This was my third attempt at Gudy Peak. The other two attempts were thwarted from various approaches due to either snow or ice. With another storm rolling in this weekend, I realized this would be my last opportunity this year to summit this peak, so I was going for it.
I camped the night before at one of my favorite dispersed campsites, near Cooper Creek.
When I woke up the next morning there was a layer of frost on the inside of my topper. It was going to be a cold morning. I sat in the cab of my truck to warm up and get ready, and was on the trail at 7am. I started out heading northwest on the 4WD road, and then turned right onto Cooper Creek Trail
This trail is class 1, and pretty well maintained for the first two miles or so, when it fizzles out into more of a game trail.
After hiking for about 1.5 miles the trail lost elevation and crossed Cooper Creek, then picked up again on the other side. There is what I’d originally thought was a vehicle at the creek crossing, but upon closer inspection, realized it was an old mining cart or trailer tipped over.
I followed the trail northeast through the basin
When I made it to treeline, I could see a faint trail that would be my route into the upper basin
Here are some step-by-step pictures as I crossed the creek and headed towards the upper basin
I was now headed west, and needed to ascend this gully. When I’d been here in the past this had been a sheet of ice, and difficult to ascend, even with an ice axe and crampons. Today I realized there’s actually a trail that will lead you up this area.
Now to gain the ridge. I took the gully straight in front of me. Take a good look at the top of the gully. It’s much, much steeper than it looks. This is the route I took:
That gully is a lot steeper than it looks folks! About 20 feet from the top I felt out of my depth, and with one hand put on my microspikes and ice axe. I wasn’t able to reach my helmet without taking off my pack, or I would have put that on too. I literally kicked in steps with my microspikes and used my ice axe and trekking pole to haul myself up. My trekking pole was not enough. Take the top of this gully seriously.
At the top of the gully I turned left, and followed the ridge southeast towards the summit
I summited Gudy Peak at 10:15am
Gudy Peak:
There were some great view of Uncompahgre, Wetterhorn, Matterhorn, Coxcomb, Redcliff, etc.
Now headed back, I retraced my steps back down the ridge
I put on my helmet and spikes for the gully, and headed east towards Cooper Lake. Here’s an overall route out of the upper basin
Back on trail, I followed it back to Cooper Creek
Then southeast back to the trailhead
Back on the road, I turned left and followed it east back to my truck
I made it back to my truck at 12pm, making this a 10.27 mile hike with 3191’ of elevation gain in 5 hours.
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!
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
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 right, go left and continue following the trail.
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.
The Rustler Gulch Trailhead was full. I tried to drive up the road several times, but kept getting greeted by vehicles coming down. The drivers didn’t understand up had the right of way, and all of them seemed to be in vehicles too big for them to maneuver. After backing up over half a mile for the third time, I decided to just park below. I’d find out the next day it’s peak wildflower season in Rustler Gulch, and the tourists were flooding in to see them. Parking down below added about 2 miles to my trip and 500’ of elevation gain, which was negligible. Bonus: There was a creek behind me to enjoy as well.
I was on the 4WD road that led to the trailhead at 3:30 am.
I followed it a mile to the actual trailhead, which was overflowing in the afternoon
I passed around the gate, and followed Rustler Gulch trail #599 north into the gulch.
There were several stream crossings to cross, all of which had rocks or logs so my feet didn’t get wet.
When I got to this creek crossing, I went right, and found a footbridge
I continued following the trail, and crossing creeks, through the gulch on a well-marked trail
Here’s my route into the upper basin. This is all done on a class 1 trail
Here are some more pictures
After hiking for 5.3 miles, I crossed a creek, and left the trail. I could see my route before me to Precarious’ access gully.
This is the route I took
And some step-by-step pictures to get there
At the base of the gully I put on my microspikes and started climbing. This is choose your own adventure of 850’ of elevation gain. This felt class 2+. I’ve definitely been in worse gullies, but still be sure of every step. I didn’t have any rocks fall down the gully, but I did make a few slide a few feet. It had rained the night before, so the scree was mushy and easy to grip.
