Tag: 13er

Monitor Peak – 13,707 and Animas Mountain – 13,789

RT Length: 45.07 miles

Elevation Gain: 12,724’

I started this hike from Purgatory Creek Trailhead.  I’ve put together a route description of the trek from Purgatory to Ruby Basin, which can be found here.

For my first day in, I decided to camp at the Ruby Basin junction. I started at 3pm and made it to my camping spot at 6:45pm.  I made it to the train tracks just as a train was approaching, to which a passenger pointed at me and said “Hey look:  Wildlife!” and everyone got out their cameras and waved at me.  I smiled and waved back.  I gathered some acorns to snack on as I hiked (just before the railroad tracks there are tons of scrub oak, and the acorns are now in season). 

I was so glad it didn’t rain!  I think this is the first time I’ve done this approach where it hasn’t rained. As I got closer to my camping spot, I came across two girls camping there already. I chatted with them for a minute: they were headed to Ruby Basin too, to hike Turret.  I wished them well and picked a spot closer to the Ruby Basin junction to set up for the night.  I dried out my clothes as best I could, ate some popcorn, and went to bed.

It was a warm but windy night.   I was up early, and spent a good half hour just stargazing.  Eventually I got up and was on the trail at 5:45am, headed to Ruby Lake.  I made it to the lake just before 9am.  Today I was taking my time, so I sat by the lake for a bit, filtered water, and watched the trout swim by the shore, every once in a while snagging a fly for breakfast.  

My only goal today was to make it to Ruby Basin.  I knew it wouldn’t take long, but I wanted to hike in the cool of the morning, instead of the heat of the day.  Here’s looking back at Ruby Lake from just before making it to the basin

I made it to Ruby Basin, in all its willow filled splendor, at 10:45am.  For those doing the math, it took me less than 5 hours to hike from the Ruby Basin cutoff to Ruby Basin, and I took my time. 

There was a tent set up in the far side of the basin (east), but I didn’t see anyone camping there. Basically, I had the basin to myself.  I strapped on my creek crossing shoes and took a walk in the creek(s).  They were running at a trickle.

I relaxed for the next few hours, drying out, enjoying the sunshine, and going over my notes for my day tomorrow. This was my second attempt at these peaks. It hurt to turn around last time, but I had bad beta (and not enough beta, as I had other goals in mind and these peaks had been secondary).  I’d been up in my head that entire weekend, and in the end turned around much sooner than I should have. I went home, got better beta, and was now back to attempt these peaks again. Around 2pm I saw the girls I’d met the night before enter the basin, and to my surprise, they headed directly up Turret.  Rock on ladies!

Also, there were bees and crickets. Crickets everywhere!  They jumped around my ankles as I walked through the basin, munched on my journal and hopped onto my gear. I ate dinner and went to bed as the sun was going down (it goes down over Turret early this time of year).

Once again, I got up before my alarm, and spent some time stargazing.  I saw several shooting stars, and a few airplanes coasting across the night sky. There was no moon, but I could see the stars clearly. I made out a few constellations, and noted the frost on the outside of my bivy. I wanted to start at first light, but ended up starting a little earlier, around 6am.  These are the peaks I was attempting today

Here’s an overview of the route from Ruby Basin to the upper basin below Animas, Peak 13, and Monitor.  After about 20 feet of willows, I was able to stay on tundra the entire time. This is choose your own adventure, but it’s easy to find a class 2 route into the upper basin. I just kept aiming towards Peak 13.

Here’s a look at the upper basin.

I was headed towards Monitor Peak first. There are several ways to do this.  This time I took what I consider to be the ‘easy’ approach.  Directly below Peak 13 there are two ramps you can ascend. I chose the further one, as it was less steep. I followed the basin northeast, towards an obvious ramp. It’s just below a section of a white and black streaked slab.

Here are some closer pictures. There are two ramps here, an upper ramp and a lower ramp. Both go, but the upper ramp is less steep, and all class 2 in my opinion.

Also, while you’re here, look to your right.  Find this gully (circled in red). It’s the gully you will be aiming for when ascending the ridge (ascending to the ridge before this point is fruitless). Here’s an overall view of the climb to Monitor from the Peak 13/Monitor saddle. You’ll know you’re in the right gully because there’s a white vein of rock going through it (more on this later, but from this spot you can clearly see the white vein, so it’s a good time to get a visual of where you’re aiming).

But first, let’s get to the saddle, by going up that ramp.  As you can see, it’s wide, and easy to navigate.

The top of the ramp deposited me at the Peak 13/Monitor saddle.   Well, actually, I didn’t need to go all the way to the saddle.  I skirted the saddle and continued south across scree, following the ridge.

Now for the gullies. There are several of them, and in order to cross the first one I had to descend about 100 feet down, then re-ascend. Before doing that however, I got a good look at my route.  This looks harder than it is.  Here’s the route I took after re-ascending the gully.

But first, I had to descend on kitty-litter scree, and then re-ascend. 

When re-ascending there were a couple of ways I could have gone (all felt class 3). This is the way I chose. 

Get a good look at your intended route from above, as this is what it looks like from below.  Hint: aim for this rock, go behind it, turn right, and follow the areas covered I dirt.

Ok, now to find that gully. Luckily, from here there were cairns, and even a bit of a game trail.  I followed them south, staying well below the ridge

I rounded the corner, and could clearly see the correct gully.  I followed this gully to the ridge

Once on the ridge, I turned right, and followed it to the summit, dipping to the right at the end, but always following a class 2 game trail. 

I summited Monitor Peak at 8am.

Monitor Peak:

There was a summit register in need of new paper (but with 2 pencils), and great views! 

Next on the agenda was Peak 13. Spoiler alert:  I didn’t summit Peak 13. When I got to the area where I was supposed to “just go straight up” I found that while it was class 4, there were no hand/foot holds, and everything I tried to grasp turned to kitty litter in my hands.  Since I hike solo, I have a rule not to upclimb anything I don’t think I can downclimb (if I don’t have rope), and while I could probably have upclimbed this, I wouldn’t have been able to downclimb it, and a fall would be deadly (lots of exposure). In any event, I’ll describe the process of getting there.  Now is also a good time to get a visual of how I climbed Animas Mountain as well. These were my routes:

From the summit of Monitor Peak, I headed back to the Monitor/13 saddle, retracing my steps

Once at the saddle I followed it northeast, to an obvious stopping point. Here I turned to head up, and, like I said before, I deemed it unsafe, so I turned around, tried several other ‘ledges’, and in the end decided to just head back to the upper basin and summit Animas from the gully.  I was very happy with this choice.  Here are pictures of the two possible routes up to Peak 13 I decided not to take

Instead, I descended back into the upper basin by way of the upper ramp.

I followed the contour of the mountain all the way down to 12860’, and the only obvious gully that ‘went’

I then followed this gully north.  There are lots of divergences here, but if you keep heading north, they all seem to ‘go’. I just kept the spires to my left and followed the obvious contour of the gully. I as able to keep this all class 3.  If you’re in class 4 territory, back up and look for an easier route.

When I made it to 13580’ I headed east, towards the sandy saddle between Monitor and 13500’

I didn’t go all the way to the saddle however, because I saw cairns leading me up the ridge (class 2).

Here’s the overall route to the summit, all well cairned.  The circled area is a brief class 4 chimney section (less than 10 feet or so) that is the only obvious way out of the gully.  When you make it above the chimney you’re about 20 vertical feet from the summit on easy to navigate ledges.

To get up the chimney I jammed my arms into either side and used my forearms to lift myself up. On the way down, I faced the rock and put both hands/arms in the left crack to lower myself down.  You may be asking yourself why I was fine climbing this chimney and not the class 4 section on Peak 13?   It’s because the rock here was firm, and I didn’t have to worry about it crumbling in my hands as I was climbing.  When I made it to the top of the chimney I turned right and followed the cairns to the summit.

