San Juans – Wild Wanderer

Snowdon Peak – 13,090 and ‘N1’ – 12,647

RT Length: 8.42 miles

Elevation Gain: 2746’

Yep, it’s been a while. Those of you who follow me on my socials know what I’ve been up to, and I’ve been busy! I’m really excited to have a few months off to tackle more peaks (kind of… I still need to travel for work most of August. WHY is that my busiest climbing month, and my busiest work month???). Most of the 13ers I have left still need to ‘melt out’ before I can climb them, but when I heard Snowdon was all clear I drove down to Andrews Lake and had to see for myself.

Andrews Lake has plenty of parking, and even an overflow lot. However, that didn’t stop it from being full when I arrived. Also, the bathrooms were dirty (and bring your own toilet paper). Last time I was here the bathrooms didn’t lock. I was pleased to see they had been fixed.

I started from Andrews Lake at 5:30am, skirting the east side of the lake to the trail.

I followed this class 1 trail for about 1.3 miles to a junction with a trail register.

At the junction/trail register I turned left and followed an unnamed trail east/southeast.

This trail was well defined in the beginning, but in the marshy areas became non-existent and I had to route find a bit. There were areas with willows, marshes, and trees. There were a few downed trees along the trail, but nothing too difficult to cross. I was headed towards this gully (there’s a good trail at the base).

For reference, these are N1 and Snowdon

I followed the gully up a class 1, steep trail for 550’ in elevation.

At the top of the gully the trail ended. I went left and headed northeast towards the summit of N1. This was all class 2 and the route was obvious. It felt “too easy”, almost like it shouldn’t have been ranked.

I summited ‘N1’ at 7am

N1:

Now for Snowdon Peak. I turned and headed southwest back to the Snowdon/N1 saddle, to the right of the ridge.

Now to head up the ridge. There are several ways to do this. On my ascent I stuck to the ridge proper, which went at class 3. On the way back down I found a faint trail that kept this area at class 2 after climbing about halfway up the ridge. Here’s a picture of that trail:

And some pictures of the ridge. I was able to take the ridge proper to the next saddle until I came across the game trail, which was much easier.

If you don’t already have your helmet on now is the time to do so. There are several routes up this ridge. I took the ridge proper at class 3 all the way to 12900’ before dipping down and south, then traversing around the east side of the mountain to get to the summit (lots of cairns to help once I dipped down). However, you don’t need to take the ridge proper to this point. If you stay to the left of the ridge there are game trails that keep you about 50 feet below the ridge on class 2 terrain most of the way. Here are the routes:

Here are some pictures of the ridge route I took to 12,900’

On the ridge at 12,900’ I hit a snag, and realized I needed to drop down where I saw this gully. Directly below it I saw a cairn and headed that way. Here’s a visual of where you should go when you hit this area. Head down, not up, and continue around the left side.

From here on out there are cairns to the summit. If you don’t see a cairn, you’re off route. I kept heading left, and every time I wanted to ascend it seemed like I had to descend as well, but there were always cairns to help lead the way. This is class 3.

When I got to 13,010’ I saw this in front of me, and a cairn in the distance. Don’t head for that cairn. This is where you just scramble to the top from where you are.

It’s a short scramble, and soon I was on the relatively flat summit

I summited Snowdon Peak at 8:20am

Snowdon Peak:

Now to head back down. I took the same route back to the ridge following the cairns as I descended.

And now to follow the ridge back to the saddle. Here’s a visual of the route I took:

I found my access gully and headed back down to the trail.

I then followed the trail back through the marshes and trees towards Andrews Lake.

Once back on the Crater Lake Trail I followed it back to Andrews Lake.

I made it back to Andrews Lake at 10:30am, making this an 8.42 mile hike with 2747’ of elevation gain.