There are two ways to top out of the gully. I took the first one up, the last one down. If I were to do this again, I’d take the one closest to the top up and down, as it felt more secure. Here’s the one I took up, which still had snow in mid-July:
And the one I took down (snow free)
They both led to the same place: Class 3 scrambling.
I aimed south, towards what looked like the ridge, but went too far up, where the route cliffed out. Instead, head east. At around 13190 there’s a path to go around the mountain. I had to descend about 50’
When I got there this is what I saw: A snow filled gully!!! I was so upset, thinking my climb was over…
Until I realized I just needed to cross the gully, and then head towards the summit on the other side (all class 3 scrambling).
I crossed the gully just at the base of the snow
And then scrambled to the top
To find I wasn’t yet at the top… This was all class 3 scrambling as well
I summited Precarious Peak at 8:30am
Precarious Peak: (Yes, I called it the wrong name. I knew it was wrong at the time, but didn’t care to take the video again)
There were two summit registers, and when I went to open them I found out why: The older one was sealed shut.
I backtracked the way I’d summited back to the snow filled gully
Crossed the gully
And made my way back to the ridge
Then back down to the gully that would take me to the access gully
OK, time to put back on my microspikes to descend the 850’ that is the access gully
I stopped on my way down to get a video
Precarious Gully:
Then continued to its base
At the base of the access gully I took off my microspikes, and then headed for the obvious trail below.
I crossed the creek, and spent some time looking at some old mining equipment.
Then I followed the trail back down the gulch
There were so many people, and so many wildflowers! I can see now why this trail was so popular.
Here are a few pictures of the way back to the trailhead
And from the trailhead to my parking spot
Here you can see even more of the overflow/2WD parking below
I made it back to my truck at noon, making this a 13.79 mile hike with 3714’ of elevation gain in 8.5 hours.
Please note, my stats are off. This summit took some route finding, and additional miles/elevation gain. Your numbers should be lower.
I’ve been going crazy for about a month. It was May 21, while we were getting 2 feet of snow during a spring storm, when I went online to check some summits for an upcoming trip. It was then I noticed I no longer had 200 bicentennials, but 199. I panicked! And of course, did some research. It was then I noticed we now had a new bicentennial, PT 13656. I’d summited what I’d thought were all the Bicentennials last September, and spent the next 7 months writing a book about my journey, which was published May 8th. I knew my completion date still stood because I’d completed the Bicentennials as listed at the time, but it didn’t feel right marketing my book so soon after the change without completing this peak as well. So I didn’t. Instead, I planned.
I couldn’t find much information about this peak, so I pulled up my previous trip reports from other peaks in the area, and came up with 3 possibilities of summit options from the Upper Huerfano/Lily Lake trailhead, and upper Lily Lake:
1: Take a line in south to the ridge, which looked like it ‘went’ (It didn’t)
2: Take the gully
3: Summit 13577 and take the ridge to 13656 (I’m glad I didn’t end up needing to do this, as the ridge looked rotten).
I was in Minnesota, hiking its highest point, Eagle Mountain. (Side note: If you’ve ever wanted to experience mosquito swarms of biblical plague proportions, along with questionable foot bridges through swamps teeming with water snakes, this hike is for you!) I was only there because of Charles Mound, the highest point in Illinois. For those of you who know about state high pointing, you know the highest point of Illinois is located on private property, and only open a few days a year. Long story short, I decided to hit this high point instead of PT 13656 because of accessibility issues, but, when I was in Minnesota I checked the weather and did the math, and realized if I drove with a purpose, I’d be able to make it to the Upper Huerfano/Lily Lake trailhead the next day, and could attempt a summit.
I made it to the trailhead at 4:15am, parking a little lower than necessary because I’d heard there were blowdowns across the road. There were, so this was a great idea. I parked at about 10,200’.
I was on the trail at 4:30am, and followed the 4WD road to the Lily Lake Trailhead. Crews have done a great job clearing downed trees, but there were very few places to pass other vehicles, and honestly, there are still a lot of trees to be cleared.
It was about 2.3 miles from where I parked to the trailhead. The parking area as littered with branches, but once the downed trees along the way are cleared, it should be good to go. I signed the trail register, which is in need of more paper, and was on my way.