I summited Animas Mountain at 10:30am

Animas Mountain:

There was a trail register in dire need of paper.  With no place to sign I put it back and turned and descended the same way I ascended, back to the saddle, and then down the gully. Note, I did not descend the scree filled gully, but instead the rocky one I ascended, this time keeping the rock spires to my right.

Once in the upper basin I headed southwest on the slope, back to my campsite. It helped to stay to the right of the waterfall area, on the tundra. 

I made it back to my campsite in the Ruby Basin at 11:40am.  I ate lunch, packed up my gear, thanked the marmots for not messing with it this time, and headed back through the willows towards Ruby Lake.  It was a really hot day. I stopped at the lake to dip my bandana in the water and cool off my face.  The water felt so good!  As I was skirting the lake and looking at the clear water I couldn’t help but want to jump in.  I did some mental calculations, and before I could stop myself I set all my stuff aside and went into the lake.  I swam around for a few minutes, hopped back out, dried off in the sun (it only took about 30 seconds in the dry Colorado heat) dressed and was back on the trail within 10 minutes.

I made it to the Chicago Basin cutoff and decided to once again spend the night. There was a woman in a hammock waiting for her husband, who was running the Chicago Basin 14ers (woot!).  I couldn’t help thinking to myself how I wish I could find a partner who would support me like that (or join me?).   I set up my gear, talked with a man who’d lost his water filter and had a busted eyebrow (he got it crossing the creek?).  I told him where to find the train, and campsites, and made it an early night (again). I woke up before my alarm, and was on the trail at 4am, out and back at the Purgatory trailhead at 8am.  Side note: hiking in the Purgatory Flats area on the way out was by far the coldest part of my weekend.  By this time I’d already taken off my coat and gloves, but had to put them back on because the temperatures were so cold. I’m thinking this isn’t the best place to camp for the night.

CalTopo tells me my stats were 45.07 miles with 12724’ of elevation gain.

PT 13552

RT Length:  14.15 miles

Elevation Gain:  5337’

I’ve taken the Willow Lake trail several times, and I’m guessing if you’re doing this peak you have too, so I’m going to start this report from the camping area just before Willow Lake. If you’d like detailed instructions on the approach, click here 

I would also like to recommend pairing this up with other peaks in the area:  PT 13153, Mt Adams, PT 13580, etc.  This felt like a really easy day.

I was on the trail at 4:30am, surprised at how easy the approach was this time.  I attribute it to taking the week off from hiking to visit my son in Alaska, and in doing so, consuming about 10 times more calories than I normally would, thus giving me an excess of energy. 

There are several spots to camp just before making it to Willow Lake, including one very large area at 11500’. There are still plenty of areas to hang bear bags already set up (for public use).  I continued to hike west. My tracker told me I’d hiked 5.3 miles to this point.  

I followed the sign left that took me on the trail for Challenger/Kit Carson

About 10 yards after this sign I left the trail and headed north up the hillside.  There are cairns here, but they may be difficult to see in the tall grass.

There are game trails here.  I saw tons of deer and bighorn sheep the last time I was here, and this time I saw a few deer.  Find a game trail and follow it north, keeping the creek to your left and rock outcropping to your right.

At the top of this hill there are cairns indicating you should go right, but if you do so, you’ll be going through a lot of willows. Instead, parallel the creek, staying to the right of the creek, and you can follow a game trail to the end of the basin, staying out of the willows, or at least keeping them to the easy ones that just reach your knees. Just keep heading north.

You’re aiming for this gully

Here are some step-by-step photos (just keep heading north, this is class 2 terrain on tundra). First, stay to the right of the creek, and to the left of the willows

Then, continue north towards the gully.  I was easily able to cross a creek and avoid the willows.  I kept to the left of the willows and right of the creek the entire time.

Next, I ascended the gully.  This was easy as far as gullies are concerned.  I was able to stay mostly on grassy areas.  Note, you do NOT need to ascend all the way to the top of the gully.  About 15 feet before topping out, take the grassy ramp to the left, staying below the rock outcropping of the ridge.

This grassy area is easy to follow. I just stuck below the rock.  Here’s an overview of the route to the summit.

And step by step, first, following the ridge west

After the rocky ledge, I stayed on the ridge all the way to the summit.  Once again, all class 2, and you can stick to the ridge.

Yes, this stays at class 2 (it looks harder than it is)

There’s a small false summit, and then it’s an easy trek to the peak

I summited PT 13546 at 8:30am

PT 13546: 

It was a hazy day. There was a summit register, but it was one of those pipe ones, so the paper inside was wet.  It was also completely full of signatures, so I left the paper in the tube and added another one. There was a nice view of the Crestones; I just wish it was a little less hazy today.

I turned and headed back the way I came in, aiming for the Adams/13546 saddle.  If you look closely, you can see a route to Mt Adams. I still had to get to work today, so I didn’t have time for Mt Adams (or PT 13153). Both look straightforward though from the saddle.

Here’s how I exited the ridge

Once back on the saddle, I headed south out of the basin

At the south end of the basin, I turned and followed the grassy ridge down (make sure you’re on the grass, not in the trees:  there will be game trails here)

From the grassy area, the trail is easily visible.  I made it to the trail, and followed it west, back to the trailhead.

I made it back to my truck at 11:30am, making this a 14.15 mile hike with 5337’ of elevation gain in 7 hours.  While it was hazy today, it felt like a perfect day to be out! 

Peak 6 – 13,712 and Peak 5 – 13,291 from Purgatory Creek Trailhead

RT Length:  54.06 miles (per CalTopo stats)

Elevation Gain: 12383’ (per CalTopo stats)

So as not to reinvent the wheel here, if you’re considering this hike from Purgatory, please see my detailed Purgatory Approach Trip report from earlier this month. 

Purgatory to Chicago Basin/Needleton/Ruby Creek cutoff

I started this day at the Purgatory Creek Trailhead around 3pm, but will start this report from the Needleton Train Stop. Oh, and it rained the entire first day.  The. Entire. Day.  I had on rain gear, but was soaked, and my camera lens fogged up.  I was so glad to have on new hiking shoes that were still waterproof. From the Needleton Train stop, I followed the Animas River on somewhat of a trail. This trail starts out going through private property (it’s private all the way to Pigeon Creek), so please stay on trail. 

I crossed Pigeon Creek, and continued paralleling the Animas River, doing my best to follow the cairns.

After hiking a little over a mile from Needleton I ascended Water Tank Hill, and called it a day.  (For those of you wondering, Water Tank Hill is at 8250’ of elevation, and the trek up isn’t that bad, just under 200’ of elevation gain).  It wasn’t raining anymore, so I set up my bivy. Note:  I don’t advise this. Since I was solo and only had a bivy it was doable, but I wouldn’t set up a tent here, or camp with a bunch of people, as there isn’t much room. Also, it smells like goats. There are campsites just a bit further up the trail. 

I did my best to air out my wet gear, jotted some notes down in my journal, ate some popcorn (diner!) and got to bed as the sun went down. With all the clouds in the sky it was a beautiful sunset, but my camera was still fogged up, so no pictures. 

2 hours later I heard a big clap of thunder, and just like in the movies, it started pouring rain.  Great. All that gear that was drying out was no longer drying out. I stuffed my jacket and pants inside my bivy, and covered myself up as the rain turned to snow (and back to rain again). As water droplets slowly dripped on my face, I thought to myself: it’s going to be a long night.

I set my alarm for just before sunrise, but I didn’t need it. I woke up, watched the bats flitter back and forth, catching their breakfast, and within 7 minutes had gathered my gear and was on my way again, still following the Animas River north.

