  12.1 miles

Elevation Gain:  4530’

I just love the local herd of bighorn sheep in this area!  I’ve seen them a few times, usually up at Willow Lake. It’s neat watching the babies get bigger. They greeted me this time on my way to the Willow Lake trailhead.

The trailhead was deserted for a Friday afternoon.  I sat back, ate some peanut butter off a spoon, sipped some whiskey, and jotted down notes from the day. The bathrooms were still open, clean, and stocked.

Before making it an early night I pre-signed the trail register, red a bit, and headed to bed.  I’m so darn comfortable sleeping in the bed of my truck, it’s difficult to get up and out in the morning.  Oh, and I ‘installed’ new lights, if anyone’s interested:

The South Crestone trail starts from the same area as the Willow Lake trail.

The trails quickly diverge, and I followed the South Crestone trail, heading northeast.

The South Crestone trail (860) is a class 1 trail that will lead you all the way to South Crestone Lake, without any junctions. 

After hiking for 1.6 miles I passed an old log cabin, and started switchbacking up the hillside.

At the top of the swithcbacks the waterfalls started.  They were located alongside the trail, but didn’t impede the actual trail.  Since it was cold this morning, the ice never got a chance to melt (these pictures were taken on my return).

I came to a meadow, and then switchbacked up to the lake

I always know I’m close to the lake when I see the “no camping or livestock within 300 feet of lake” sign.

After hiking for just over 5 miles, I made it to South Crestone Lake

I’d gone too far, but on purpose:  I’d wanted to see the lake.  About 5 yards before the lake, there’s a post near the trail.  I’m sure it was informational at some point, but now it’s just a post (and difficult to miss).

At this post I turned left, leaving the trail.  From here on out, it was a class 2 hike.

As soon as you leave the trees, you have a great visual of the rest of the hike

Here’s the route I took to the summit of PT 13153

First, I ascended this rocky/willowy/tundra filled gully.  Note the rock circled, as it will be your visual cue when you exit. 

At the top of the gully, I stayed on the tundra, avoiding the rock outcroppings both above and below. But was unable to avoid the willows. I just aimed diagonally for the first pile of rocks on the ridge I could see.  There’s no reason to try to ascend directly to the ridge; just keep aiming northeast.

Staying on the tundra will help to avoid rock-hopping

Once on the ridge, it was a simple hike to the summit

I summited PT 13153 at 8:45am.  It was cold.

PT 13153: 

There were some great views of the Crestones

There was a summit register, but it was too cold for me to attempt to open it.  Have I mentioned it was cold and windy? I wanted to get down off the ridge asap. 

Here’s an overview of the route back to the lake.  Remember, just aim for that big rock that signals your decent down the gully

Here are some pictures of the way back to that large rock

Once at the large rock, I descended back down to the lake

This brought me to the class 1, South Crestone Trail, which I followed back to the trailhead

I was really surprised at all the witch’s hair I saw on the trees.  It’s completely taken over in some parts.  In the dark I’d thought the green were pine needles: Not so.

As I rounded the corner, just before descending down the switchbacks to the cabin, a herd of bighorn sheep darted across my path, kicking up dust and thundering down the hillside.  They were too quick for a good picture, but I was 100% sure it was the same herd I’d seen yesterday, and last time I was at Willow Lake (we’ve bonded).  I’ll add this to my growing list of wildlife ‘butt’ shots. 

Here are some more pictures of the trail back to the trailhead

I made it back to my truck at 11:30am, making this a 12.1 mile hike with 4530’ of elevation gain in 6 hours, 30 minutes.

Today had been much easier than anticipated.  I was done earlier than expected, which was great!  Now to head home; my daughter comes back from college for Thanksgiving break tonight, and I want to have her favorite dinner ready for her when she arrives!