Did I mention the blowdowns? There were quite a few alone the trail as well. They weren’t difficult to navigate around, just a bit annoying. You can see a few here at the beginning
And here are a few more…
I followed the class 1 (minus the downed trees) trail to the Lily Lake cutoff, and turned right (the path to the left, that goes towards Lindsey, was blocked by a downed tree). This junction was 1.25 miles from the upper trailhead.
I then followed the trail to another junction, .2 miles away, which is where I made my first mistake of the day. The sign showed the Lily Lake trail as going straight, so that’s what I did, I continued hiking straight. But I should have turned off the trail and headed north at this point. You’d think, because I’ve been on this trail, I would have remembered this, but… I didn’t. I ended up hiking along a path that paralleled the Huerfano river for way too long before noticing my mistake. Here’s some advice: If you see yellow surveyors tape and are heading through avalanche debris but you’re on a trail… you’re on the wrong trail. The good news is they parallel each other, so if you head west, you’ll eventually connect with the correct trail. Here’s the junction and the way you should go:
This trail is easy to follow, and will lead you to Lily Lake
Here’s the final push. There is a trail here, it’s just overgrown.
After 4.1 miles of hiking from the upper trailhead I was at Lily Lake, where the trail ended.
Here’s the info you need. This is the route you want to take. Trust me.
Here are some pictures on the way to the upper lake. The rocks aren’t stable, and a lot of them roll, so make sure you watch your step while rock hopping.
Here’s where I made another mistake. I tried to take a route to the left first, by following a dry couloir and what looked like a line filled with tundra/dirt. This was a bad idea. It started out as class 3, then sustained class 4 (for about 300’). I quickly felt out of my depth as it increased to class 5. I had a helmet, but seriously felt I needed a rope. I got to a place where it was decision time, and decided to descend those 300’ and try a different route. I knew I was close to the ridge, but could not justify the exposure and class difficulty. I reminded myself I had 3 potential routes for this peak, and an event I was speaking at tomorrow talking about managing risk and being a positive mentor to Girl Scouts. I did not feel I could continue on and still remain truthful tomorrow, so I backtracked. Climbing down was much more difficult than climbing up: I had to face the mountain and take it one step at a time. This entire side was sketchy. Please don’t use this route, especially since the gully can be kept at 2+. Here are some pictures of the route you SHOULD NOT TAKE
Instead, here’s what you want to do:
Take the gully! It’s slippery due to the scree, but with microspikes, manageable
I aimed for the 13654/13656 saddle. Once again, slippery scree, but manageable
Here’s a view of that line I was trying to take earlier in the day. The red circle is where I retreated. Once again, don’t take this line!!!
I kept working my way towards the saddle
Here’s a view of PT 13656
Once at the saddle I turned and followed the ridge southeast. This was all class 3 scrambling. I was able to stick to the ridge the entire time. Here are some pictures of the ridge
I summited PT 13656 at 10:15am.
I spent a lot of time on that summit, making sure the true summit wasn’t further to the southeast. I pulled up Peakbagger (not yet updated), CalTopo, my Compass (which read 13660) and several other sites. In the end, I determined this was the true peak, and left a summit register.
PT 13656:
The route back was now very straightforward. I worked my back down the ridge towards the saddle
Oh, and the route up to 13654 looks sketchy…
And then scree surfed back to Lily Lake. Once again, this is very loose scree, and I wore microspikes. I consistently had 6 inches of scree sliding beneath me, and as long as I kept up with it, I kept a good pace.
Here’s my route back to the lake
This is where I picked back up with the trail
Following the route back was easy, except for all those blowdowns.
I made it back to my truck at 2:30pm, making this a 16 mile hike with 4031’ of elevation gain and a ton of route finding in 10 hours. I hope this trip report was helpful, and I’m sure you can do this route faster! It felt so good to check this one off the list!!!
I spent the night dispersed camping at the Molas Trailhead, because the views there are amazing. Added bonus: I was able to talk with trail runners who had been along the trail to the Vestal Basin, and learned (at least to the Beaver Ponds) it’s all melted out and there aren’t any new downed trees.
