13er – Page 17 – Wild Wanderer

Pyramid Mountain – 13,054

RT: 11.27 miles

Elevation Gain: 4639’

The moon was full, which makes hiking in the dark so much more enjoyable. The trailhead is located at the northeast end of the North Crestone Campground. I was surprised to find tent campers in some of the spots on this 20-degree morning. There were no other vehicles I the lot when I arrived. I was surprised to find the bathroom still open, and well stocked.

I was on the trail at 5am. The trail is obvious.

I signed the register (the first person to do so in about a week) and followed the North Crestone Trail northeast. This is a class 1, easy to follow trail

After hiking for 2.8 miles, I came to the junction for the North Crestone Trail, Comanche Trail, and North Fork Crestone Trail. I basically made 2 left turns, and began following the North Fork Crestone Trail

This trail was also easy to follow, as it switchbacked and headed north

There were some frozen stream crossings

There were also a lot of downed aspens from previous avalanches (but a clear trail) and willows

After hiking for a total of 4.25 miles and at 10750’ I looked left and saw a drainage. This is the east side of Pyramid Mountain.

The idea here is to follow the drainage northwest. This is harder than it sounds. I ascended via the right, only to encounter some class 3 climbing and avalanche debris from aspens. I descended via the left, in the snow with even denser aspens. If I had to do this again, I’d probably stick to the route on the left, because, while there were more aspens, they were easier to navigate and much shorter than the ones on the right. In any event, it’s choose-your-own adventure. Following the drainage directly isn’t an option for the first 100 yards or so, due to the dense willows (but after that I’d recommend following the drainage proper, rock hopping). Either way, you will come out of this part of the trek covered in aspen dust. I can’t imagine attempting this when the trees and willows have leaves.

Here are some closer pictures of my ascent route. First, I crossed the stream. It was covered in willows, so pictures don’t do much, but trust me, there is a stream here. Just float over it on the willow branches…

Next, I found an obvious game trail through the next set of willows

Directly after this game trail is another game trail to the left that crosses the drainage/a small stream (picture of this to come later). This is how I came down. But for now, I stayed to the right of the willows, trying to straddle the willows and the aspens (it didn’t work).

Staying to the right of the drainage brought me to a rocky area I needed to ascend. This could be considered easy class 3

Once over this rock outcropping, I was easily able to follow the drainage northwest, as I was now above treeline

I took the ramp to the left, which is steeper than it looks. Here I encountered a few stubborn willows, but was able to keep this class 2

Now I could see the rest of the route. There are a few ways to ascend to the summit. Once again, this is choose your own adventure. It looks more intimidating than it is. I was able to keep this all class 2, with one easy class 3 move (which would have been class 2 without snow).

Here’s my overall route to the summit

Let’s go step by step. I made my way towards the rock outcropping. Here there are two prominent, red ribs of rock. Both go. I chose a different one on the way up than I did on the way down. Follow them north and they will quickly lead to tundra

At the top of these ribs, resist the urge to head to the ridge (it doesn’t go, yet). Instead, aim for just below this prominent rock

Heading this way will take you to a game trail. I followed it west a few yards, and then took a gully towards the ridge, avoiding the large rock.

When I did this there was snow. Snow helps to make for a nice visual. Just before making it to the snow, I turned right. There was a faint trail here, heading northwest.

I was making my way northwest, towards the ridge, on tundra and Crestone conglomerate rock (side note, had I gone to the next gully further, this would all have been tundra).

I hit another large rock just before the ridge. There’s an access gully here that’s most likely class 2 in summer, but with snow felt easy class 3. I climbed this gully

From here, it was an easy scramble up the ridge to the summit. The pictures make this look tougher than it was.

I summited Pyramid Mountain at 9:15am

Pyramid Mountain:

There was a summit register, which I actually signed because it was warm outside. Then I was on my way back down.

Here’s an overview of the exit, back to the drainage

I made it back to the game trail, followed it for a few yards, and then descended south

This time I took the opposite side of the drainage down. I’d recommend taking this route up (it won’t be ‘fun’, but it will be slightly better than the other side)

Yes, there are a lot of aspens, but they’re small-er than those on the other side. I made it to the willows and crossed the creek at what felt like a game trail, but had an access log across it, so maybe it’s intentional?

Now for the final creek crossing, willow wrestling, and back to the trail

I hiked over several (frozen) creek crossings, back to the junction with the North Crestone Trail, Comanche Trail, and North Fork Crestone Trail

I turned right twice this time, and hiked back to the trailhead, following North Crestone Trail

I made it back to my truck at 12:15pm, making this a 11.27 mile hike with 4639’ of elevation gain in 7 hours, 15 minutes.

On to the next trailhead!

Cotton King Peak – 13,490 and PT 13,130

RT Length: 18.96 miles

Elevation Gain: 6296’

It’s that wonderful time of year when I start and end hikes in the dark. I’d slept at this trailhead, quite comfortable, and didn’t want to get up. That’s the only downside to loving your sleep set-up: you don’t want to get out from under the covers. Eventually I got up, and was on the trail at 5:30am.

The Wild Cherry Trail is at the end of a fun 4WD road. There’s plenty of parking, and I had the whole place to myself the entire night (and the next day/night as well, odd since it was a Friday/Saturday/Sunday).