And for those of you wondering, my past few months consisted of: Getting married, buying property, Mexico, Cookie Cupboard for 2 months (I love Girl Scouts!!!), Florida, Washington DC, my son visiting from South Korea, 2 of my kids graduating College in different states during the same week (one of them Valedictorian!), Georgia for a week, South America for a month, building a ranch from the ground up (empty land, but after a few months of hard work I now have a well, a vineyard, an orchard and the animals have corrals). Raising yaks and alpacas (all the females are pregnant), a nasty tick bite that left me out of the sun for a month but gave me time to do a a couple of dozen podcasts, teaching Wilderness First Responder courses and several outdoor survival skill classes to multiple groups. Oh, and last week we got a puppy, so it’s been a little busy around here!

On to the next trailhead!

“V7” – 13,043

RT Length: 13.78 miles

Elevation Gain: 3029’

I don’t know why more people don’t hike this peak. It’s class 1 98% of the time, the trailhead is easily accessible, the views are amazing, and there’s abundant wildlife. In any event, I’m recommending it to trail runners especially because it looks like good terrain for trail running. I felt this peak was almost too easy.

I started at the Colorado Trail Segment 25 Trailhead near Little Molas Lake. There are several dispersed campsites here, public restrooms (although the women’s side was closed for the season), and tons of parking.

The trail is easily marked, and starts at the south end of the parking area

I followed this well-defined trail for just under 3.5 miles as it wove in and out of treeline. (Note, between miles 2-5 of this hike I gained and also lost a lot of elevation).

After hiking for just under 3.5 miles I found myself at the base of PT 12,864. The Colorado Trail continues to the left, but if you look closely, at the top of the rock formation here there is also a trail to the right. I left the Colorado Trail and took the trail to the right.

While not named, this is also a well-established trail. By the looks of all the tire tracks, it’s popular for the mountain bikers. It took me up and down and around to the north, towards Putnam Basin.

Just before the basin were a few campsites, and a creek to cross. There are a few social trails in the area due to the campsites, so if you’re given the option, go left.

Now at the base of Putnam Basin, I had a clear view of the route ahead of me. No more losing elevation, I would just be gaining for the rest of the hike. This is still on a class 1 trail, all the way to the saddle.

This is the route I took

And some step by step pictures of the route:

Just before the ledge that brought me to the saddle there was some snow on the route, so I had to get a little creative. It’s all straightforward though, and there are several cairns to follow if you cannot see the trail. I just aimed for the saddle.

Once at the saddle, I turned right and followed the ridge north to the summit. If you’re lucky, you’ll find a game trail that leads all the way to the summit. Just make sure you stay on the ridge proper, as there’s a trail that goes to the left as well that will skirt “V7” and bring you towards Twin Sisters. The ridge is tundra the entire time.

I summited “V7” at 7:45am

“V7”:

Now to head back down. This was an out and back hike for me, so I turned around and followed my route in. I followed the ridge and headed south, back to the saddle.

Here’s a view from the saddle of Putnam Basin.

At the saddle I turned left, and headed northeast, following the cairns back to the trail

I picked up the trail again, and followed it down the basin, sticking to the left side of the basin/creek.

I’d seen quite a few deer that morning. Mostly from afar, but deer nonetheless. As I was nearing the camping area near the base of the basin I saw one running towards me in a funny way, and realized quickly it wasn’t a deer, but a bear. As soon as the bear noticed me, it jumped 90 degrees, and started running the other way. I kind of got a picture, but it’s fuzzy, as the bear was quick.

I started wondering what the bear had been running from? About 20 feet later, I realized what it was: I spied a mama moose with her calf.

I hid behind a tree to watch them while giving them space. I love watching moose calves, especially the really young ones. They tend to bounce around everywhere, turning in circles, braying, and excited about life in general. After this video the calf got really jumpy, but I’d already turned around and started hiking away so as not to bother them.

Mama moose with calf:

I passed the camping area, and continued following the trail, now headed south (and uphill).

I made it to the Colorado Trail cutoff, turned left, and followed it 3.5 miles back to the trailhead.

I made it back to the trailhead at 10:30am, making this a 13.78 mile hike with 3029’ of elevation gain in 5 hours 15 minutes.

On to the next trailhead!

PT 13030

RT Length: 7.36 miles

Elevation Gain: 1920’

I started from the West Willow Creek 4WD trailhead at 11550’. If you don’t have 4WD, park below, just before the road turns to 4WD. This will add 3 miles and 500’ of elevation total to the hike.