I crossed Ruby Creek

Passed some primitive campsites, and then crossed Noname Creek

After hiking for 2.25 miles from Water Tank Hill I made it to the junction with the Noname Trail.  This is actually where the trail became clearer and easier to follow.  The junction is hidden by some trees. Look for the two cairns, outlining a trail, to the right.  At the top of this entrance area are several blueberry bushes (but be sure to know your berries:  they all grow in the same place, but they’re not all edible).

I followed the cairns east, paralleling Noname Creek as I made my way into the basin.

The trail here wasn’t too bad when compared to the past 3 miles. There is a slightly defined trail into the basin.  The only difficult part here are all the fallen trees.  Many don’t yet have a workaround, and they’re annoying. You can still see a pretty good trail though.

About halfway to the basin on this trail I came across the avalanche debris from a few years ago. I’m sad to say, there still isn’t much of a trail through this stretch.  However, if you find a game trail, follow it!  The trail parallels Noname Creek, and to follow this ‘trail’ properly you’ll need to stay further north than would seem intuitive of the creek (don’t cross the creek, always stay on its north side). This is what the avy debris looks like:  it’s overgrown, so look for game trails.  Note:  watch your step, as the grass/flowers here are taller than the debris and you could easily find your ankle stuck between the logs, but there is a defined trail of tromped down grasses if you can find where it begins.

I came across a mudslide runout that hadn’t been here last time, finally found a solid game trail, and followed it to Jagged cabin

At Jagged cabin I was halfway through the basin, and decided to take a break.  I ate lunch and aired out my gear from the rain/snow the night before.  Within 20 minutes, it was all dry and I was ready to go again. 

My 20 minute break over, I continued following the basin east.  Willows are involved here, but the trail is much easier to follow.

I crossed a second, new mudslide runout area, placed some cairns, and continued along the trail

There’s a nice campsite right along the trail

I entered more brush, and found a junction. I went left at the junction and followed the trail northeast up the mountainside.

There’s more than one trail here, but they all lead to the upper basin.  If you’re on a game trail headed north, you’re in the right area.

Just before reaching the upper basin there are willows. These are easy to navigate as far as willows go.

Once in the upper basin I messed up a bit, as you can probably see by my GPX track at the bottom of this post.  I didn’t go with my gut instinct, and instead went with a GPX file I had.  I didn’t realize until later it was a hand drawn GPX file. (Side note, it should be REQUIRED for you to post you hand drew the file if you’re going to make it available for download:  I was smart enough to turn around, but not everyone would have made the same choice). In any event, here’s the path you should take to Lake 12,522, both routes work and stay at class 2:

If you have a GPX file that says to go further around the rock outcroppings, know it’s drawn in (although, to be fair, there is a way to go from the Jagged Mountain route, but that’s now what happened here). I had more than one GPX file that said to follow the outcropping and then ascend to the north, but when I attempted it, I was wearing a full pack and it was more than class 4:  this should be a class 2 hike, which leads me to believe someone hand copied someone else’s hand copy, which isn’t cool (that’s the only reason I’m addressing it here; because I had more than one similar file.  Go with your gut instinct and follow the obvious rock gully… you’ll even come across some cairns).

OK, enough on that rant.  Here are some close-up pictures of the route to the lake at 12522’

You can’t see it in this picture, but the lake is to the lower right. To get there, I skirted the rocks high, just below the strip of tundra, and made my way to a gully runout below Peak 5, following that to the lake.

This lake has several spots to camp, but most of the shoreline is solid rock slabs that drop off into the water.  It would be difficult to walk the perimeter of this lake. I set up camp on the north side.  The next few hours were spent jotting down notes (I was mad I’d wasted over an hour of time route-finding, and had a lot of venting to do), trying my best to eat something, enjoying the view of Jagged, and listening to the pikas keep tabs on what I was doing, executing a call and response tactic from all across the lake. I once again made it an early night.

Pikas: 

I was up at first light the next morning.  To summit Peak 6, I headed northeast from my campsite, following the scree.  Here’s an overall view of my route

And some step by step pictures. There was scree here, and the rocks were steep, but I felt the entire route was class 2. I stayed close to the rock outcropping in the upper gully, and I saw a swift moving pine marten near the upper ridge. 

Once on the ridge I turned right and easily walked to the summit of Peak 6

I summited Peak 6 at 7:15am (and had cell service!)

Peak 6:

I intended to summit Peak 5 today as well, but was having trouble… seeing it? For reference, here’s Peak 5 as seen from Peak 6, along with my route.  Peak 5 is circled in red

The ridge from Peak 6 to Peak 5 doesn’t ‘go’, so I descended down Peak 6, staying as high as I could on the scree, making it to just below the Peak 5/6 saddle. From there, I looked for black band in the rock, skirted under that, then aimed for a grassy patch, ascended the grassy patch, and aimed for the saddle. There is no need to stick to the ridge here

 

Once on the small saddle I could see Peak 5, and was a little apprehensive:  that looked more than class 3.  I dropped my gear, put on my helmet, and made my way over, only to find it’s an easy class 2 hike from the west side.  I re-gathered my gear, and made my way over to the summit.

I summited Peak 5 at 8:45am. Unlike with Peak 6, I did not have cell reception here.

Peak 5: 

I made my way back to the ridge, where I had a good view of my route down from Peak 6 to the ridge on Peak 5

I looked for the scree gully, and followed it back down to my campsite.

It would be hard to cliff out here, but you should get a good idea of your intended route from below before you start out for your peaks. Here’s what my route looked like from the lake, down from Peak 5 (you could also take this route in reverse, ascending this way)

I retrieved my gear. It was now 10am (I’d started around 6:30am, so it was less than a 4 hour loop) and made my way out of the lake area and back to the upper basin.

Then followed goat trails through the willows to the lower basin

It took me 2 hours to make it to Jagged Cabin from my camping spot by the lake. It was now noon, so I had a snack and a quick break before heading on through the avalanche area.  It was much easier to find game trails on my way back than it had been on my way in.

The trail was easy to follow to the Animas River, and I had an easier time up and over Water Tank Hill than I thought I would have (it’s really not so bad).  I arrived at the hill the same time as a train, and watched it for a few minutes fill up.  Then it was on my way towards Needleton and the Chicago Basin area cutoff.  Along the way, just before Pigeon Creek, I saw a small bit of bear scat that hadn’t been there on the way in.  I know there’s a mama bear (and sometimes cub) that frequents this area, and wondered if I’d get to see her today? (I didn’t)

There was a family staying at one of the houses at the Needleton Train Stop. They had a fire going, a generator, and were pulling water from the river.  I waved as I passed and continued on towards Needle Creek.  When I made it there, I decided to just spend the night.  I’ve always wanted to spend the night here, but it hasn’t worked out with my schedule. I was in no real hurry to get home at this point, so I set up camp. I had the whole place to myself the entire night.  It’s weird not to have a compelling reason to hurry home; now that I’m an empty nester, I’ll be able to get in more hiking time.  Side note:  I made the decision not to bring deoderant on this backpacking trip because it was a smellable and added extra weight. Added to that, I was wearing the same clothes the entire trip, so what good would deoderant do anyway? On this third night backpacking, curled up as tight as possible inside my bivy to stay warm in the cold, shivering and not able to get a breath of fresh air from outside the bivy due to the cold weather conditions, I regretted this decision; I could strongly smell myself and it wasn’t ideal.  Good news: by the next morning I was nose blind.

Chicago Basin cutoff:

Up early the next morning, I was on the trail by 6am, and made it back to the Purgatory parking area by 10am, making this a 54.06 mile trek with 12383’ of elevation gain. 

Final side note: Just before getting to Jagged Cabin, on top of a hill but paralleling Noname Creek on an obvious game trail, I found what looked to be a recent cache torn open and destroyed by critters.  I’m not sure if someone left this to be used later this summer, if they ‘forgot’ their gear, or if they left it after finding it ruined, but it’s all destroyed and useless at this point. It’s also trash.  There’s a full tent that looked like it had been stored properly (torn to pieces now, of course), tons of food wrappers (like, at least 10 different wrappers from Ramen, and lots of snacks:  it was a ton of food at some point, but diminished to empty wrappers now), a small radio, a destroyed first aid kit, an Ursack that had been ripped into pieces, etc.   I took what I could, but there was a lot to carry out. Maybe if everyone took a little bit we could clean the area up? 