I followed this class 1 trail as it meandered and switchbacked alongside Wild Cherry Creek (no creek crossings this time)

The creek was running, but still kind of frozen

I was slowing down as I made it to a meadow with some nice camping spots at 11000’

So. Many. Switchbacks. I was not feeling it. I was hiking slow, my knee still hurt from yesterday, and for some reason, I felt unmotivated. I looked at my tracker: I’d gone (almost) 5 miles. I’m good at playing mental games to keep myself motivated. I decided to hike to 5 miles, then turn back. A 10 mile day is pretty good, right? When I hit 5 miles, I told myself I’d just go to the lake, and kept hiking.

Just after the meadow with the camping area I switchbacked a few times, then entered a rocky area. There was still a trail here (there’s as trail all the way to Peanut and Cherry Lakes). It was here I encountered snow. Mine were the first tracks since it snowed last (a few weeks ago?)

I knew I was getting close to the lake when I saw the sign warning me not to camp or bring livestock within 300 feet of the lakes

I continued following the trail, just wanting to see the lakes before turning back…

Once I made it to the lakes I had a visual of the rest of the route, and there was no stopping me now (visuals help my mood tremendously). Also, the sun had come up, which made everything better: I’m not a fan of gloomy days (which this one started out to be).

With my newfound energy, I was now aiming for this saddle

I could see a sort of plateau hugging the south side of Mt Owen, and that’s where I wanted to be

Here’s an overall look at my path to the Mt Owen/Cotton King saddle

First, at around 11830, before making it to Peanut Lake, I found a grassy hillside and ascended it north

This brought me to 12000’, and a boulder field. I stayed high (left), and followed the boulder field southeast towards the Mt Owen/Cotton King saddle

There are some willows to navigate, but if you stay high, you can avoid them. There’s also a game trail that picks up in the tundra. It goes as a trail about 75 percent of the time, and is easily seen from below

Once on the saddle, I didn’t follow the obvious, snow-covered trail (for obvious reasons), but instead took the class 2 ridge south.

This is a good time to get a visual of where the summit of Cotton King Peak actually lies: It’s at the end of the ridge to your left. Looks can be deceiving: There will be false summits.

Ok, so I continued up the class 2 ridge

Just before topping out there was a trail that went left. There is currently a small cornice forming, but I was able to navigate the terrain with just my trekking pole (I had microspikes and didn’t feel the need to put them on)

Now I just needed to follow the ridge. This is all class 2. Here’s an overview:

And some step-by-step photos. Up the first ridge

Then I skirted the next false summit to the left, through a gully

I was convinced this was the summit, but alas, no.

I followed the talus and rocky ridge east to the summit of Cotton King

I summited Cotton King Peak at 11:30am

Cotton King Peak:

Earlier this morning I’d made a mental deal with myself that if I summited Cotton King, I’d come back for PT 13122 another day. Well, I’d changed my mind: I was getting both in today. I turned and re-traced my steps back down the ridge.

The route up 13122 looked easy enough

But as I got closer, I realized the normal, class 2 route up to the summit was full of snow (circled in red). I wouldn’t be able to summit that way. Instead, I kept mostly to the ridge, on class 2 terrain, until my final move was difficult class 3 up a chimney to the summit. Here’s the overall route.

And some step-by-step pictures

I kept this part class 2 by staying lower than I’d wanted to where the rock outcroppings were

For the final push to the summit, I aimed for the snow areas, just for a good visual, and then followed the tundra/rock gullies to the summit. This kind of reminded me of the gullies on the Maroon Peaks.

Here’s the route I took. You can clearly see the ‘summer’ route to the left, covered in snow just before the ledge.

I just looked for a break in the rocks, and followed those towards the ridge

Here’s the class 3+ chimney I used to ascend the ridge

I summited PT 13122 at 1:10pm

PT 13122:

It looked like the true summit was further west, but I can assure you, the true summit is just as you gain the ridge. I walked over to the other side to check it out.

I know some people make this a loop, and continue heading northwest down the ridge, but I’d taken a look at the ridge down earlier in the day, and with the current snow, it didn’t look fun: either snow or cliffs to navigate at the moment. It would have been faster, in better conditions.

From the summit I made my way back to the Cotton King/PT 13122 saddle.

Then I followed my tracks back to the trail staying high in the boulder field

And once on the trail I followed it back to the trailhead

I made it back to my truck at 5pm, making this a 18.96 mile hike with 6296’ of elevation gain in 11.5 hours.

I decided I’m giving myself a down day tomorrow, and I’m just going to stay tonight at this trailhead, then drive home and hit the treadmill tomorrow. I had some spaghetti for dinner, read a bit, and enjoyed having cell service.

PT 13,128 and Thirsty Peak – 13,224

RT Length: 14.15 miles

Elevation Gain: 5370’

For those of you who’ve been following my truck situation, the topper for Miles finally arrived!!! More than 4 months later, but let me tell you, it was worth it! I’m so glad I did a trial run with my last truck (‘Truck Kirk’… if you get it, you’re awesome, and we should be friends), and got everything I wanted this time around. This weekend was my first time trying out the new set-up, and I’m thrilled. Plexiglass instead of glass gives me blackout windows, which are great for irregular sleep patterns that are sometimes necessary to wake up at 2am and hike. Added bonus: plexiglass doesn’t shatter! I put up Reflextrix around the windows to keep in the heat, and set up my Buddy heater in the corner. I re-used the foam bedding from the Tundra (after cutting it a little to fit), built the cabinets myself (not bad considering the only ‘shop’ experience I have was in a 7^th grade Industrial Arts class), and commissioned my daughter to paint them. She used pictures I’d taken while hiking, and all I have to say is I love them!!! We left a few of the lids to the cabinets blank, so if we meet at a trailhead, I expect you to add your signature to one of them so I can remember you.