Here are some pictures of the 4WD road in

There are a few dispersed campsites here, and a parking area for about 5 vehicles.

I was on the trail at 5am. The trail actually continues following the 4WD road, and if you have gotten this far, you can do the next few miles on the dirt road. I chose to hike in, to get some extra mileage. I followed 4WD road 505.1 west for 1.5 miles as it climbed into the upper basin.

At the top f the pass I could see PT 13030. At about 12500’ I left the road and headed for the ridge, staying at about 12,500’ of elevation.

Here’s an overall look at the route I took to the ridge. CalTopo will tell you there’s a road here. There isn’t.

And some step-by-step pictures

There’s a small game trail that will lead you up the saddle

Once on the saddle I turned left and followed it south to the rocky area

If you plan on rock scrambling, now is the time to put on your helmet. I continued southwest up the ridge, following a tundra and rock filled slope

Then I went left, below this large boulder, keeping it class 2

From here you have two options. You can either gain the ridge for a quick class 3 scramble to the summit, or stay about 20 feet below the ridge to the left, and keep it class 2+. Here’s looking at the route to the ridge for the class 3 scramble, which is stable but narrow and airy.

And here’s the class 2+ option, heading southwest, and then gaining the ridge

Once on the ridge, it was a quick walk to the summit

I summited PT 13030 at 7am

PT 13030:

I took the class 3 ridge option on the way in, and decided to take the class 2+ option on the way out. Here’s the route I took back

There are two rocks placed as if they had been a cairn at one point, indicating where to descend from the ridge to keep it class 2. It’s not obvious, and might not even be a true cairn at all, but it’s a good place to descend.

Then it was back to navigating around the large boulders

And heading back down to the ridge

Here’s an overall look at the route out of the basin

This is the route I took

And some step-by-step pictures. Once I was on the ridge there was a faint game trail to follow much of the way back to the road. Unlike you’ll see on CalTopo, there is no road here. I stayed above the willows but below the rock rubble.

Ahead of me I could see two roads in the distance. I was aiming for the closer dirt road

Back on 4WD dirt road 505.1, I followed it east back to the trailhead.

I made it back to my truck at 8:30am, making this a 7.36 mile hike with 1920’ of elevation gain in 3 hours 30 minutes.

On to the next trailhead!

13115, 13005, and Baldy Lejos – 13,118

RT Length: 10.19 miles

Elevation Gain: 2879’

Here are some pictures of the 4WD road in

There are a few dispersed campsites here, and a parking area for about 5 vehicles.

I was on the trail at 5am. The West Willow Creek trail starts at the north end of the parking area, and follows West Willow Creek north on a class 1 trail for 1.4 miles, to Sa Luis Pass and the Colorado Trail.

After hiking for .4 miles, I came to a junction and turned left

Then continued towards San Luis Pass.

At Sal Luis Pass I turned left, and followed the Colorado Trail west.

This was still a clearly defined trail

I could now clearly see PT 13115. This is the route I took to get there. I would advise summiting from the southeast, as the north side is very chossy.

I left the Colorado Trail, and hiked on class 2 tundra and rocks to the summit

I summited PT 13115 at 6:30am. Also, this is where my camera officially died, so it’s selfies at summits until I get a new one.

PT 13115:

To the northwest I could see my other two summits for the day, PT 13005 and Baldy Lejos

I descended the north side of PT 13115 on some loose rocks, and headed over to the point ahead of me. Note: this isn’t ranked, but it does have a summit cairn. It was a class 2 hike to get to the top, but there’s a game trail to the left that will take you around this point.

I crossed the Colorado Trail and headed on over

To my left I could see a game trail below that would get me to my next objective, so I descended this point to the west and picked up the game trail

Following the ridge northwest, following a faint game trail, this is the route I took to the next point on the ridge

I ascended a small gully, then ascended the ridge

It was an easy tundra walk to the summit of 13005

I summited unranked PT 13005 at 7:45am

PT 13005:

To the north was Baldy Lejos.