Broken Hand Peak – 13,575

RT Length:  14.41 miles

Elevation Gain: 5793’

I decided to take the Cottonwood Creek approach just because I haven’t done so before, and I’m glad I did.  While there were some class 3 sections on this approach, the drive in was 2WD and there were way less people.  Bonus: I didn’t have to re-climb Broken Hand Pass on my way out. This is my new, preferred way to hike Crestone Peak, Crestone Needle, and Broken Hand Peak (etc.)

I made it to the trailhead late, and wasn’t on the trail until 6:30am.  There’s a trail register and obvious start area.

From there, I followed the class 1, Trail 743 and Cottonwood Creek for about 3.5 miles before coming to a fun rocky area.  It’s August, and I saw tons of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and rose hips along the approach. Once the class 1 area ends, there are plenty of cairns to guide you. 

This rocky area was a set of large rock slabs that went on for .75 miles.  These were steep at times, and I wouldn’t want to attempt them in rain/snow.  There are tons of cairns here, so if you don’t see one, you’re off route.  The nearest one may be behind you. Keep the creek/waterfalls to your right.

Still well cairned, the trail now becomes rocky, and this is where you’ll find some of the class 3 and easy class 4 moves.  There wasn’t an obvious junction, but I was now on Cottonwood Trail 861, headed northeast.

This was the sketchiest part for me the entire day

Of course, there are multiple sections of willows.  Once again, a well cairned area, but these are willows, so be prepared to get whacked in the face by willow branches.  Some of the cairns are under the willows, but there are obvious trails.

I was now back on the well established, class 1 Cottonwood Trail.

I followed this trail east, around Cottonwood Lake, towards Broken Hand Peak. Here’s an overall view of my hike up Broken Hand Peak

I skirted Cottonwood Lake to the left, following the class 1 trail, then left the trail before it headed towards Broken Hand Pass, and instead headed east up the slope to Broken Hand Peak. This was straightforward, class 2 the entire way. Here are some closer pictures of the route

I summited Broken Hand Peak at 11:15am.

Broken Hand Peak:

It was a beautiful day! I stayed longer on the summit than I normally do, just enjoying the good weather (and cell service!).  check out Crestone Needle and South Colony Lake.

Then I was off, retracing my steps, heading back down towards Cottonwood Lake.  Here’s an overview of the route back to the lake

And then back through the willows and down the class 3-4 section

Following the cairns back down

Once past the rock slabs, it was an easy hike on class 1 terrain back to the trailhead.

I made it back to my truck at 3:30pm, making this a 14.41 mile hike with 5793’ of elevation gain in 9 hours.

Mt Oso – 13,689

RT Length:  33.61 miles

Elevation Gain: 9833’

This trip changed so many times before it even began.  I have an actual job, with responsibilities, meetings, etc.  I drove down to Durango Wednesday night, slept in the cab of my truck at a Walmart (the topper is still on order), got “the knock” at 10:30pm, moved, then woke up and worked/had meetings in my truck the next day. Then I drove to Hunchback Pass through Silverton (my favorite way to get to Hunchback pass).  It started raining as soon as I hit the dirt road, and didn’t stop.  There was a 60% chance of rain today, but I was still hoping to find a window and hike either 5 or 10 miles to a camping spot (depending on when it got dark, weather, etc.). 

The road over Stony Pass was sketchy in the rain.  Miles did great, but there were a few times I was worried the mud was too deep to get through.  I was a bit worried about the river crossings too, but Miles once again had no trouble.  

I’ve been to this area 3 or 4 times, and know the perfect place to park:  It’s a pullout at 11230’, just before you hit the trees (again), and before getting to Beartown.  My truck can make it further, but from past experience I know it’s going to get Colorado pinstripes from the willows and I have the opportunity to scrape the frame a couple of times as well. I love my truck, so I parked here, about 1.3 miles from the trailhead, in a flat spot with a campfire ring at 11235’.

I parked and waited for the rain to stop.  The rain turned to graupel, then rain again, then hail.  I could see the clouds coming over Hunchback Pass, and they weren’t getting any prettier.  Wave after wave of new sets of clouds kept cycling in.  After waiting for a few hours, I decided to just get some sleep.  I know many of you would start out in the rain, but with my Raynaud’s I can’t risk it:  If I get wet/cold that’s it for me, as I cannot warm up.  I woke up every hour to check on the weather. The rain didn’t stop/clouds didn’t clear until 4:30am.  That was a 15 hour rain delay that was seriously messing with my summiting plans.

I put on my rain gear to ward off water on the trail dripping from plants, and was on the trail before 5am. 

Day 1 went like this: 

  • Gained 1275’ over 2.8 miles (to Hunchback Pass)
  • Lost 2350’ over 5 miles (to Rock Creek Junction)
  • Gained 2503’ over 6.4 miles (to pass over Rock Lake)
  • Lost 500’ over .5 miles (From pass across basin)
  • Gained 1150’ over 1 mile (from basin to Oso/Soso saddle/to Oso Summit)
  • Woot! Summit!
  • Lost 1150’ over 1 mile (back to basin)
  • Gained 500’ over .5 miles (back to saddle)
  • Made it back to Rock Lake (losing about 600’ more)

Ok, so, let’s start from the beginning:  From my parking space at 11235’, it was an easy hike to the trailhead, passing through Beartown. There were two other 4WD vehicles parked here, a 4Runner and a Tacoma like mine, unmodified, so you know it’s doable (choose wisely). 

Once at the trailhead (813) I followed the Vallecito Trail up to Hunchback Pass

And then I headed south through the basin, following the trail down for 5 miles as it lost 2350’ in elevation

There were willows here, and I was glad to have on my rain pants.  There were a few stream crossings, all easily crossable.

I saw evidence of someone’s fire getting out of control: looks like they lost their pack in the process.   I wonder how they put it out?  In case you’re wondering, yes, the ground was cold and the fire was out (I’m sure the 15 hours of rain last night had helped).

After hiking for a total of 7.8 miles (from where I parked) I made it to the Rock Creek Junction, and followed that trail southeast for another 5 miles up to Rock Lake. This trail was also class 1, and easy to follow.

Just before making it to Rock Lake I passed through a basin

In this basin was a bull moose.  I didn’t worry too much about him, because he was hundreds of yards away from me, on the opposite side of the basin.  I continued on the trail, but once he noticed me, he raced towards me and stopped a few yards away. He charged me (it was a bluff). I knew not to make eye contact with him, which was what he wanted. I could actually feel him willing me to look at him.  I kept my head straight and walked the trail with a purpose, ignoring him.  He continued snorting and pawing at the ground and shifting his head from side to side. Then he paralleled me for about 50 yards, walking about 5 yards to the west of me. When he was done, he trotted away and took in a view of the mountains.

As he trotted away I breathed a sigh of relief, and continued on the trail, exiting the basin and making my way to Rock Lake.

I arrived at the lake at 11am and decided to set up my campsite for the night.  I didn’t see anyone else here.

It was still early in the day, so after a quick snack I left my heavier gear and just brought the essentials:  I planned to summit Mt Oso today. To do that, I skirted Rock Lake to the east and ascended the rocks

As I made it to the rocky area, I came across a cairned trail, and followed that trail southwest.  Note, I took the solid line up, the dotted line down. The dotted line was easier, but both ‘went’.  You can’t tell from below, but there’s a grassy area by the dotted line that helped me avoid the willows (pictures on my way down).