Ok, moving on to the trip report.

I arrived at the trailhead the night before to get plenty of rest before the hike. I talked with some local hunters, pre-signed the register because I’ve learned pens don’t work in the early morning when they’re cold, and got to bed just as the sun went down. At 5am I was up and on the trail, heading south through the scrub oak.

I was at the wrong trailhead. After .25 miles of hiking, I knew I was on the wrong trail. I pulled out my cell phone and started the compass app (which works moderately well): I didn’t want to deal with a flashlight and a ‘real’ compass in the dark. While I was following the cell phone compass-directions, I tripped. No worries though, because my cellphone broke my fall. All I can say is: good thing I had a screen protector on my phone. Also, my knee still hurts.

To save time I brought up a gpx file (which I only use when absolutely necessary) and realized it looked like I was going in the right direction, but about half a mile too far south. Ugh. I hoofed it back to the trailhead, signed out of the register by scratching on the paper with a pen, got in my truck, and drove to the Hot Springs Trailhead, about half a mile north. I got there, jumped out of my truck, ready to go, signed the register, and was off. It was now 6am.

The correct trail starts at the Hot Springs Trailhead. There are two different trails that originate from this trailhead. I went right, following Garner Creek Trail 752.

This is a wide, class 1 trail

I quickly came to a gate, and then another gate. I passed through both, closed them as instructed, and continued on my way.

I followed this (mostly) class 1 trail for 6.3 miles to the 13123/Thirsty Peak saddle.

Even though I wrote it on the topo map, I forgot them: My stream crossing shoes. Creek crossings. Have I mentioned them? I stopped counting at 10 on this trail. Good news; they’re all easily crossed. Here’s a visual…

I passed some camping spots with hunters still sleeping in their tents, came to a bit of a clearing, and had a visual of where I was aiming; the saddle between PT 13123 and Thirsty Peak.

I continued following the trail as it headed northeast, crossing several more streams.

After hiking for about 5 miles, I was just below treeline. Here the trail stopped, but the cairns picked up.

At the top of pile of rocks I was now just at treeline, and on a ridge. I followed the ridge east, and then north, staying directly on the ridge. Here’s an overall view of the route. There were cairns here.

Here are some more pictures of the ridge. The cairns are circled. Most of the cairns were shorter than the grass, but they were accompanied by large branches sticking up from their centers, so they were easy to make out.

Once above treeline the trail faintly resumed. I headed north to the 13123/Thirsty Peak saddle

Once at the saddle I turned left and followed the ridge northwest to the summit of PT 13123, gaining 425’ in elevation. This started out as tundra, but quickly became rocky.

I summited PT 13123 at 9:55am

13123:

I could see Cottonwood Peak to the northeast (not on my agenda for today)

I turned and headed back to the PT 13123/Thirsty Peak saddle.

From the saddle, it was a class 2, rocky ridge hike to the summit of Thirsty Peak. I gained just over 500’ from the saddle to reach Thirsty Peak (unranked).

I summited Thirsty Peak at 11am. At the summit I heard a coyote yipping. I got it briefly in the video, but just at the very beginning.

Thirsty Peak:

Here you can see the reason Thirsty Peak is unranked: Lakes Peak

I turned and headed back to the 13123/Thirsty Peak saddle

And then re-traced my steps back down to the ridge

Here’s an overview of the route out

Here are some pictures of the way back to the trailhead

I made it back to the trailhead at 2pm, making this a 14.15 mile hike with 5370’ of elevation gain in 8 hours.

On to the next trailhead!

Bushnell Peak – 13,112 & Twin Sisters North – 13,009

RT Length: 10.07 miles

Elevation Gain: 5296’

It should be noted the Ferguson Creek trailhead is closed from March 15 – May 15 every year for Sage Grouse mating season.

The weather forecast changed overnight. Yesterday it predicted 10-15mph winds. Today, 35-40mph. Hmmmm…. Well, it was supposed to be warm, and I was already at the trailhead, so I decided to give it a go. I actually drove past the creek, turned left at the junction after the creek, and then drove for about a mile on the 4WD road before finding a spot to park for the night.

If you don’t have a 4WD vehicle, there’s plenty of parking/camping at Ferguson Creek.

I could have driven all the way to where the scrub oak ended and the trees began, but that would have meant getting Colorado pinstripes on my ‘new’ truck. Instead, I parked in an open area and took in a view of the peaks I’d be attempting tomorrow. They looked straightforward enough. My campsite was at 8500’, and from this angle, I couldn’t imagine there was enough elevation difference to make Bushnell and Twin Sisters both ranked peaks. Boy, was I wrong!

I was also surprised: it was a Saturday, the weather was great, it was hunting season, and no one passed me on this road the entire time I was here. I made it an early night, and once again, pressed snooze on my alarm several times before hitting the trail the next morning: I’ve gotten too comfortable sleeping in the cab of my truck. I was on the trail at 6am.

I followed the 4WD road east for about a mile and a half through scrub oak to the trees. CalTopo says this is road 985, but it isn’t marked anywhere.

The roads here aren’t named. The only junction I came to I kept hiking straight.

If you plan on driving your vehicle all the way to the trees, there are several campsites just before and after entering the trees.