I woke up at 4:30 am and drove to the Little Molas Lake Trailhead. The gate to the campground was still locked.
It was still ark when I started out. I followed the road through the campground, staying right on the one- way loop.
After hiking along the road for 1 mile, when I saw this sign to my left, I headed north through the trees (I turned right)
I came to a low and large outcropping of boulders, and turned right again
I then followed the ridge northeast
I crossed a small creek, and continued heading northeast.
There were game trails in the area, and I followed them when I could, but mostly, I kept heading northeast, towards a large creek (crossing a smaller one in the process).
As I was hiking, I could see the gully I’d eventually need to ascend. I kept heading towards it.
I came to a larger creek, and crossed it on a snow bridge. Then I stayed right and walked along a willow-lined plateau
Here’s the overall route
Once in the basin, I made my way toward the gully
Today the gully was dry where I ascended, I was even able to pick up a trail towards the top.
At the top of the gully the snow started, and I began heading northeast.
This is where I was headed, towards Spencer Peak
I gained the ridge, and picked up an obvious trail. I followed that trail east. I could have just gone up and over Spencer Peak at that time, but I chose to follow the trail and summit Grand Turk first, by skirting the north side of Spencer.
Here’s a look at the rest of the route. I did Grand Turk first, and then Sultan, but you could do it in reverse as well.
Here’s the route I took
And some closer images of the way to Grand Turk
I summited Grand Turk at 7:35am
Grand Turk:
Now to head over to Sultan Mountain
I re-traced my steps west, following the ridge
And then followed the ridge all the way to Sultan Mountain. This was all class 2 and very straightforward.
I summited Sultan Mountain at 8:40am. Check out those views!
There wasn’t any place to set my camera down on the snow to take a picture, so I took a selfie with my phone.
Sultan Mountain:
Now to turn and head back to Spencer Peak
Here’s the route I took (dotted line is the route I took in)
I retraced my steps, and then took the scree slope to the saddle
The scree slope had a well-defined trail, but it had been washed out in areas by sliding rock, so careful foot placement was a must.
Back on the saddle, I headed up Spencer Peak.
Just like the rest of the day, this was class 2
I summited Spencer Peak (unranked) at 9:30am
Spencer Peak:
Now to head back the way I came in. I followed the obvious trail west to the saddle
To descend, I looked for this obvious rock formation
Then I stayed as high as I could so as not to need to regain elevation
It should be noted, by this time in the morning, the snow was complete slush. Snowshoes wouldn’t have worked because the suncups were terrible. I was reduced to wading through the slush, with my socks and shoes sopping by the time I made it to the other side. I’m not sure gaiters would have helped. I now headed back down the gully and into the basin
Now is a good time to get a look at Little Molas Lake. That’s the direction you need to be headed to make it back to the dirt road, and the campground
Once at the far end of the basin I turned right, and headed southwest to cross the creek
And then continued heading southwest
Always heading towards Little Molas Lake
I eventually made it to the road, and followed that back to my truck
I made it back to my truck at 11:15pm, making this a 10.36 mile hike with 3539’ of elevation gain in 6 hours, 30 min.
I was the only one at the Lake Ann/Huron Peak trailhead at 5pm on a Friday, and I was thrilled! The 4WD road to the upper trailhead was a little rougher than I remembered it, but the drive had been worth it to be the only one there. I jotted down some notes from the days hike, sipped some whiskey, and looked at notes for tomorrow. It was still light out when I curled up in the back seat of my Tacoma and drifted off to sleep to the sound of pounding rain: that meant fresh snow on the peak tomorrow!
I woke up and things seemed dry outside, which was odd for the amount of rain I’d heard last night. I put on my winter gear anyway and was on the trail at 5:30am. The trail starts at the south end of the parking area, and continues heading south, towards Lake Ann. Be sure to take the Lake Ann trail, NOT the Huron Peak Trail
I hiked 4 miles south along a class 1 trail to Lake Ann
Stay left at this crossing
At the second crossing I went right
And crossed a creek on a ‘pretty-solid’ bridge
Finally, I started gaining elevation as I made my way towards Lake Ann
Just after making it to treeline, go left at this junction.
