13852 – Wild Wanderer

Peak 10 – 13,633, Crystal Peak A – 13,860, Father Dyer Peak – 13,615

RT Length: 7.1 miles

Elevation Gain: 2532’

I didn’t make it to the trailhead until almost 6am. This was due to my pressing snooze while my coffee brewed and thinking it would only take me 2.5 hours to get there instead of 3. Oh, and GoogleMaps gets you to Crystal Trailhead in Breckenridge, but not the one I was looking for. Luckily it was only a 15 minute fix (and the directions were eerily similar to the real ones, just 2 miles south on the 9 instead of 2 miles on South 9…). If you’re coming from Colorado Springs like me and taking the 24 to the 9, the trailhead is BEFORE you get to Breckenridge (but after the Quandary TH). If you get to Breckenridge you’ve gone too far.

In any event, the road to the lower (Spruce Creek) trailhead is a 2WD dirt road that’s easy to navigate. As soon as you pass the gate and head towards Lower Crystal Lake things get 4WD fast. The road narrows and is scattered with rocks about the size of bowling balls, with a few microwaves thrown in. Most are sharp. It was worse driving up than driving down, and as long as you’re the only vehicle on the 2+ mile road and you have high clearance it’s no big deal. There aren’t many passing areas though, so if you do need to pass someone it’s a long backwards navigation to a pull off site. Luckily, I didn’t see anyone on the drive up or down (or anyone hiking on the trails for that matter).

My truck handled everything just fine, except for the narrow area through the willows: they scratched the sides of my truck (nothing a good wash won’t fix, but it hurts to hear it just the same).

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I was on the trail by 6am, but immediately knew something wasn’t right. I got out my map and realized while being at the upper trailhead sounded like a good idea, it actually wasn’t because the trail was a loop that started and ended at the LOWER trailhead. Whoops! At least I could do the hike backwards and start from where I was (Lower Crystal Lake, doing the hike in reverse, with Crystal Peak A first, then Father Dyer, and then Mount Helen).

But this meant I’d need to alter my decent route as well. It was dark so I couldn’t see if the terrain below Mount Helen cliffed out or not, so I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to alter my route at all. I got out another map (I had 4) and noticed I could backtrack if needed and take the basin between Father Dyer Peak and Mount Helen if I ran short on time (I was on a strict schedule again today: I had to be back at my truck by noon so I could pick my daughter up from school at 3). But I really wanted a visual, so I hiked a bit slowly and allowed the sun to rise.

I’d parked at the shambles of an old cabin near Lower Crystal Lake and hiked northwest on an established trail up the mountainside.

3 Picture1

The sun began to rise and I got a better view of what I’d wanted to be my exit route off Mount Helen… nope, that wasn’t happening: I’d be cliffed out if I tried to make a beeline off the mountain for my truck, and hiking all the way back to the Spruce Creek Trailhead would add too much time. OK, plan B: I was going to have to backtrack after summiting Mount Helen. No worries though, because it all looked doable in the time I had.

But then I looked up and noticed an American Flag on the peak above me. Oh yeah! Peak 10 (a Bicentennial). I was going to try for it if I had enough time after summiting the other 3 peaks, but since I was here now and so close (.3 miles, according to Peakbagger) I didn’t want to miss the opportunity. So I changed direction and headed north toward the summit of Peak 10. There was no path, and the terrain was rocky but easy to navigate.

I made it to the summit at 7am

7 Peak 10 13633

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That had been too easy! I turned east and identified the reason I’d planned my hike today: Crystal Peak A (a Centennial).

No way. It had to be harder than this? I got out my map again. Yep, that was it. All I had to do was follow the class 2 ridge down to the saddle and up to the summit.

There was a small false summit, but this peak was also easily navigable, and at times there was a faint trail to follow. Just stick to the ridge and you’ll be fine.

The rocks were beautiful, and a pika posed for me…

I summited at 7:50am.