The road doesn’t end at the trees, but there are some very large pine trees that have toppled and block the road from sight. They make it look like the road ends, but if you scramble over the trees and aim north, you’ll run into the road again.

I followed the road northeast

I crossed the stream 3 times

Passed the remnants of a cabin

And started switchbacking up the hillside, following the old road the entire time.

The road took me to treeline, where it ended. From where I parked my truck, it was 3.3 miles to the end of the road. If you hiked from Ferguson Creek, it would be about 4.5 miles to treeline.

When the road ends at 10855’, there’s a cairn on a rock in the middle of the trail. This is where I turned right, and headed east towards Bushnell Peak.

This is where the intense elevation gain began. From treeline, I gained 2250’ of elevation in 1.25 miles to the summit of Bushnell Peak. I just kept heading east

Once on the ridge the wind picked up. I put on my balaclava and heavy mitts and kept hiking east, staying on the center of the ridge.

The terrain became rocky. These rocks weren’t too large, but they weren’t stable either.

I came to some interesting rock formations, which I passed and continued up the ridge. This was class 2.

I stayed directly on the ridge all the way to the summit of Bushnell. It was class 3 at times, but only for short sections. I’m sure the summit could have been kept class 2 if I’d dipped to the right, but I was fine with a little class 3 scrambling (there are cliffs to the left).

I summited Bushnell Peak at 9:30am

Bushnell Peak:

Now, on to Twin Sisters South (unranked) and Twin Sisters North. I could see them to the northwest. I retraced my steps down the ridge for about .2 miles, and then followed the ridge northeast to the Bushnell/Twin Sisters South saddle.

Here’s that class 3 section on the way down. I went straight up and over the top, but could have dipped to the left to keep it class 2.

Then I turned right and could see the Bushnell/Twin Sisters South saddle. This was all class 2, but with large rocks that were unstable, so I had to watch my footing. Here I lost 592’ of elevation to the saddle.

From the saddle I gained 213 feet to the summit of Twin Sisters South

The ridge to Twin Sisters South was easy to navigate.

I summited Twin Sisters South, and turned around to look back at Bushnell Peak

Then I continued following the ridge northwest towards Twin Sisters North, first losing 250’ of elevation to the Twin Sisters North/Twin Sisters South saddle. This was all class 2

Here’s looking back at Twin Sisters South and Bushnell Peak from the Twin Sisters North/South saddle.

From the Twin Sisters North/Twin Sisters South saddle I gained 530’ to the summit of Twin Sisters North, mostly on tundra and small rocks. Here’s the overall route I took, still class 2.

Here are some closer pictures of the ridge

The summit was at the north end of the ridge

I summited Twin Sisters North at 11am

Twin Sisters North:

There was no summit register, so I left one, and headed back towards the Twin Sisters North/Twin Sisters South saddle. The wind still hadn’t let up, and I was anxious to get to a place without wind.

I didn’t go all the way to the saddle. Instead, at 12900’ I started descending south.

This area was steep, and filled with rolling talus. I aimed for the drainage, heading directly south. I could clearly see the road, and aimed for it as I descended (circled in red)

Once in the drainage, I followed it to where it joined with another drainage, crossed it, and aimed for the road, heading southwest

Here’s looking back up the gully I used as my decent route

Once back on the road (cairn circled in red) I was finally able to take off my cold weather gear as I was now out of the wind. I followed the road southwest, back to my truck

I made it back to my truck at 1:30pm, making this a 10.07 mile hike with 5296’ of elevation gain in 7.5 hours

Spring Mountain – 13,244 and Venable Peak – 13,334

RT Length: 14.24 miles

Elevation Gain: 5572’

This was my third attempt at Spring Mountain and Venable Peak. My second attempt was just yesterday, when I turned around about 200 feet from the saddle, coming from Venable Trail (trip report can be found here). This morning I was attempting to summit via the Comanche Trail, which I had used successfully earlier in the week to summit Comanche Peak (trip report can be found here). Of course, it had been snowing on my way out, but it hadn’t snowed since then. I was crossing my fingers for fair conditions on the trail since the last storm.

There was one other vehicle in the lot when I woke up. I took my time getting ready, and was on the trail at 6am. The trail is obvious from the parking area.

I followed this wide, class 1 trail for half a mile to the Rainbow Trail/Comanche Trail junction

At the Rainbow Trail/Comanche Trail junction I continued straight on the Comanche Trail (1345)

Just after the junction there was a trail register. I registered and was on my way

From here on out the trail was narrower, but it was still class 1. I followed the trail southwest as it headed toward Comanche Lake

I saw snow on the trail around 10600’ and noticed a set of tracks. It looked like someone was ahead of me on the trail. I wondered how long it would be until I ran into them?

The snow continued off and on until I made it to the upper basin, where it was on the trail for good.

After 4.3 miles of hiking, I made it to Comanche Lake

I continued on the trail. I was headed for Comanche Pass

The trail, while under several inches of snow, was easy to follow.

Just before making it to the pass I overtook the hiker ahead of me. It was my turn to do the trenching! I followed some coyote tracks to the pass. The snow here was never more than knee deep, so I didn’t bother with snowshoes/traction.

I’d done this peak a few days ago, and knew I wanted microspikes and an ice axe to get over the cornice. I sat down to put them on, and my new hiking buddy continued on the lower trail to the Comanche/Spring saddle (he was summiting Comanche today). The cornice was just as sugary as it had been on Tuesday, which made for a fun time.