And you’ll arrive at Lake Ann
The goal is to skirt the north side of the lake, and enter the upper basin
Here’s an overview of the route
And some step-by-step pictures into the upper basin
Once in the upper basin I aimed to ascend the amphitheater. This can be done multiple ways. I decided to stay left on the way up (solid line), and follow (very faint) game trails, and I went right on the way down (dotted line). The orange arrow is where you’ll eventually be aiming.
Here’s another picture of the amphitheater
Once at the top of the amphitheater I was in another basin. I turned right, and followed the ridge. I’m sure the best way to ascend this gully is straight up the gully, but today there was unconsolidated snow blocking that route. Even with microspikes I wasn’t able to get traction the gully direct, so I took the rocks to the right.
Here are some closer pictures of the gully
At the top of the gully I went left
Which brought me to the ridge (and a cairn!)
I turned left and followed the ridge northeast. This is a class 2 ridge, which I was able to stay on the top of the ridge to hike most of the way.
Here it gets a little dicey. If there hadn’t been snow, I would have taken the ridge all the way to the summit. However, with the snow and ice today things were slippery, and the exposure was real (to the left). I decided to dip down to avoid some of the worst of the exposure. I did this a little later than I should have, as it as getting spicy already. The area with exposure is circled in red. This is how I summited West Apostle
Here’s a picture of the ridge
And this is the exposure I was avoiding
So, I dipped down to the right and kept it class 2
I summited West Apostle at 9:30am
West Apostle:
There was a summit register, but it was a pipe one missing its lid, so I replaced it with a jar. Here’s looking back at the false summit
I headed back the same way I summited, heading west, avoiding the area with exposure
Here’s what that looks like after dipping down
Back on the ridge, I followed it to the saddle.
The cairn was helpful in finding the correct exit from the ridge in all this snow.
I made my way back down towards the gully, staying as much to the west as possible, avoiding the gully direct and sticking to the rocky area.
I then re-entered the basin, and headed west towards Lake Ann
Back at Lake Ann, it was easy to pick up the class 1 trail and follow it back to the trailhead.
I made it back to my truck at 12:30pm, making this a 12.04 mile hike with 3575’ of elevation gain in 7 hours.
I didn’t want Peak Fifteen to be my Bicentennial Finisher. I really didn’t. In fact, last month I attempted Peak Fifteen, but had to turn around due to several factors: There was too much water in the couloir and if the section I was in was really class 4… my skills had gone south. It hurt to hike all the way in from Purgatory and not get a summit, but I knew the conditions weren’t safe. So, I turned around, went back home, and did more research.
This time, I brought my friend and climbing mentor, Tim. My thoughts were to climb this peak with him, get the hang of it, and attempt it solo at a later date. Spoiler alert: After successfully summiting this peak, I do not think I’ll be attempting it solo.
It was a long hike in from Purgatory. We ended up hiking a little slower than anticipated, so we stayed the night at the campsite at Ruby Lake; something I’ve always wanted to do. It was already dark when we arrived, and I’d only brought one set of clothing, so it was a cold night for me as my sweat turned to ice at night inside my bivy. This made for interesting (zombie filled ) nightmares.
The next morning, we were up before sunrise to be willow warriors and thrash our way into Ruby Basin. We made it just as the sun rose.
Here’s the route we took up the gully to the saddle. We stayed just above the willows, and hiked southeast across the basin until we were directly below the gully, then ascended the gully.
When I was here in August, there was snow under the scree in this gully. Because it was under the scree, I didn’t see it and it caught me by surprise when I unexpectedly sank up to my waist in slush. Back in August, I made it up this gully by going right, but this time we went left. It looks like the conditions change here frequently, so pick the line that goes best for you. Also, microspikes help here with the scree (if you don’t use microspikes on scree you’re making it more difficult than it needs to be: get some spikes for summer too). Here are some pictures of the gully
The second half of the gully is full of large rocks, which eventually give way to scree. This scree is some of the worst scree I’ve experienced. This is where your microspikes really come in handy. Back in August I followed fresh goat tracks to the saddle. Those tracks in September had been used several times and formed nice switchbacks. However, it appears these tracks are destroyed every winter, and need to be remade every summer/fall.