This is the class 2 route I used to avoid the ridge

Most of this was on easy tundra

From the top of the small, grassy gully, I could see Baldy Lejos

I followed the ridge to get there

I summited Baldy Lejos at 8:15am

Baldy Lejos:

Now to head back to the trailhead. I took a slightly different route on my way back, to avoid the extra elevation gain. I headed back down the ridge to the grassy gully

Instead of re-ascending PT 13005, I stayed on the grassy slope to the left to gain the ridge. There are some game trails here.

Back on the ridge, I followed it south and then dropped down to the left to descend

I could now see PT 13115, but did not want to re-ascend the unnecessary point, so I skirted it to the right on a game trail

I could now see PT 13115 and the Colorado Trail. I headed back to the Colorado Trail

I followed the Colorado Trail back to San Luis Pass

And at San Luis Pass turned right onto the West Willow Creek Trail

And followed West Willow Creek trail back to the trailhead.

I made it back to the trailhead at 10am, making this a 10.19 mile hike with 2879’ of elevation gain in 5 hours.

On to the next trailhead!

13,026

RT Length: 12.96 miles

Elevation Gain: 2979’

Day 3 at the Eddiesville Trailhead, and I really, really didn’t want to get out of bed. It had been between 25-30 degrees the past two mornings when I woke up, and this morning it was going to be even colder. There had been a thunderstorm last night, and I knew there would be a thick layer of frost on the ground. And it was cold. I mean really, really, cold, and I had a creek crossing I knew I was going to have to get through. I have Raynaud’s, so this is actually something rather dangerous for me to attempt, especially in cold weather so far from communication. And all I had to wear were yoga pants and a thick jacket. The weather forecast had called for warmer weather, so I hadn’t brought my warm snow pants. I stayed under the covers for about 15 minutes, contemplating if I should even go out. I mean, I didn’t even know if the route I was going to attempt ‘went’. Then, all of the sudden, something clicked. I started asking myself if it were really worth it, and immediately my attitude changed, and I shot out of bed. No, I love mountaineering, and that comes with being uncomfortable sometimes. This was all mental, and I needed to get myself out of this funk. I never regret a hike, and I was just being silly. Once I started hiking, I’d warm up. I had to just rip the band aid off and go.

I was on the trail at 4:15am. The trail starts off at the south end of the parking area.

I followed the Colorado Trail south and then southwest for 5.4 miles. This is a well maintained, class 1 trail, easy to follow, even in the dark.

After hiking for about 5.4 miles, I came to a clearing, and to my left I could see an avalanche runout. It was my plan to climb up this runout and see if I could summit the peak this way.

I left the trail, and sat down on a rock to exchange my hiking shoes for my stream crossing shoes. The creek was too big to pole vault across, and the water level was too high to rock hop, so even though it was 5am and freezing cold out, I was going to cross the stream and get my feet wet.

Imagine my surprise when the water was warm! Well, not warm exactly, but warmer than the 25-degree air I’d been hiking in. It was an easy stream crossing, with the water coming up to just above my knees. I exited the stream, changed back into my socks and hiking boots, and was on my way.

This is the route I took up the avalanche drainage

And some step-by-step photos. This ended up being about 2000’ of elevation gain in 1 mile.

Eventually, the terrain gave way to tundra

Once I made it to the ridge, I turned right, and followed it southeast to the summit. The terrain here was still all class 2, starting out as tundra and then changing to rocky.

I summited 13,026 at 7:45am

13026:

And now, to head back down. I just retraced my steps back to the avalanche runout, heading northeast

And then made my way back down to the creek

I crossed the creek again, and headed back to the Colorado Trail

I then took the Colorado Trail northwest back to the trailhead. I’d been on this trail 3 times in the past 3 days, and this afternoon I noticed bear tracks along the trail. A bear must have come through last night, as these tracks hadn’t been there before.

Here are some pictures of the trail back to the trailhead

I made it back to my truck at 10:45am, making this a 12.96 mile hike with 2979’ of elevation gain in 6.5 hours.

On to the next trailhead!