It was 5.8 miles of hiking to the pass. Once over the cornice I turned right and headed north along the ridge. This is where the wind picked up, and didn’t stop until I made it back down the pass on my way out.

The terrain here started as tundra, but quickly turned rocky. It stayed class 2.

I mainly stuck to the ridge, dipping down left in the rocky areas, and to the right just before the summit. If I looked left, I could see the trail I’d be taking on my way out (the only place the snow was sticking on this side of the mountain)

Here are some more pictures of the route up the ridge

The rocks here were unstable, so I had to be careful with every step

There was a little bit of snow the final push to the summit

I summited Spring Mountain at 10am

Spring Mountain:

Here’s looking back at the ridge, Comanche Pass, and Comanche Peak

Next, I was headed to Venable Peak, directly to the west.

I made my way down to the Spring/Venable saddle, losing about 500’ in elevation over rocky terrain, all class 2

Here’s looking back at that rocky terrain coming down from Spring Mountain

This is the path I took to summit Venable Peak. I took the solid line up, the dotted line down. The entire area is class 2, so choose your own adventure

Step by step to the ridge, gaining about 580’. The terrain started out rocky, and then turned to tundra

Once on the ridge, I followed it southwest to the summit. The snow was sugary, so I stayed a bit to the right, near the rocks

I summited Venable Peak at 11am

Venable Peak:

Here’s looking back at Venables ridge

From the summit, I headed east, towards the highly visible Comanche Trail. I was aiming for Comanche Pass

I made my way towards Comanche Trail on class 2 tundra sprinkled with patches of snow

And then followed the trail south to Comanche Pass

Once at the Comanche/Spring saddle I turned left, and took the trail that goes below the cornice (it’s located near the willows). I didn’t want to take the cornice back down, as it had been unconsolidated on my way up; I felt later in the afternoon it would be even more difficult to downclimb.

Here’s looking back up at that cornice (the trail is directly below the cornice)

From the pass I followed the class 1 trail 5.8 miles back to the trailhead.

I made it back to my truck at 1:30pm, making this a 14.24 mile hike with 5572’ of elevation gain in 7.5 hours.

On to the next trailhead!

Venable Peak – 13,334- Attempt

RT Length: 11.9 miles

Elevation Gain: 3921’

I made it to the trailhead late the night before, and slept in the cab of my truck. Well, I tried to sleep. Unfortunately, there was internet access at this trailhead. This meant I was scrolling through my phone until 1 in the morning. I hit the snooze button three times before waking up to dawn approaching. I threw on my gear, waved at the hunter who just pulled up in the parking area, and was on the trail at 7am. This morning I was taking the Venable Trail, which is clearly marked from the parking area.

I followed the trail as it crossed over a bridge

After hiking for half a mile, I came to a junction with the Rainbow Trail, and continued straight, following the Venable Trail (1347).

Just after this junction there was a trail register. I signed it, and continued following the Venable Trail southwest

This is a class 1 trail. Today’s conditions varied, from being covered with ice, to being bare dirt, to several inches of snow.

After hiking for 2.5 miles, I came to the junction for Venable Falls. Here I continued straight on the trail, towards Venable Lakes

The trail increasingly became more snow covered, but no traction was necessary. Of course, most of the snow present was directly on the trail. This is where I was headed

I rounded this hill (lower Venable Lake is to the right)

And after 5 miles of hiking, I made it to the lower Venable Lake

I kept following the trail

After hiking a total of 5.5 miles I came to what I assumed was a junction (it was covered in snow and the sign was missing: only a post remained). I turned left and took Comanche Trail (1345) towards the pass.

I now had a good view of the rest of my route to the pass

More and more snow started accumulating on the trail. It was sugary, so I put on my microspikes. I had snowshoes, but the snow was so sugary they wouldn’t have made much of a difference.

It was slow going, and I had to spend a lot of time making a solid path in some areas through the snow, doing my best to hug the cliff, not entirely sure how wide the trail was. I was doing find until I got to this area:

I was about 200 feet from the pass, and the snow drifts were now taller than I was. I kept seeing snow slide down below my feet, over the cliffs, and made the decision to turn back. It hurt to turn back, but I knew it was for a good reason: I’m out here solo, and while I might have made it past the snow/cornice to the pass, I couldn’t have done so safely, and a fall would have been fatal. The red arrow is where I turned around. You can see the tracks where I stopped

Just for reference, I was able to summit this peak via the Comanche trail the next day. Here’s what the pass looked like from above

And look at how close I’d been to the summit of Venable!

For those of you interested in taking this route, this is how I summited Venable the next day. I took the solid line up, the dotted line down. Both were class 2 (although the ridge had quite a bit of snow)

However, I wasn’t summiting today. Instead, I turned around and hiked the 6 miles back to the trailhead.

On my way out I made plans to hike Venable and Spring from the Comanche Trail the next morning. Added bonus: I didn’t have to drive to another trailhead, since the Venable and Comanche Trailheads share a parking lot. I made it back to my truck at 12:30pm, which gave me plenty of time to read, drink whiskey, talk to hunters, and get some rest before tomorrow’s attempt.

Here’s a topo map from today’s attempt, and another along with the route I took the next day

You can find my successful Venable trip report here.

Comanche Peak – 13,277

RT Length: 12 miles

Elevation Gain: 4837’

The weather forecast for today predicted a 40% chance of snow after noon, and the snow would be minimal, so I decided to head to the Sangres to do the Comanche/Venable loop. Spoiler alert: I only got Comanche Peak. My vehicle was the only one in the lot when I arrived. I was on the trail at 5am.