Here’s the cairned route, with the ‘exit cairns’ circled in red

Here’s where I left the trail.  If you continue following the cairns, you’ll go down to Half Moon Lake. I was headed towards Mt Oso, so I left the cairns and continued heading up (west).

Time for more elevation loss, and gain.  I was headed for the Mt Soso/Mt Oso saddle. This required me to lose 500’ through this basin, and then ascend the gully.

The basin was easy to cross. There were small streams and some willows to navigate, but the route was obvious (and choose your own adventure:  just keep heading towards the gully/saddle). The gully was a mix of large, loose boulders, smaller loose rocks, and scree. 

Once at the top of the gully/saddle, it was once again time to lose elevation.  Being here also gave me a great view of Mt Irving.  I descended the gully to the northwest, staying on the scree at the base of the rock outcroppings, rounding them, and losing 175’ in elevation.

Stay low here.  You’re going to want to stay high, but you’re aiming for a green rock band to cross.  It’s lower than you’d like it to be (around 12600’)

There’s a little bit of scrambling to get over the rock band. I was able to keep it as easy class 3 by taking this route

Once across the green rock outcropping, it was time to gain the ridge.  I turned and headed north.  The rocks here were large and loose, with some scree mixed in.

I went low just before ascending the ridge, following a scree/game trail

And then followed the ridge to the summit

Summit of Mt Oso

Mt Oso: 

There was a large, military grade summit register, with a moving dedication inside, as well as some ceramic bowls (I’m sure that’s not what they actually are, ad that they have a purpose?).

I looked over at Irving and North Irving.  I did the math in my head, and there was no way I had time to loose the 1500’ of elevation, then regain 1300’ to summit Irving, plus hike back with all those ups and downs to Rock Lake before sunset.  It’s important I’m in my sleeping bag before the sun goes down, which limits my hiking time. Oh well, just one peak for this trip.

So, I turned and headed back towards the Oso/Soso saddle

Back at the saddle I retraced my steps down the gully, back across the basin, and up to the next ridge, finding a grassy bank to ascend

The route looks much different heading back, so be sure to study it on the way in.  Stay just below this cliff band

And now to head back down to the trail

You know you’re back on trail when you see cairns

Back down to Rock Lake. Here’s an overall view of the route I took down, and check it out:  another camper!  I walked by his tent, and apologized for doing so, but told him he was camped in the only area without willows…

There are lots of cairns here to guide you back down.

I made it back to my campsite as the wind started picking up.  I was glad I’d made the decision to head back.  I jotted down some notes, and looked at my tracker:  I’d done 18 miles today, with almost 7500’ of elevation. I sat in my tent for a while, glad I’d decided to bring a tent, listening to the wind howl outside.  I eventually fell asleep, and woke up to frost inside my tent. Lovely.  I quicky broke camp and headed back down into the basin.  Everything was covered in a thinl layer of frost.

Oh, did I mention the trails were mucky? It was from all of that rain yesterday.  The entire way in, and out, I was walking on water/mud/avoiding puddles, glad I was wearing new hiking boots that were still waterproof. 

On my way out of the basin I decided not to take any chances, and wore my helmet. Towards the end of the basin I spotted the moose again. This time he had a friend, and didn’t seem to care I was there. I’ve seen over 20 moose in Colorado while hiking, and this was the first aggressive one I’ve come across. It’s interesting today he had no interest in me, while yesterday he was overly intrigued/agitated I was there.

I followed the Rock Creek Trail back down to the Vallecito Trail

Then took the Vallecito Trail back up to Hunchback Pass

And then back to the trailhead, the road, and my truck

When I made it back to my truck, my tracker told me I’d hiked 33.61 miles with 9833’ of elevation gain. 

Now, for the hour and a half drive back to Silverton! Oh, also, side note:  If you’re driving these back roads, make sure you know where you’re going!  It’s easy to get lost back here.  I met a man in a jeep as I was hiking back to my truck who was totally turned around.  He wanted to know how much further down the 4WD road to the ‘real’ road.  I had to tell him he wasn’t going in the right direction (this road is a dead end) and that Silverton was many, many miles away.  An easy way to not get lost out there without cell service is to load your track onto CalTopo, then add a line and trace the roads you wish to take, then use that track your drive. 

Just for fun, here are some pictures of the road out…

Mt Maxwell – 13337, Mariquita Peak – 13,405 – Cuatro Peak – 13,487, Leaning South Peak – 13,218

RT Length:  15.73 miles

Elevation Gain:  6807’

There’s a lot of dispersed camping spots along 34, and just before reaching the Purgatorie Campground off 34 there’s dispersed camping spots on the left, at the junction with 437.  It was dark when I arrived, so I parked at the camping spot on the side of the road and was on the trail at 4:30am.  

The trail follows road 437, and, although I didn’t know it at the time, my Tacoma could have easily made it all the way to 11700’ (the end of the road).  However, by the time I figured this out it wasn’t worth going back to get my truck, so I kept on hiking. 

I followed 437 for just over 3 miles to 11700’.  There were several dispersed camping spots along this road as well, mostly at switchback junctions.

Just before the last surge of elevation gain there’s a kind of junction in the road. Turn right here, as taking the road to the left doesn’t go anywhere.  There will be a nice camping spot on the right, and then a steep section of road and you’re at the end of the road (and another campsite)

Where the road stops the fun begins!  I headed west to treeline by ascending this hill.  If you look carefully, you’ll find cairns here that will get you to treeline: there are several cairned routes here.

Once at treeline the route will be obvious:  Juts follow the ridge west. I brought a helmet, but didn’t feel the need to wear it at all today. The toughest part of this route is easy class 3, and usually just a move or two at a time.

You can stay on top of the ridge the entire way to the summit:  even if it looks like you’ll cliff out from far away, you won’t.  Here are some ridge views…

I summited unranked Mt Maxwell and took a look around.  On the summit there was a property boundary marker, and just a little further west was a “No Trespassing” sign.  I’m not sure why anyone would want to continue west, as the terrain cliffs out, but this is the boundary for the Trinchera Ranch.   This was the one and only “No Trespassing” sign I saw. I did see property/boundary markers, and made sure to stay on the San Isabel National Forest side of the markers.

I decided to give the boundary line plenty of space, knowing they have game cameras set up here, and turned and headed south towards Mariquita Peak, being sure to stay at least 50 feet east of the ridge to ensure I was on San Isabel National Forest Land, even if I couldn’t see a boundary marker. I hear the rules for accessing this property change, so be sure to have the most up to date information. This was the most up to date info I could find:  https://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Maps/RFW_Trinchera_South_geo.pdf

Here’s the route I took to Mariqueta Peak

The beginning of this hike was rocky (better pictures on my way back), then became an easy tundra/ridge hike, before once again becoming rocky.  There was nothing technical about this hike. I descended just under 300’ to the saddle, and then ascended about 400’ to the summit.

On the summit there was another property marker, this one placed inside the summit cairn.  I made sure to stay east of this marker as well.  I summited Mariquita Peak at 8am. 

Mariquita Peak:

Here are some pictures of the path back to Mt Maxwell (once again, I stayed east to remain on National Forest Land)

As I ascended Mt Maxwell I stayed right, avoiding the rocky sections

I re-summited Mt Maxwell at 11am

Mt Maxwell:

From Mt Maxwell, Cuatro Peak (to the north) looks daunting

It’s actually a lot easier than it looks.  Most of this hike is class 2, with just a few easy sections of easy class 3.   Here’s the overall route I took, staying west initially until I made it to the ridge, and then taking the ridge all the way to the summit.

I headed down to the saddle.  This was rocky but easy to find traction

Once at the saddle I made my way to the ridge

This next part looks daunting, but it’s all class 2.  Here’s the route I took to the upper ridge

It’s choose your own adventure, but there are plenty of game trails for reference.  Here are some pictures of the route up to the ridge.  There’s an easy class 3 gully, that really only requires one or two class 3 moves.