12 Crystal Peak A 13852

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I hadn’t even been hiking 2 hours yet and I’d already summited two ranked 13ers. Pretty cool! BUT… a little voice in the back of my mind reminded me the hardest part was yet to come: The traverse between Mount Helen and Father Dyer Peak was supposed to be very time consuming, so I’d better get a move on. I turned and looked southeast for Father Dyer Mountain. You can’t see the route to Mount Helen from here.

And looked back on the route I’d taken so far (note this is UPPER Crystal Lake in this picture, Lower Crystal Lake, where I parked, isn’t visible). Also note, there are lakes all over the place in this area! Ever ridge leads to multiple lakes, so make sure you know where you are and which lakes you’re aiming for/avoiding. I counted about 15…

The ridge to Father Dyer is a difficult class 2. I put on my helmet and had at it.

Once again, just stick to the ridge and you’ll be fine. There were a few parts where it helped to go a little left (north) but I mainly stuck to the ridge. I summited at 8:30am

16 Father Dyer Peak 13615

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There’s a plaque on the summit commemorating the Methodist Church and Father Dyer

I was feeling pretty good about myself at this point. My turnaround time was 10am. I had an hour and a half to do the traverse. I turned and looked at the route before me and my jaw dropped:

The beginning part of the ridge looked easy, and it was, but soon I encountered more difficult class 3 terrain. It’s been over a month since I’ve done anything class 3 or above, and I was in heaven!!!

The only downside? It was slow going. And yes, stick to the ridge (even when it doesn’t seem right)

I made it past the highest of the spires, started down again and ran into the gully I need to descend to hit the saddle for Mount Helen. I looked at my watch: it was 9:40am, and my turnaround time was 10am. I looked at what was left of the route before me:

There was no way I was going to make it to the summit of Mount Helen in 20 minutes. Could I summit successfully? Yes. In 20 minutes? Nope. Ugh!!! I had a decision to make: continue on until my alarm rings or turn back now. I was at a point where I needed to descend a gully about 200 feet and then continue on up the ridge to Mount Helen, and I knew I could descend the gully no problem, but making up the time on the way out wouldn’t work because I’d parked at the 4WD TH and couldn’t do the loop to exit (I also didn’t have the time to hike down to the 2WD and back up the to the 4WD TH). It seems the added time it took me to summit Peak 10 meant no Mount Helen for me today.

The bad news: I had to turn back and descend the saddle between Father Dyer and Mount Helen. The good news: I got to do the traverse twice, once each way! Woot! This was great! I haven’t done any climbing in a while, and now I had a full day of it, complete with exposure and route finding and, well, good times! I started back towards the saddle

I’d already mapped in my mind the route I’d wanted to take back if I had to descend this way. There are a lot of areas on Mount Helen that cliff out, but if I descended here (near the saddle) I’d be able to descend into the basin and hike out towards Lower Crystal Lake (keeping to the left/north).

This is the route I took

Please note, this route is very steep, full of scree, slippery, and demands a helmet and more time than you think it will. It wasn’t fun, but it was productive

Here’s the route I took down from the ridge

Once I was in the basin I rock-hopped northwest. Here’s what it looked like looking back

The only problem? I was kind of cliffed out. Kind of, but not really.

It took some careful maneuvering down goat trails (NEVER say to yourself: if a goat can do it I can too!) but I eventually made it back down to my truck. Here’s my route:

I made it back at 11:20am, meaning I’d done my mental calculations correctly (turn back time of 20 minutes, etc.)

I was a bit disappointed I wasn’t able to summit Mount Helen, but as I was hiking down the basin towards my truck I thought about how I gained an extra ranked peak today (Peak 10) and how Mount Helen would be a great winter climb (accessible in winter and a great training hike for snowshoes/crampons?). So I considered it a win. Also, I was able to make it home to pick up my daughter from school on time, which is what really counts!