I decided to do the loop clockwise, starting with Comanche Peak. The Comanche Peak trail was clearly visible from the parking area.

I followed the Comanche Trail for about half a mile, and crossed the Rainbow Trail. I stayed straight on the Comanche Trail.

There was a register and information area

This trail is well groomed and wide. I followed the trail all the way to Comanche Lake, switchbacking up the mountainside.

Also, the bears are still awake…

After hiking for 4.25 miles, just before making it to Comanche Lake, there’s a junction. I continued straight, instead of heading down to the lake

I was headed to the Comanche/Spring saddle

The hike to the saddle continued to be class 1, but what little snow there was had accumulated directly on the trail. On the positive side, the trail was easy to locate!

Just before making it to the Comanche/Spring saddle there was a cornice to navigate. I got out my microspikes and ice axe, and kicked in steps.

As I was doing so, I looked to my left and could see Comanche Peak

I could also see weather coming in from the west. It wasn’t supposed to snow until later in the day, but I could feel the wind picking up, and see the snow coming in. I’d have to re-assess my hiking plans as I went.

It was 5.8 miles from the trailhead to the saddle.

After putting away my microspikes and ice axe, I followed the saddle south

It was an easy, class 2 hike to the summit, mostly on tundra or stable rocks. In some areas there were bits of a game/social trail

As I was hiking up the ridge towards Comanche Peak the wind picked up, and it started snowing. I figured I’d get a picture of Spring and Venable before the snow moved in. In less than 10 minutes, I could no longer see these peaks.

Here’s a look at the last push to the summit of Comanche Peak

There was a cairn at the summit

I summited Comanche Peak at 8:50am.

Comanche Peak:

I turned around to head back to the Spring/Comanche saddle, and noted the lack of visibility.

I descended to the saddle, and realized the snow wasn’t going to let up any time soon. I could have made this a loop, but the pictures would have been useless in a trip report, and navigating a fresh layer of sugary snow on the rocks didn’t sound like a fun time, so I decided to just head back the way I came, making this an out and back hike. I’d come back later for the other two peaks.

Here’s looking back at the trail from the saddle

And back over the cornice

It continued to snow the entire trek out, but the trail was easy to follow. A nice layer of snow started to build up on my camera, gloves, eyelashes, backpack, etc. as I hiked out.

Check out the difference in Comanche Lake from earlier this morning

Here are some pictures from the hike out. It was neat having more snow on the trail on the way out than I’d had on the way in. The only downside: There had been ice on the trail this morning I could avoid because I could see it. Now it was covered in a layer of snow and not quite as visible. I did some slipping and sliding, but managed to remain upright.

It finally stopped snowing just as I made it back to the trailhead, but a look up at the peaks let me know it was definitely still snowing above treeline.

I made it back to my truck at 11:15am, making this a 12 mile hike with 4837’ of elevation gain in 6 hours, 15 minutes.

Mt Owen – 13,340

RT Length: 12.21 miles

Elevation Gain: 5049’

I was in a hurry today: I offered to help a Girl Scout Brownie troop (7–9-year-old girls) earn their hiking badge, and I needed to be home in time to meet them at the trailhead for their hike this evening. So, while I’d initially wanted to make this a loop with some other peaks, I settled for just doing Mt Owen today.

I drove to the Cherry Creek Trailhead, and was surprised at the condition of the road. The last 2 miles is certainly 4WD. I drove to the trailhead in the dark, and the first area of sand caught me by surprise. It had my tires spinning until I put my truck into 4WD. I backed up and took the side road. There are at least 3 different side roads off the main road that look relatively new. If you have the option, take the newer road, as the older road has been washed out and this is the workaround. They always re-connect.

I gathered my gear, set my ‘halfway point’ alarm so I wouldn’t be late to my event tonight, and I was on my way. There was a Subaru parked skewed in the parking area with a couple of boondockers, so I was doing my best to be quite as I made my way towards the trailhead.

The trail begins at the east end of the parking area, and is very well marked. There’s a place to register, so I tried, but the pen was frozen and there wasn’t a pencil, so what I wrote only showed up as indentations on the paper. If you do this hike soon, it’d be nice if you dropped off a pencil…

I followed the class 1, Wild Cherry Trail for 2.5 miles as it paralleled Wild Cherry Creek and the started to switchback northeast, skirting the mountainside.

After 2.5 miles, at the middle of the last switchback, I left the trail and followed the drainage north to the ridge. I stayed to the left of the drainage, but in the daylight, on the way back down, I realized it would have been much easier to stay to the right, on the tundra and grass instead of in the trees. The bushwhacking wasn’t too difficult here, but there were a ton of downed trees, especially directly in the drainage.

It was obvious when I made it to the ridge. I could see PT 10995 to the left, and followed the ridge towards Mt Owen to the right

The ridge was easy to follow. There were even game trails that were clearly evident. I followed the ridge northeast.

Through a break in the trees I could see the rest of the route to Mt Owen

I continued to follow the ridge

I made it to treeline, and instead of summiting unranked PT 12318, I skirted the mountain to the south, staying at about 12250’ (time was of the essence today….)