Once on the ridge it again looks daunting, but you can pretty much stay on top of this ridge the entire way to the notch.  If you do feel you need to dip down, go left (west).  You’ll lose and need to regain elevation, but there’s less exposure.

There was one final gully to ascend with some class 3 moves to get out of the gully.  Here’s the overall view

And the final push to the top

Back on the ridge you’re so close to the summit!  But there’s a final chasm to cross.  I stayed on the ridge proper, downclimbed a short, easy class 3 section,

I summited Cuatro Peak at 9:40am

Cuatro Peak: 

I followed the ridge north to continue on to Leaning South Peak

This was a class 2 ridge hike, mostly on tundra, except for the areas that lost elevation, where there were rocks and scree thrown in.  I was aiming for Leaning South Peak, but there’s another ranked peak (Trinchera) beyond

I continued following the ridge north

Just before the last bit to Leaning South Peak I lost 240’ of elevation, then gained 310’ of elevation to the summit of Leaning South Peak.  No need to stay high here, as you’ll be losing elevation anyway (although on the way back it was easier to go straight up to the ridge).

Here’s the path I took to the summit, solid line up, dotted line down. I liked the dotted line better on the way back.

I summited Leaning South Peak at 10:30am

Leaning South Peak:  

There was a summit register, but it was broken and the papers inside were wet and unreadable. I replaced the summit register and turned and headed back, as the weather was starting to turn and it’s a long way back.  You can make this a loop if you’d like, by continuing on to Trinchera and then heading down to Blue Lakes Campground (etc., depending on where you park your vehicle), but I already had Trinchera Peak, so I decided to turn back.  Here’s looking over to Trinchera for those interested

From Leaning South Peak, here’s a view of the route back to Cuatro Peak

And a few pictures from along the way to Cuatro

Once back at Cuatro Peak I made my way back onto the ridge. This is easier than it looks

Then back down the gully…

And across the ridge. Route finding here was much easier on the way down. You can either stay on the ridge, or dip to the right

And back to the saddle and up Mt Maxwell

Then it was back down the ridge.  This is also easier than it looks, and goes to easy class 3. 

From the ridge I aimed for the willows and treeline, and eventually the road

And followed the road back to my ruck

I made it back to my truck at 2:30pm, making this a 15.73 mile hike with 6807’ of elevation gain in 10 hours

PT 13543, PT 13533 & Little Baldy Mountain – 12982

RT Length:  19.45 miles

Elevation Gain: 5950’

Route: Horn Creek Trailhead via Macey Trail

I was here last week and summited PT 13541 via Horn Lakes Trail, and to put it nicely, it was awful!  Once the trail ended at the creek crossing (Dry creek, which was flowing fast), I was met with hundreds of feet of 8-foot-tall willows to navigate, standing in about 18 inches of standing water.

There was no way I could recommend that route, so I went about trying to figure out another one. While this route is a bit longer, bonus: no willows in water!!!

I parked at the Horn Creek Trailhead and was on the trail at 4:30am.  The trailhead was full of vehicles (last week I was the only vehicle in the lot). The trail starts at the west end of the parking area, which holds about 20 vehicles. There are information maps here and a clean restroom. Dispersed camping is allowed for 14 days, and there are horse corrals.

I followed the Rainbow Trail for just under half a mile to this junction, then turned left and continued following Rainbow Trail / Macey Trail.

This trail is very well defined:  it’s used for OHVs.  I followed the trail as it hugged the side of the mountain, heading south

After hiking for a total of 3.3 miles I came to another junction, and took the Macey Trail west. This trail is a little more narrow, but still class 1.

There’s a trail register a ways after the junction. I signed it and continued on.

Just after Macey Falls, and just before making it to the first Macey Lake, I left the trail and headed northwest.  I’d hiked 6.5 miles total to this point. I’m guessing this is a camping area, because I left the trail at this marker (seen on the right side of the trail).

If you see this sign, you’ve gone a couple of yards too far.

I bushwhacked northeast to treeline, about half a mile. This wasn’t too bad: there were downed trees, but not too many. I was mostly pushing my way through thigh-high flowers and grasses. I started out by skirting a small pond to the right.

And then hiking up through grasses, flowers, and trees.  The elevation gain was moderate and I never came across a large obstacle (cliff, water, drainage, huge boulder, etc.)

After about half a mile I was at treeline, and could clearly see the ridge

I made my way to the ridge, staying mostly on tundra and rocks.   The willows are small and completely avoidable.

Once on the ridge I turned left, and followed it southwest

The ridge has a lot of ups and downs.  I crossed over two small bumps (kind of like ears), then lost 150’ of elevation and gained it again to the true summit of Little Baldy Mountain.  This is the best way to describe where Little Baldy Mountain is (an unranked 12er).  There is a cairn on the first hump, but it’s the second cairn you’re looking for (if it really even matters? It is unranked.  Just follow the ridge and you’ll hit it).

The ridge is a bit rocky, with some tundra thrown in, and all class 2. Here you can see the route to PT 13517 and 13541

Here’s an overview of the route I took.  I summited PT 13517 first, then took the ridge to PT 13541, and then went saddle to saddle. 

Here are some step by step photos. First, the ridge to PT 13517

The ridge was mostly tundra, but became rocky at the end.  All of the rock above treeline feels like Crestone rock:  conglomerate with lots of hand holds. The only difference is these are rocks, and not slabs. This stays class 2

I summited PT 13517 (unranked) at 9:15am

PT 13517:

Here’s looking back at the ridge and the route in

Here’s looking back at the Horn Creek approach: Look at all that water and willows!!!

Now to head over to the ranked peak of the day: PT 13541. Check out those Crestones!

The trek over to 13541 was straightforward, and a simple ridge hike until the last bit or so (circled in red)

I hiked down to the saddle and enjoyed the views for a bit. Doesn’t Kit Carson Peak look like a cooked (or uncooked) turkey from this angle?

From the saddle, here’s looking up at 13517

Most of this ridge to PT 13541 is just a tundra hike, until the end, where it becomes rocky and there are some steep drop offs to avoid. Here’s an overall view of the route: A little more than half way up the ridge I left the ridge and skirted the mountain to the left to head towards the summit

The ridge gets a little rocky, but this stays class 2

Just when you think you’re at the summit…

You’re close, but not there yet.  I had my helmet with me but decided it wasn’t really necessary. I dropped my gear and headed towards the true summit. This was easy class 3, with plenty of hand/footholds.

You can stay on top of the ridge the entire time, or dip down to the right.  The summit is in the middle of this short ridge

I summited PT 13541 at 9:55am I didn’t feel safe setting up my camera, so I took a selfie

PT 13541: 

I left a summit register, and then went back to get my gear.

It was a really nice day, so I enjoyed my time here for a while. I took a ton of fun photos, and did some visual research for another peak I still need to figure out how to climb in the area (next week???). When it was time to head back, I made my way back to the 13517/13541 saddle the way I’d come, then traversed over to the 13517/Little Baldy Mountain saddle.  This was all class 2 on tundra and talus

Here are some more visuals: 

From the saddle, here’s looking back at PT 13541

Once at the saddle I followed the ridge back up and over Little Baldy Mountain and the two small humps

After the second rocky hump I left the ridge and descended southeast, back towards Macey Lakes

Once in the trees I just kept aiming southeast until I made it back to the trail (Macey Trail 1341)

Now on the trail, I followed it back to the Rainbow Trail

And then followed the Rainbow Trail back to the trailhead

I made it back to my truck at 2:30pm, making this a 19.45 mile hike with 5950’ of elevation gain in 10 hours.

Apache Peak – 13,450

RT Length:  13.66 miles

Elevation Gain:  4127’

I’m not a fan of the timed permit system, and once again, I was reminded why (feel free to scroll down to avoid the drama/whining, just be sure you have ALL the correct passes you need when you purchase online). 