Here’s my route:

My tracking

And my tracks on a topo map

Clinton Peak 13,866 – McNamee Peak 13784 – Traver Peak 13,856

RT Length: 10.9 miles

Elevation Gain: 3352’

I didn’t want to get up when my alarm went off at 2am. I really didn’t. I rarely ever want to get up when my alarm rings, but today I was extra tired. I really wanted that extra sleep. I reminded myself while it’s typically difficult waking up early for a hike, I always thank myself for it later. So I dawdled and took extra time getting ready, trying to wake myself up. It was supposed to snow last night and there was as 40% chance of snow today, so I dressed in triple layers of pants and double jackets (necessary for me, not for most people). I also had 3 different pairs of gloves.

I drove to the trailhead and actually stopped at a gas station for 20 minutes to sleep for a bit before continuing on: I was more tired than I thought! I felt great after that quick cat nap though.

I finally made it to the trailhead at 5am and was ready to go by 5:15am. Already I could tell this was going to be a much different adventure than when I was here last March and the area was covered in feet of snow (https://wildwandererlmc.wordpress.com/2018/03/31/wheeler-lake-12168/). I’d had to turn back at the lake on that trip, but I’d learned a lot! Today the gate was open all the way to the mill, and there wasn’t any snow to be seen anywhere (in the dark that is). The road in is a 2WD dirt road all the way to the mill

There’s plenty of parking all along the way. I chose to park by the mill (the ‘lot’ there holds about 7 vehicles).

Here are some pictures of the Magnolia Mill, which I swear is going to collapse any minute…

Don’t go past the mill unless you have a heavily modified 4×4 vehicle. You will get stuck. Here are some pictures of the 4×4 road in

And one of a truck getting stuck on my way out

You can follow the 4×4 road all the way to Wheeler Lake: it’s about 3 miles. Wow! Was this a different experience than the snow-covered road I’d encountered back in March! Back then I wasn’t even aware there was a road… I kept looking for trails. It was obvious from my hike today I’d been way off route earlier this year. Way off. And the road had to be under a good 5 feet of snow at the time because these willows which were taller than me now were only about 6 inches high last time I was here. I’d gone in circles in the blowing snow trying to route find my way to the lake (and back). Today was a breeze!

I kept thinking to myself: those rocks are going to be a bugger to hike over on the way back down (they were).

What a difference the season makes! One bad part about no snow? The road was pretty much a river most of the way. Most of the areas of road covered in water had side trails going through the willows so you didn’t need to walk directly through the mud puddles, which I’m sure added to my route confusion in the snow as well.

Oh, but it was still early morning and I was hiking through all of this at night…

It’s about a 3 mile hike from the Mill to Wheeler Lake. I made it to the lake just as the sun began to rise (and thought back on how difficult this trudge had been in snowshoes: there were actual spots that had had exposure with all the snow and I’d been fearful I’d slip and slide down the mountain. Not so today.)

This is where the route ends and the creativity begins. Hike around the lake to the left about ¾ of the way around. You’ll notice an unmarked path left and up a drainage. (There’s no trail, make your own)

I turned back to watch the sunrise and take a Colorado Flag picture of the lake…

There are a lot of mines in the area. I counted at least 6

When you get to the top of the drainage you’ll find yourself in a small basin.

I tried to stay higher up to the right, and this ended up being a mistake: Stick to the middle, go up the area with small ponds and waterfalls, and head west.

I was trying not to lose my elevation gain, but all I ended up doing was complicating things with lots of rocks, slowing me down.

So my route had steeper elevation, lots of loose rocks and scree, and was thus very slow going. I rounded the corner and kept heading northwest. Finally I was able to see the summit! If you’re hiking this too you can breathe a sigh of relief now: the worst of the hike is over (yes, even if you’re doing all 3 summits)

As I rounded the slope the rocks became slippery: everything in the shadows (west) had a thin layer of frost covering it (slippery!)

I gained the ridge and followed it to the summit of Clinton Peak.

I turned back and looked at the way I’d come: that had been a steep climb!

From Traver Peak, here’s a view of the route I took (solid line) versus the one I should have taken (dotted line)

21My Route versus actual route

I summited at 8:30am. Here’s proof I summited

22 Clinton Peak 13857

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There were a lot of active mines in the area west of the peak and below as well

The rest of the route before me was very straightforward. It was class 2 ‘climbing’, following the ridge.