This was grassy tundra, and easy to navigate

If you stay around 12250’, you won’t have to lose much elevation as you make your way to the 12318/Mt Owen saddle

From the saddle, I gained 1100’ in .8 miles to the summit. Here’s the route I took

And some step-by-step pictures. It started out as tundra, and then became a bit rocky, but all class 2

I summited Mt Owen at 8:40am

Mt Owen:

We’ve had some snow recently, but it hasn’t been sticking much in the Sangres. It’s always interesting to see the difference between the snow on the north versus south sides of the peaks in early season.

I was 20 minutes ahead of schedule, but that wasn’t enough time to make this a loop, so I turned and re-traced my steps back to treeline.

This small rock outcropping is a great visual. Stay just above the rock and you’re at the perfect elevation go skirt the mountainside and head towards the ridge down.

Make sure you choose the correct ridge to hike down. It’s the one nearest PT 10995, which is the largest point you can see, making it easy to notice, but also easy to miss if you haven’t been paying attention.

Here’s the route from the ridge back down to the trail

And some pictures of the ridge

Once at the lowest point on the ridge, I turned left, and headed south, following the drainage back towards the trail. Once again, if you’re doing this, stay in the grassy area. I… stayed in the trees. I didn’t have a great visual, but I could hear the creek ahead of me, so I just aimed south, towards the creek

There was a little bushwhacking involved, but I easily found the trail, and followed it back to the trailhead.

I made it back to my truck at 11:30am, making this a 12.21 mile hike with 5049’ of elevation gai in 6 hours, 50 minutes.

And now, back home to hike with some enthusiastic young adventurers!

Mountain Boy Peak – 13,198 & Igloo Peak – 13060

RT Length: 6.78 miles

Elevation Gain: 2151’

I wanted to get in one last peak before Interdependence Pass closes for the year. I was supposed to hike this peak o Tuesday, but weather was coming in, so I changed my plans and hiked it Monday morning instead.

I made it to Independence Pass and was on the trail by 5:30am. Side note: I was here October 25^th, and the bathrooms were closed for the winter.

Obviously, mine was the only vehicle in the parking lot that early in the morning. The trail is obvious, and starts by heading south on a paved trail.

I’ve never been in this area in summer conditions, so I’m not really sure when the trail becomes a trail and no longer paved, but I know I was off pavement pretty quickly, heading west. This morning, before making it to Igloo Peak, snowshoes were needed some of the time, overkill most of the time.

Here’s an overall view of the route to the ridge

I headed towards the ridge, following an obvious route, which I am sure is class 1 in the summer.

As you can see from the pictures… obvious route. If it’s not obvious when you’re here, follow the contour of the ridge. It’s all tundra.

The route becomes briefly class 2 here

This is very easy to navigate

And then it’s back on a class 1 trail again

If you stay on the trail, the summit will be obvious

Here’s Mountain Boy from Igloo

From the summit of Igloo Peak, the trail towards Mountain Boy immediately gets fun. It’s class 2 from here on out, with one brief class 3 move (or two… it’s a chimney). Now is a good time to put on your microspikes. I continued southeast, heading down this briefly class 3 chimney

The rock will be loose until you make it to the saddle.

In order to get to the saddle, I headed straight south, down these scree/loose-rock filled gullies

The sun was just starting to rise at this point. Alpine sunrises are the best!

Since the sun was still rising, my view wasn’t that great. Here’s what I saw as I was descending, following the contour of the drainages. This is choose your own adventure, but it’ll be obvious when the drainages end. Don’t descend too early.

It’ll also be obvious when it’s time to head towards the saddle. There seem to be several social/game trails here. I chose to stay high, about level with the saddle, and didn’t regret it.

Once at the saddle, there were still a ton of social/game trails. I chose the one closest to the ridge. From the saddle, it was an easy hike to the summit of Mountain Boy Peak on scree/tundra

Easy, except for today’s wind!!! It was relentless, and difficult to catch I pictures/on video at its worst. This doesn’t begin to describe the gusts

Wind on Mountain Boy:

The summit is obvious, marked by a cairn

I summited Mountain Boy Peak at 7:45am.

Mountain Boy Peak:

The views of Grizzly Peak were stunning!

I turned and retraced my steps back to the Mountain Boy/Igloo saddle

Here’s the route I took back to Igloo, which is the same route I took down. Microspikes are helpful here, as it’s kitty litter in some areas.

Here are some close-up pictures of the route back up to Igloo

And back up those scree/rock gullies

And up that quick chimney to the peak

I re-summited Igloo Peak at 8:25am

Igloo Peak:

The trek was easy back to the trailhead in the daylight

I made it back to my truck at 9:15am, making this a 6.78 mile hike with 2151’ in elevation gain in 3 hours, 45 minutes

Side note: I didn’t have my microspikes. Well, I did, but they fell out of my pack when I took off my snowshoes, and I didn’t realize this until they were needed. So, when I went to find my microspikes, just before the kitty litter area on the south side of Igloo Peak, they weren’t in my pack. But I really could have used them! Especially on the snowy ascent/decent of Mountain Boy Peak. The kitty litter areas were so much more difficult than they needed to be without spikes as well. I cursed myself the entire time, thinking I’d lost them for good and vowing to buy new ones on my way home as soon as I got cell service. The reason my track shows movement near Igloo Peak is because, on my way back I realized when I must have lost them and went looking for them. I found my microspikes, along with a whiskey flask I hadn’t realized I’d lost, just before the summit of Igloo Peak. From now on, they’re going INSIDE my pack, not in the cup holder of my backpack (I know, I know, not the best decision).