Once at the top of the gully it was time to lose about 350’ of elevation. We did this by following the scree southwest, staying high but just below the rock outcroppings (we took a different approach on the way back).
We continued down to about 12,500’, and then entered the Peak 15/Peak 16 gully
This is the gully you’re looking for. There are cairns here, and it’s the first, obvious route ‘up’
The first part of the gully is class 3, and just requires some rock hopping.
This gully turns into a couloir, and becomes easy to follow, but difficult to climb. This is the first class 4 section. There were no good hand/foot holds, as everything crumbled in my hands. In August it was running with water. Tim spent some time cleaning away the loose rock, making climbing easier. Even in mid-September, there was still water here. Wearing a pack with climbing gear/rope makes the ascent that much more difficult.
The second class 4 section of the couloir was… more than class 4. I started up, and when I got about halfway through realized I may have been in over my head. I couldn’t climb down, so I had to keep going up. Since I was ‘stuck’ it became a mental exercise, where I told myself “If I can do this while on rope, I can do it off rope as well”, but to be honest it was intense and I didn’t feel comfortable soloing this (but I did). There was a lot of deep breathing involved. I’d recommend roping up here, if you can find a way to do so. Climbing shoes would have been helpful (but they were in my pack…). We both felt this was class 5, not class 4. I belayed my partner on this section from above.
Just above this section there are anchors set up. It’s good to take note of where they’re at as you’re passing them. There will be three sets of anchors in the couloir. Here are some more pictures of the couloir. A lot of the webbing set up looks faded, but there’s plenty there. We cleaned up some of the older webbing and hiked it out (the stuff we didn’t even need to cut because it was frayed and falling apart).
The couloir seemed to last forever. At 13,050’ we exited the couloir, below the 15/16 saddle, and went left up the ledges to 13,300’. This was class 3 scrambling with a lot of kitty litter (kitty litter is the name of the game on this climb). Where applicable, I noted Tim tossed unnecessary obstacles aside, like tumbling rocks and kitty litter, to help clear the route.
When we were about 50’ below the Peak 15/16 saddle it was time to rope up for the slabs. This picture looks at the saddle, but we were headed the opposite way, left/west (this picture is just a good visual of where you’ll be)
We were headed west, across the ledge system.
While we were still on level ground, we roped up. Then Tim led the way across the slab. It was good to get roped up first because there wasn’t a lot of room at the rappel area to do so. Here’s an overall view of our roped ascent and the belay stations. I put on my climbing shoes, but Tim didn’t feel his were necessary.
This is what it looked like getting there. We are aiming for the red circle to get to the lower belay station.
Once at the lower belay station I was set up to belay Tim from below as he set the protection and climbed first. Here’s looking back at the traverse
Oh, there’s some exposure here.
Since Tim’s the more experienced climber (WAY more experienced) I’ll let him describe this part of the route, starting with his overview:
Look for a series of shallow ledges that leads to a three foot wide ledge with a horn big enough to straddle. This is still 4th class terrain, so you can simply belay sitting next to the horn without an anchor.
If you feel you need one, wrap the rope end around the horn three times to make a tensionless hitch or use a cordalette. Bring your second up and have them belay from the three foot wide ledge below you. There will be about three horizontal seams you can place pro in ranging from #3 Camalots to .25. I managed to place five pieces total.
After your last piece you want to head for a shallow V slot next to some bulges. This is the 4th class exit and leads past a rock with a crack in it you could build an anchor in. This is exposed and one could fall from there, and you may be out of gear as I was. Continue then above this to where the steepness of the pitch eases off and there are two scrubby evergreen bushes. You can sling some of the roots for a sketchy, but adequate anchor. Once your second is up, you can both walk to the right towards a large, grassy ledge where the final 3rd class gully is.
I’m not a serious climber: I’ve been climbing for a few years, but I’m no expert. I was glad to be roped in, and wouldn’t have wanted to do this part without someone belaying me (or the other way around). A fall would have been fatal. Tim called it “poorly protected 5.4”. He placed 5 pieces of protection.