The night before this hike I was able to secure a dropped permit.  I was looking up available permits on my phone, saw one for tomorrow, and snatched it up.  It was an overnight parking permit that started the day of the hike.  Usually I start hikes around 3-4am, and this permit started later, but at least I’d get into the park.  Since it was an overnight permit it would give me a long time to hike, and I figured I’d just end my hike later than normal.  With any luck, no one would be at the gate that early and I’d sail on by.

No such luck.  The attendant checked my paperwork and told me I had to wait until 8am to check in.  So, at 8am I was back at the gate, checking in.  The attendant looked at my overnight pass and asked me where I was spending the night?  I said I was just day hiking, but it was the only parking permit I could get.  She got upset with me, and told me I ‘stole’ this permit from someone else who already had an overnight camping permit, and I needed an overnight camping permit to use this pass. 

Wait, you need 2 separate permits to be here?  “Yes”, she replied, “sometimes 3, and you made it difficult for someone else to stay that already has one of the other two permits, which they needed to order moths ago.” 

I refrained from letting her know I’d picked up a permit at the last minute, so I hadn’t ‘stolen’ it, and how crazy it was to need multiple permits to hike in one area, and asked her what my options were?  She was ready for this question, as she gets it All. THE.  TIME.  In fact, she already had permits printed and marked up for this exact purpose.  The website verbiage creates a lot of inconsistencies, so most people she talked to had the ‘wrong’ permit when they arrived at the Brainard Lakes entrance.  The website also gives out passes with similar names to other parks (such as Maroon Bells), but the permit names mean different things to different parks.  She gave me a day permit and told me I needed to be out by 5pm.  This wasn’t ideal, but I was getting in, so I took it, thanked her, and was on my way. 

Once they let me in, I had to park in the specific lot they gave me a pass for.  I parked in the Long Lake parking area.  The parking spaces were further labeled according to pass (overnight versus day), and there were rangers stationed at the trailheads, checking permits on vehicles.  This means no parking at the Brainard Lake area if you have a Long Lake Trailhead permit.  Plan on hiking (not driving) if you want to see other areas of the park.

Ok.  Rant over. The weather was scheduled to be perfect today, and I was ready to hike!

I was on the trail at 8:15am.  The trail starts at the west end of the parking area. 

This is a well-marked, class 1 trail

After about a quarter mile of hiking I came to a junction and followed it to the right, following the Pawnee Pass Trail

At the next junction I once again went right

And continued following the class 1 trail

At the third junction I went left, following the Isabelle Glacier Trail

This part of the trail had me skirting the north side of Lake Isabelle

From here you have a good view of Navajo and Apache Peaks

I continued following the trail west

After hiking for 3.5 miles the trail headed south/southwest, through the willows. 

The trail here was muddy, and full of bugs.  I choked on a gnat.

After about 4 miles of hiking, I continued west.  Here’s a visual of how I made it to the last little lake (unnamed).  The rock crossing would be slippery if wet.

Here’s a visual of the route to the upper basin.  I skirted the lake to the right, crossed South St Vrain Creek, and ascended the scree into the upper basin.

Here are some step by step pictures.  The creek was flowing, but I was able to cross without getting my shoes wet.

I then headed south to the ridge

Once I reached the tundra, I followed it west into the basin

This is where I had a decision to make.  I’d initially wanted to hike both Navajo and Apache Peaks today, but since I now had time constraints, I didn’t think I’d have enough time to do both.  I’d wanted to start with Navajo and see the plane wreckage, then head over to Apache.  But I ‘needed’ Apache before Navajo (Apache is taller, and a tricentennial, so higher on my list of peaks I want to climb).  I decided to head over to the plane wreckage, then skirt the mountainside above the waterfalls and ascend Apache’s east ridge.  On the way down, I took a more direct route.  Here’s a visual of the loop.  The plane wreckage is circled in red.

I headed south to the plane wreckage.  

The C-47 went down on January 21, 1948.  It was en route from Denver to Grand Junction, and crashed during bad weather.  Most of the wreckage is up high on the Niwot Ridge (nicknamed “airplane gully”), but some of it can be seen in the basin as well.  This site is considered a historical aviation archeology site, so the wreckage cannot be removed.   

From the plane wreckage at around 12,200’ I headed southwest, aiming for the base of the snow

Once there I turned right and headed northeast on the scree.  I was aiming for the green patch of tundra.  When I hit that, I planed on turning and heading west to the ridge.

Getting to the tundra proved a little tricky.  There was a fun slab to maneuver (there were small cairns here, circled in red)

I then aimed for the greenery, and followed it to the ridge

This is choose your own adventure.  I followed the larger rocky areas up, and the scree down.

There was a wind shelter at the top of the ridge.

I turned right, and followed the ridge northwest to the summit of Apache.   This was a straightforward ridge hike on large shale.

I summited Apache Peak at 11:45am

Apache Peak:  

I left a summit register, and headed back down to the saddle.  I could see Navajo Peak to the southeast

Once back at the saddle I looked at the time.  I knew I didn’t have time to hike Navajo today, but I decided to follow the ridge for a bit and see what it (and Dicker’s Peck) looked like from the end of the ridge.  So, I continued following the ridge southeast.

I climbed to the top of both highpoints along the ridge, made friends with a crow, and got a good view of Dicker’s Peck.  It looks like it has a new anchor at the top.

I continued on to the edge of the ridge, got one final view of Navajo and Dicker’s Peck (the route is snow free from the ridge), and turned and headed back to the wind shelter.

I took a more direct route down this time, following the scree

I made it back to the rock slab, and navigated down.

I then followed the scree down the basin

Here’s looking back at my descent route

And some pictures of the route back to Lake Isabelle.  It looked like a trail crew was putting in a new trail on the north side of the creek here.

A look at Lake Isabelle.  The trail out goes to the left of the lake

From Lake Isabelle it was an easy, class 1 walk out

I made it back to the Long Lake parking area, where park employees were stationed, ready to check passes.

I hopped into my truck and turned on the air conditioner.  It was 4pm, making this a 13.66 mile hike with 4127’ of elevation gain in 8 hours.  I’ll be back, but I think I’ll wait until the timed entry system expires for the year…

PT 13336 and PT 13015

RT Length:  16.3 miles

Elevation Gain:  5815’

I decided to hike these peaks from the Maroon Bells area because I had a pass and was already there.  I knew today was going to be a straightforward but long day, and it was supposed to storm in the morning, so I was up extra early and on the trail at 2am.  I started at the Maroon Lake trailhead, and passed a few deer grazing in the dark.   I skirted Maroon Lake to the right, and continued on the trail towards Crater Lake.

At the first junction I continued straight, and followed Maroon Snowmass Trail 1975 up into Minnehaha Gulch. 

I continued on this trail all the way to Willow Pass.

This is a class 1 trail that crosses a creek, then heads north through the basin.

Stay right at this sign

And follow the trail to Willow Pass.

CalTopo tells me I hiked 5 miles from the parking area to Willow Pass.  From Willow Pass you can see today’s peaks

From Willow Pass I descended 560’ into the basin

I came to the Junction for East Snowmass Trail/Willow Lake, and turned left, following the East Snowmass Trail.  

I was now following the trail towards the saddle of PT 13336 and PT 13020

The upper basin was really neat, as I could see two different types of rocks, one coming from each mountain.  The color contrast was interesting.  The trail was still class 1 to the saddle, staying on the tundra/red dirt.

Once at the saddle it’s a good idea to put your helmet on.  I decided to tackle PT 13336 first.  This is class 3, and takes place on loose rock.  You may want to put on your microspikes for added traction.  The red dirt was mushy because it had recently rained, but it was still loose.  Here’s the route I took, as seen from higher up on PT 13020 later in the morning:

And here are some step by step pictures of the route:

Easily walk around the first two obstacles to keep this part class 2

Next, you can either skirt the next obstacle to the left to keep this class 2, or go straight up and over if you like class 3

Now, keeping the ridge in front of you, the route becomes class 3.  Head between these two boulders and ease a little left

Look for a break in the rock formation and scramble up

You can now clearly see the ridge.  Keep the ridge to your right, and skirt the north side of the ridge.  There is no need to go up and over the ridge at this point.

