cottonwood creek – Wild Wanderer

PT 13028

RT Length: 13.3 miles

Elevation Gain: 4605’

I started from the Cottonwood Creek Trailhead at 4:30am. This trailhead tends to fill up in the summer, but on this fall day my truck was the only one there. It was the only one there the night before as well.

I started out following the class 1 trail east

The trail is easy to follow for the first 4 miles

Then I came to what looked like a wall of rock. This wall goes for about three quarters of a mile, and should not be attempted in wet conditions. There are plenty of cairns here to mark the way. If you don’t see a cairn, you’re off route. You head straight up.

After 4.6 miles I came to a junction between Trail 743 and Trail 861. It’s not obvious, and there are no signs, so you need to be looking for it. I was at 11255’. One trail goes left, the other right, and crosses the creek. Don’t go left, go right and continue following the trail.

I crossed the creek twice.

Then continued east along a trail that kept fading. It’s more of a game trail really, and easy to lose. Just remember you now stay on the right side of the creek the entire time.

At 11500’, I came to an obvious gully, and took it south

At the top of the gully, I continued hugging the mountainside as I made my way southeast

In the middle of the rocky basin, I turned left, and headed east up another gully

This gully was not friendly, even while wearing microspikes. The large rocks tumbled, and the scree was solid, which meant it was very difficult to get any traction. I made my way 700’ up the gully to the saddle.

Once at the saddle I turned left, and followed the ridge northeast toward the summit.

I summited PT 13028 at 9:10am. The first snow of the season was expected that afternoon. It was very windy, and cold.

PT 13028:

I didn’t stay long, and instead made my way back to the saddle

Back at the saddle, I braced myself to head back down the gully

Then I made my way back to the first access gully

Then down the gully, and back to the ‘trail’. There was a single rock on a boulder, circled in red, to indicate where to turn left and head back to the trail

This trail was much easier to follow on the way out than it had been going in. This time I stayed to the left of the creek

I crossed the creek again twice

And then caught back up with the trail that would leave me back to the trailhead. Back at the 861/743 ‘junction’, I followed the trail back down the granite slabs, and through several transition zones back to the trailhead.

I made it back to my truck at 12:30pm, making this a 13.3 mile hike with 4605’ of elevation gain in 8 hours. And with this summit, I’ve now finished all the Sangre de Cristo ranked 13ers and 14ers.

I was staying the night again, and this time, found a small campsite visitor!

On to the next trailhead!

Crestolita – 13,270

RT Length: 14.33 miles

Elevation Gain: 4842’

I started from the Cottonwood Creek Trailhead at 4:30am. This trailhead tends to fill up in the summer, but on this fall day my truck was the only one there.

I started out following the class 1 trail east

The trail is easy to follow for the first 4 miles

This trail led me to a camping area, with a boulder the size of a house. The goal is to make it to the upper basin. There are trails that go on each side of the boulder that will get you there. There are a lot of cairns in this area.

If you take the trail to the right, there’s a pretty cool cave to check out, but be careful: there was a rather large hornets nest at the entrance this time.

I followed the cairns northeast, through rock fields and willows.

There were a few class 3 moves to do to make it to the upper basin, but plenty of cairns to guide the way

I went behind this rock, and caught up with the trail to Cottonwood Lake, now heading east.

I followed the trail until I was at 12430’, and then turned right, starting up tundra

My advice to you is to go straight up the gully, as it stays at class 2+. I however, did not do this. I went up the right side. This goes at class 4, and was unnecessary. In addition, it included a drop of about 40 feet on class 4 terrain. I’ll show pictures of the route I took, but I really recommend taking the easier gully.

My route: Solid line up, dotted line down

Here are some pictures of the route I took up. Once again, I do not recommend this

I don’t recommend this route, because this is where it led me: That arrow points to a 40-foot class 4 chimney I’d have to descend.

I seriously considered turning back at this point, and trying again with the gully. After some careful consideration, I realized I could navigate the current terrain. I gingerly climbed down 40 feet, then up another 40 feet

Here’s looking back at that chimney, and the route I took both down and then back up. Both sides were steep, and I was glad to be wearing my microspikes.

From here, I could now see the route to Crestolita to my right

This took some navigating, but the terrain remained at 2+, with some added exposure. First, I headed to the saddle

At the top of the saddle I turned right

Then it was a fun scramble to the summit of Crestolita

I turned back and saw a bighorn sheep watching me. She watched me for so long I eventually left her there and kept going.

Here’s the last bit before the summit

I summited Crestolita at 9:25am

Crestolita:

I took the gully down. There were several options to make this happen. When I had options, I went right, and wasn’t disappointed. Here are some pictures of the way I took down.

First, I made my way back to the saddle

Then turned left, and followed the tundra until it turned into scree

At the base of the gully, I picked up the trail again and took it towards Cottonwood Lake

I once again rounded the large boulder, then followed the cairns back to the trail

Back at the 861/743 ‘junction’, I followed the trail back down the granite slabs, and through several transition zones back to the trailhead.

I made it back to the trailhead at 1:30pm, making this a 14.33 mile hike with 4842’ of elevation gain in 8 hours.