East Buffalo Peak – 13,300 & West Buffalo Peak – 13,326

RT Length: 11.95 miles

Elevation Gain: 3489’

It was an easy 4WD road to the trailhead. I was surprised I hadn’t seen a single vehicle on the long drive in. There weren’t any cars parked at the trailhead, but the dispersed campsite was free, so I parked there, being sure to leave room in case anyone else wanted to camp. I read a bit, tried to eat (and failed), sipped whiskey, watched a curious camp robber, and once again, got to bed early. The trailhead was just to the west of where I parked (trailhead circled in red)

I woke up hungover. Or, at least, I felt hungover. I hadn’t had enough to drink last night to give me a hangover, but here I was, with a pounding headache. Probably has something to do with the fact I have a difficult time eating while I’m hiking, and I’d already hiked 7 peaks above 13K in the past 2 days. On the positive side, I wasn’t cold this morning: that’s two mornings in a row! It was 38 degrees. I slowly gathered my gear, forced down a breakfast bar, and was on the trail at 6:30am, trudging slowly. It was going to be a long day.

I made my way towards the trailhead (now with a vehicle parked there I hadn’t heard drive in), and followed the trail southwest to a closed 4WD trail.

This road obviously hadn’t been in use in quite a while, as there were trees growing directly in the middle of the road, and large trees that had fallen across it years ago

I followed this 4WD road for 3 miles, almost to treeline. As the sun came up, crows started cawing. They must have known about my headache. Also, this is when I realized I’d forgotten my sunglasses.

There was one set of tracks on the trail, which ended when the road ended. When the 4WD road ended, the cairns picked up. Initially, I’d wanted to hike West Buffalo Peak first, but I wasn’t able to find a marked route. So, instead I took a visual of how I wanted to head back, in case there wasn’t a route, and followed the cairns south that would lead me towards East Buffalo Peak instead. The cairns initially brought me to willows. These willows were easy to navigate.

Once out of the willows, I was on tundra. There were still cairns to guide the way. I was heading south to the ridge.

As I was ascending the ridge, I could see East and West Buffalo Peaks

Ok, back to that tundra ridge

Once near the top of the ridge I turned right and headed southwest towards East Buffalo Peak

Here’s the overall route I took up the ridge

And some step-by-step pictures. First, I skirted the initial hump to the left

Next, I continued to stay just a bit left, rounding the south side of the ridge

From here on out, I stayed right in the middle of the ridge. It looked like there were game trails here, but they were half-covered in snow. The rocks were a bit loose, but this was no more challenging than difficult class 2. I still had a headache, so I decided to drink water, something I rarely do while hiking. Where there was snow, I re-filled my water bottle.

I topped out and it was an easy walk on tundra and rocks to the summit, heading southwest.

The summit was large and flat and the summit was at the far west end of the summit area, marked by a large cairn.

I summited East Buffalo Peak at 9:30am.

East Buffalo Peak:

From East Buffalo Peak, West Buffalo Peak looks like a straightforward ridge hike. To be honest, it wasn’t any more difficult than class 2, but it was a little harder than it looked.

I started out by following the ridge west, and came upon some drop-offs. These were easy to navigate

I made my way to the saddle on tundra. What had initially looked like a rocky ridge was in fact, a very rocky ridge. I stayed a few yards from the ridge proper to the left.

Here are some step-by-step pictures of the ridge up to West Buffalo Peak

I was initially worried about this area circled in red

However, while it was loose shale, I was able to go straight up and over the top without any difficulty.

From there, it was an easy stroll to the summit of West Buffalo Peak.

The summit is at the very west end of the peak. There’s a wind break here, and a summit marker (which says “Marmot Peak”)

I summited West Buffalo Peak at 10:30am

West Buffalo Peak:

(Sorry about the orientation: I didn’t realize it when I took the video, and now it’s a pain to fix it…)

I was making this a loop, so I turned and headed northeast, just for about .13 miles.

Then I descended the ridge, heading northeast towards the 12917/West Buffalo Peak saddle, and then turned right and headed east.

I was hoping to pick up cairns here, similar to the ones I found hiking up East Buffalo Peak, but wasn’t able to locate any. I wanted to hook back up with the 4WD road. Much of the route would be below treeline, and in current conditions lined with snow, so as I hiked east, I visualized where I wanted to end up and got out my compass.

The orange line is how I ascended the ridge to East Buffalo Peak this morning. So, from where I was at, I needed to aim towards the meadows.

Much of this route is below treeline, so pictures won’t be that helpful. Here’s an overview of the route I took to get to the meadows. Once at 11650’, (and crossing a drainage) I did my best to stay at around that same elevation, skirting the mountainside, heading towards the meadows. There were some ups and downs along the way, but nothing major.

Here are some pictures of the route

Once in the trees, there were tons of elk tracks. These were helpful in figuring out snow depth, and I frequently followed them when pertinent. At one point, I could smell elk near, looked up, and saw a buck with rather large antlers startle about 15 feet from me and bound away.

I made it to the meadows, and followed them back to the 4WD road by trying to stay above them, in the trees

Here’s looking back at West Buffalo and my route back to the 4WD road. If you’re planning on doing this as a loop and doing East Buffalo first, it’s a good idea to get this visual on your way in.

I was now back at the cairns that would lead me to the road (the same ones that led me to the willows earlier this morning)

I followed the 4WD road back to the trailhead (the crows were still there along the way)

I made it back to my truck at 1pm, making this an 11.95 mile hike with 3489’ of elevation gain in 6.5 hours.

On to the next trailhead!