The rock here is loose, and only gets looser. Follow the loose rock up a sort of side gully.

At the top of this rubble the rock changes.  It’s no longer the loose Maroon rock:  it now becomes the loose Snowmass rock.  This rock is very slippery when wet, and even when not, so take care.  These rocks are not stable.  Just assume they all move.  Cross this gully high.  There is still no need to gain the ridge, you can stay just a bit below

I have a feeling the terrain here shifts often, so pick your way carefully.  I traversed the ledge by staying about 50 feet below the ridge, and then gaining the ridge through a gully

At the top of the ridge you can see the true summit of PT 13336.  The terrain stays just as loose as before.

I summited PT 13336 at 6:10am

PT 13336: 

Here are some pictures of the way back to the saddle

Across the gully

And down the maroon scree

From here you can see the summit of PT 13020 and Buckskin Benchmark

It was a simple ridge hike, with just a few fun moves to the summit of PT 13020.  Here’s the overall route

And some step by step pictures. To gain the upper ridge, I skirted the rock formations to the left, but still stayed as close to the ridge as possible.

Once on the upper ridge I followed it to the summit of PT 13020, only dipping down to the left once through a gap in the rocks to keep this class 2

I summited PT 13020 at 7:20am. 

PT 13020:  

It was starting to rain, so I headed back down the ridge to the saddle.

Once at the saddle, I followed the class 1 trail back to Willow Pass

There was a large family of marmots at the Willow Lake/East Snowmass/Willow Pass Junction.  As I approached, several jumped underneath the grass, not wanting to be photographed.  I turned and headed southwest towards Willow Pass

And from Willow Pass I followed the trail back to the Maroon Lake Trailhead

I made it back to the trailhead at 10:45am, making this a 16.3 mile hike with 5815’ of elevation gain in 9 hours, 45 minutes

And, just because I have room for one more picture, can we all take a minute to appreciate jut how beautiful this area is?

Sleeping Sexton – 13,460

RT Length:  12.7 miles

Elevation Gain:  5156’

This was actually my second attempt on Sleeping Sexton:  I was here last week but got turned around at the false summit due to getting ‘buzzed’.  I figured it was for the best however, because I had done some serious route finding that morning and now I could provide a clear and useful GPX file for the route, instead of one with a lot of attempts that didn’t lead anywhere.

I made it to the Maroon Bells welcome station, and this time the attendant recognized me.  We chatted for a bit, as he was interested in some of the summits I was doing.  Then he referred me to talk with someone at their offices in town, and we’re basically best friends now.

It was raining when I arrived, but people were walking around Maroon Lake anyway. 

I was on the trail at 2:15am. 

From the parking area, here’s an overview of the route above treeline to the false summit

The trail starts by skirting Maroon Lake, then taking the Crater Lake trail southwest.

There was a full moon out, so I didn’t need my flashlight.

At the junction for Crater Lake I continued following trail 1975 northwest. This is the trail you take if you’re doing the Northeast route for North Maroon Peak.  There are camping spots just before the next junction.

The trail continues to be a well defined, class 1 trail.  At about 10775’ there’s another junction.  If you’ve hiked North Maroon Peak before, you’ll recognize this trail.  I turned left here and crossed the creek, following the North Maroon Peak Trail (still class 1)

Here’s an overview of the trek to the false summit (or ‘the crown’) from the creek crossing.  I followed the North Maroon Peak’s Northeast Ridge Route until I made it to tundra, at about 11,600’.  I then left the trail and headed northwest, behind this outcropping, to the base of the white gully. I then trekked up the ridge and followed the white gully until it ended. Here’s a basic overview.

Here are some step by step photos of the way I accessed the white gully:  I followed the North Maroon Trail to treeline

At 11,600’ I left the North Maroon Trail and headed northwest

Here you can see the base of the white gully.  I didn’t want to climb straight up the gully, as it was very steep.  Instead, I accessed the ridge, and followed the ridge to the white gully.  (I did this after spending a lot of time last week trying to see if the smaller gullies ‘went’ to access the white gully, and turned back every time because I didn’t have rope.  I believe it’s much easier to access the ridge first and then head up).

Here’s exactly where I entered and exited the ridge.  I found this to be class 2 and direct access.  Now’s a great time to put on your helmet if you haven’t already done so.

Once on the ridge I followed it west, staying in-between the ridge and the white gully (to the right of the gully, but left of the ridge).  If you look for them, you’ll find game trails here (you may have to duck under some branches to use them though).

Once near the white gully, I found the terrain to the right to be more stable than the white gully itself, especially on my way down.

Topping out of the white gully felt class 3

From here it became ‘choose your own adventure’ as I followed the ridge southwest. I started out rounding the ridge’s north side, and then went back and forth between north and south sides of the ridge a few times.  There are cairns here, and nothing is more difficult than class 4.  In fact, if you’re extra careful/spend a lot of time route finding, you can probably keep this at mostly class 3. Here’s the route I took:

From the top of the white gully I rounded the corner and made my way back to the ridge.  It had rained the night before, so I had to be extra careful with every foot placement (wet = slippery)

Once back on the ridge I followed it for a ways

Before hitting a bit of a shelf and crossing over to the south side of the ridge

I followed the ridge to the false summit / ‘the crown’

From the false summit you can see the true summit of Sleeping Sexton

And now, the fun route finding begins!  I descended the false summit 125’ and crossed a gully.  There were cairns here to help in the crossing (circled in red). These are steep and go at class 3/4

After crossing the first gully I descended once again, another 160’

I was now at 13,130’, and parallel with the saddle between Sleeping Sexton and the false summit.  I followed the contour of the mountain to the ‘secret ledge’. Here’s what that looks like heading in

I crossed the ledge to the ‘saddle’, then skirted the side of the mountain and headed up to the summit

The ledge is not as bad as it looks.  There’s a cairn here (circled in red) DO NOT DESCEND HERE.  Instead, use it as a reference point and stay level with it (especially on your way back) and continue following the ledge. If you do this, it stays class 2 to the saddle.

From there it was an easy trek to the summit, first skirting the mountainside

And then ascending the ridge

I summited Sleeping Sexton at 6:45am, just as the weather started rolling in

Sleeping Sexton: 

Since the weather wasn’t cooperating I didn’t stay long.  I turned and headed back the way I’d hiked in.  Here’s looking back at the false summit / ‘the crown’

And a view making it back to the ledge

Here are some more images of that ledge, looking back.  Remember to look for the cairn, and stay level with it.

For reference, here’s the size of the route.  The route can clearly be seen over my shoulder (to the left)

I rounded the corner, and ascended the gully, aiming for the cairns

Crossed the next gully

And gained the ridge to the false summit / ‘the crown’

I actually stayed here for a bit because I had cell service.  I let my family know I was ok, and downloaded the weather forecast for the next day.  However, eventually the clouds told me to get going.

Clouds rolling in: 

Here are some pictures of my way back to the white gully

Back down the white gully to the ridge

And from the ridge back to the trail

Once back on the trail it was an easy, class 1 hike back to the parking area.

I made it back to my truck at 11:30am, making this a 12.7 mile hike with 5156’ of elevation gain in 9 hours, 15 minutes. 

It was still early in the day, so I ate lunch by Maroon Lake, read for a bit, looked at topo maps for tomorrow, and jotted down notes in my journal before making it an early night.  Oh, I forgot to mention the goats:  They were the same two goats I saw last week, and if for no other reason than them, wear your helmet until you make it back onto the class 1 trail:  They were kicking rocks down the gullies the entire time I was there.