PT 13332

RT Length: 11.82 miles

Elevation Gain: 3452’

I parked about 3 miles past Cottonwood Lake, in a small parking area where 344 and 348 intersect.

I was on the trail at 4:30am, following 348 south. There is a lot of dispersed camping in this area.

Almost immediately I came to Cottonwood Creek, which I was going to have to cross. I put on my creek crossing shoes and rolled up my pants to my thighs. My pants still got wet on the crossing, as the water was high.

Safely on the other side, I put my hiking shoes back on, and continued to follow the 4WD road as it switchbacked up the side of the mountain. There was one more (small) creek crossing, about half a mile away from Cottonwood Creek

I followed 348 all the way to treeline, for 5 miles

Someone had a rough night… blood and what looked like fur from an ungulate.

It was easy to follow the road all the way to the saddle

Just before the saddle I saw a game trail, and took it to the saddle instead, since it looked like a shortcut (it was)

Once on the saddle, I could see another trail that led to the ridge

I followed the trail to the ridge, where it abruptly stopped

I then turned and followed the ridge southwest. The terrain changed from tundra to class 2 rock hopping, but was very straightforward.

I summited PT 13332 at 7:30am

13332:

The summit register was shattered, and while I found a pen on the ground, the paper was long gone, so I left another register. From the summit I could see a cabin on the road I took in. I would have passed it if I’d stuck to the road, but I’d taken the side trail instead. I planned to head down there and see what it was all about.

I turned and retraced my steps back to the saddle

And then I aimed for the cabin below.

I was halfway there when I spotted an elk shed a few yards away. I looked around for more antlers, as I know elk usually shed both within a few hundred yards of each other, but didn’t see any more.

I continued on towards the cabin

For those of you wondering, this is what it looked like.

I then followed 348 north back to the trailhead

I put on my creek crossing shoes again to cross Cottonwood Creek, and kept them on for the short distance back to my truck.

I made it back to my truck at 9:45am, making this an 11.82 mile hike with 3452’ of elevation gain in 5 hours 15 minutes. This was probably the easiest 13er I’ve done in years. I didn’t see another person, or vehicle, all day.

On to the next trailhead!

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.

Quarter Peak – 13,674

RT Length: 10.3 miles

Elevation Gain: 4227’

The weather has been outstanding, so I decided to get in one last bicentennial for the year. I woke up at midnight, worked for a bit, and then drove to Cataract Gulch Trailhead. This trailhead has a bathroom (just an FYI). I was on the trail at 6am.

The trail starts at the south end of the parking area, first crossing a bridge, and then a few more smaller bridges (which are new and weren’t here the last time I was in the area) to get across Cottonwood Creek.

I came to a trail register, signed it, and was on my way

I followed the class 1 Cataract Gulch Trail 475 as it switchbacked south for 3.25 miles

At the top of the waterfall area I crossed the creek a few times (cross the large rock slab first, and then a log)

And came to a boulder field

At the top of the boulder field I’d hiked for 3.5 miles. Here I turned right and headed west up the slope. Here’s an overall view of the route. There are many ways to do this, the goal is to gain the upper basin.

The terrain began rocky

And then changed to tundra

At the top of the hill the tundra started rolling. Here you can see Quarter Peak, and the overall route to get there

I headed northwest and rounded the upper basin

And then turned left and headed up the ridge

This part of the ridge started out as nice, rolling tundra

But about halfway up turned to rubbish rock. I’ll say that again: rubbish rock.

Getting to and staying on the ridge is the best option for this part of the hike. The rock is loose, but at least it can’t fall from above

At the top of the ridge I skirted the north side of the mountain for a bit. There’s a gully here, and you’ll want to go straight up it, but don’t (this is a false summit). Instead, ascend about 50 feet up the gully, and then continue skirting the north side of the mountain. This gully is very, very loose, and the terrain changes every time someone ascends/descends.

I quickly came to the false summit, and could see the short path to the true summit. This was class 2

I summited Quarter Peak at 9:30am (unfortunately, I’d lost my sunglasses last weekend camping and didn’t realize this until I was leaving my truck this morning, so I was squinting all day)

Quarter Peak:

This is an out and back trail, so I headed back the way I’d hiked in. Route finding was much easier this time as I initially stayed low before the gully

When I got to the gully it was just as bad going down as it had been going up. Very, very loose.

Then on to the rubbish rock, heading east/southeast down the ridge. This was slow going, as I didn’t want to roll an ankle

The rock changed to tundra and I turned right and followed the basin east back down to Cataract Gulch trail

Here are some highlights from the trail down

I signed out of the trail register (I’d been the only one to sign it in the past week) and was almost back to the trailhead when I heard a loud rusting. I stopped and turned to my right. No more than 10 feet away from me was the biggest bull moose I’ve ever seen! He was just as startled as I’d been and quickly ran to the cover of denser trees. I gave him plenty of room, and he kept his back to me, so this was the best picture of him I was able to get.

I didn’t stay there long, as he obviously wasn’t in the mood for company. I crossed the creek and made it back to the trailhead

I made it back to my truck at 12pm, making this a 10.3 mile hike with 4227’ of elevation gain in 6 hours.