There were a few large rocks to contend with, but nothing class 3, and all avoidable if you went down the ridge a bit (go left (east) to avoid frost).

There were also small bits of snow, but nothing that got in the way or wasn’t easily avoidable

I couldn’t help but think as I reached the saddle of Clinton/McNamee how much easier this hike would have been to just continue straight all the way through the basin up to this saddle. It would have added maybe a mile to the hike (maybe) but also made the elevation gain so much simpler to deal with! I’m sure it would have cut my time down at least an hour.

The path to McNamee was about half a mile and easy to follow. I summited at 9am

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There was a lot of mining trash on this summit!

Here’s the rest of the route to Traver Peak

Here’s a picture from the McNamee/Traver saddle looking back on the route so far

Summiting Traver was just a little more difficult than McNamee, but as long as I stuck to the ridge I was just fine (class 2). There were a couple of places I intentionally made it a class 3 climb, but they were completely unnecessary.

There was also a metal trash can full of rocks on the ridge?

I summited at 9:30am

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There had been a light dusting on DeCaLiBron the night before

Ok, now it was time to head down. I turned east and looked at my route before me. All I had to do was follow the ridge down and head for Wheeler Lake. It was quite simple really

About ¼ of the way down the ridge I found this survey marker

And halfway down the ridge I saw a large cairn. Or at least that’s what I thought it was until I saw the stone with writing and a date. I couldn’t make out the writing, but the year is clearly 1881. When I got home I looked it up online, and couldn’t find any information about a possible grave/death/etc. It looks like a cairn grave to me (think Oatman family?). Thoughts?

The ridge was easy to follow with medium sized, mostly stable rocks. I couldn’t help but think how much easier it would have been to have done this hike in reverse, instead coming up the east ridge of Traver and down Clinton. My advice to anyone doing this hike: HIKE IT IN REVERSE. Or go up the McNamee/Clinton saddle, over to Clinton, and then back to McNamee and Traver. That trek up Clinton’s south slope is a bugger! And from what I experienced on the easy way down Traver, totally avoidable and unnecessary.

In any event, the cairn is clearly visible from a ways away. It’s a good marker to look for (especially if you’re hiking this in reverse). When I made it to the cairn I headed down the basin, over large rocks and some grassy areas. Before the bottom of the basin I was greeted with some large boulders. I didn’t have to climb down them… but I did.

Here’s the route I took. I obviously could have avoided the boulders by sticking to the north. (Note, this is NOT Wheeler Lake, but a small pond in the middle basin).

All morning and afternoon the weather had been perfect! The skies were clear and I’d way overdressed (no worries, this is better than the alternative). The basin was beautiful, and I got to thinking: Life for me has been extremely difficult in the past and I’ve been through some dreadful things no one should ever have to go through, but today, life is good. I mean really, really good! I’m the happiest I’ve been in years, my kids are all amazing and doing amazing things with their lives, I get to hike every Friday, I paid off my truck this month (woohoo! This means I’m debt free!), and I’ve now completed 28 13ers (think I can hit 30 by my birthday on the 18^th?). I was in a great mood, and so glad I decided to go hiking today! (See? I told myself so!)

Here’s where the hike became beautiful. As I was exiting the basin and aiming towards Wheeler Lake I was able to notice all the fall colors. Here’s a look at the North side of Lincoln (14er)

And a look back down on Wheeler Lake

I passed by the waterfall and skirted the lake

Here is where I met back up with the road again. The 3 miles out would have been easier and much faster without all those rocks in the road, but at least route finding was easy!

I made it back to my truck around 12:15pm, making this a 10.9 mile hike with 3300’ in elevation gain in 7 hours with lots of summit time.

The fall colors are starting to change early this year. The drive through Alma was unexpectedly beautiful!

Here’s another look at the peaks

Oh, and I’m still working on the GPX thing. Here’s the link to STRAVA: https://www.strava.com/activities/1825871164