From the upper belay station, we turned right and followed the slopes east, looking for an access gully/kind of a small chimney.
The gully is about halfway to the saddle. This is what it looks like from below
From the east side it’s easier to see. This is class 3, with a cairn at the bottom.
Once up the gully, we followed the ledges northeast to the ridge. This was “choose your own adventure”, but we aimed for the northeast corner of the ridge
Once the furthest northeast we could go, we ascended the ridge via a short, easy class 3 ramp, and scrambled west to the summit
Final, class 2 scramble to the summit (easier than it looks)
We summited Peak Fifteen at 12.30pm. Also, yes, it was my birthday, so I was celebrating not only my bicentennial finisher, bust also turning 41. Woot!
Peak Fifteen:
We stayed at the summit for quite a while, enjoying the beautiful day and awesome views. The summit register was a tube, so naturally the paper inside was wet. I added a pencil to the register, signed my WW’s, and we headed back down.
Note: we rappelled 6 times before making it to the bottom of the couloir. That’s a lot of rope work! There were adequate webbing/rings set up, which held just fine but are bleaching and might need to be replaced next season (see pictures). We cleaned up some of the ripped/damaged rope and brought it out. We brought a 60 meter, 7.9mm rope. It worked perfectly for the ascent and rappelling down, but being smaller in diameter, tended to get stuck in the cracks. Also, this is where I learned Tim curses when ropes get stuck.
We followed the ridge east back to the ledges, which we followed southwest.
At 13570’ we headed back towards the saddle and the anchors. We rappelled down from the first anchor, and afterwards headed towards the second anchor, circled in red.
The second rappel
Here’s looking up from the bottom of the second rappel
The third rappel brought us to the Peak 15/16 saddle
Here’s looking up and down from the saddle
Once at the saddle, we went southwest on slopes, following the couloir to the right
We made our way back to the couloir, and rapped 3 more times to the bottom. We counted 6 rappels in all.
From the base of the couloir, we made our way back to the scree-saddle, this time taking the direct, grassy/tundra approach, to avoid the scree. We saw mountain goats here.
And then back down the scree filed gully, scree surfing to the basin
From the basin we hiked back through the willows to our campsite at Ruby Lake, making it back around 6pm. Round trip from Ruby Lake to the summit of Peak 15 and back to Ruby Lake made for about a 13 hour day. All that rope work sure took its time! We celebrated with some whiskey and wine; after all, this was my bicentennial finisher, and it was my birthday… no one got hurt, and, this was much harder than anticipated by both of us for different reasons and we were successful. All reasons to celebrate!
We made it an early night and were up at 6am to hike back to Purgatory. The night was much warmer, if only because I didn’t go to sleep in wet, sweat filled clothing. The hike out went fast, as we talked much of the time. We made it to the Animas River/Purgatory trail bridge, and were surprised to see people in sandals carrying small children (some of them crying). Apparently, the train stops at Cascade Wye now for passengers to get off and walk around (not sure if it’s ever done that before?).
We made it back to Purgatory Trailhead around 2:30pm. My tracker says we went 53.34 miles, with 13765’ of elevation gain.
I would like to thank Tim for being my climbing partner and accompanying me on this trek, which I’m sure ended up being more of an adventure than he bargained for! I believe this climb takes two experienced climbers to complete safely; It was nice to have someone I could trust join me. In addition, he’s been my climbing mentor, voluntarily taking me climbing and ‘teaching me the ropes’ for years. He’s the one who taught me how to set up anchors, how to climb and rappel safely, and all about proper gear. I couldn’t have done all the other class 5 bicentennial peaks without his instructions. I still keep his safety checklist with me in my climbing gear.
I also want to thank everyone who has posted trip reports in general, but specifically trip reports for Peak Fifteen, as for me it was the hardest of the bicentennials. We all experience hikes/climbs differently, and it was nice hearing the difficulty/route finding levels from other climbers. If you plan to climb this peak, please take it seriously, and read all trip reports you can find on this peak before attempting a climb, as they all offer great insights.
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.
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…
Wild Wanderer 