Whitecross Mountain – 13,542

RT Length: 7.45 miles

Elevation Gain: 3288’

Once again, just like with Sundog, I was staying near the Cooper Creek trailhead, to both give me added miles and also more peace and quiet. I waved to my neighbors camping across the way, but they didn’t seem up for conversation. No worries: I put together a trip report and made it an early night. I was on the trail at 4:30am.

I made it to the Redcloud/Sunshine trailhead before 5am, and once again, it was bustling with hikers getting ready for their day. Surprisingly, none of them made their way over to Handies Peak. I turned right, and took the Grizzly Gulch trail up into the basin.

There was an information board, a bridge to cross, and a register to sign.

If you’re reading this, I’m assuming you’ve already hiked Handies Peak and know the approach. If not, it’s an easy, well maintained, class 1 trail to the basin.

At around 11860’ of elevation, I turned and left the trail. It was just over a runnel crossing, and before a section of willows. I headed northwest, up to the ridge of Whitecross.

Here’s my overall route. Please note, the actual summit is hidden.

And some step-by-step photos. Initially, I skirted the willows to the right

Then I found a large boulder, and skirted it to the left. (It was the only boulder in a sea of tundra, and difficult to miss).

In times without snow, I’d just aim for the ridge. However, there was a cornice lining the ridge, so I stayed under the snow. This worked well.

The tundra was steep. On the way down I’d use microspikes for tractions, but none was needed on the way up. I kept aiming for the rock outcropping, careful to skirt the messy areas.

Once again, in a year without snow, it would be prudent to take the dotted line. Today, I took the solid line up a side gully.

I was aiming for these three spires

The gully was a mix of tundra and scree

When I got to the top I turned left, and realized this had been a false summit. The true summit is just a little bit to the northwest.

I cursed myself for leaving my ice axe in the car. I put on my microspikes, lowered my trekking pole to the size of an ice axe, and hoped the snow was solid. It was! I was able to easily make my way across. Here’s my route:

I was lucky the snow was in perfect conditions: A fall wouldn’t have been fun.

Once past this area, it was a quick walk to the summit

I summited Whitecross at 7:15am

Whitecross:

From the summit you could see Handies Peak, and the ridge. It was starting to snow lightly, and remembering the last time I was in the area, and got caught I several storms while climbing Handies Peak, I decided to head back.

Here’s my route off the summit

The area with snow was sketchier on the way down than it had been on the way up, as there was a bit of downclimbing and a trust move involved. Luckily, the snow was the perfect consistency. My main concern would have been to have fallen through/postholed, but that didn’t happen this early in the morning.

And now to head back down the gully

I kept my microspikes on for this part, and all the way until I made it back to the trail. It was pretty straightforward. Here’s my route:

When I made it to the trail I took off my microspikes as it started to snow a little harder. I followed the trail back to the trailhead

I made it back to the trailhead, and followed the road back to my truck.

I made it back to my camping spot at 9am, making this a 7.45 mile hike with 3288’ of elevation gain in 4.5 hours.

On to the next trailhead!

Sundog – 13,437

RT Length: 8.1 miles

Elevation Gain: 3219’

Normally you’d start this hike from the Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch trailhead, the same one as used for Redcloud and Sunshine Peaks, but it’s Memorial Day weekend, and I knew that trailhead would be crowded. Also, I’ve had porcupines visit me there in the middle of the night, interested in the wires underneath my truck. Instead, I parked a little over half a mile further up the road, near Cooper Creek. Not only did I have the site to myself, but I got to hear the creek rushing by as I slept.

After an early night, I was still hesitant to get out of bed at 4:15am. It took willpower, but I was on the trail by 4:30am. As I passed the Silver Creek trailhead there were dozens of headlamps indicating busy activity. I cruised by, and started up the trail.

At the top of the hill was a trail register I need of repair: The top isn’t fastened to the base. As per usual, I didn’t see the register on the way in, as it was off to the side and didn’t have anything reflective indicating it was there.

So, I didn’t sign the register, and instead followed the trail as it paralleled Silver Creek. The trail was very well maintained, with just a few downed trees here and there.

At around 11300’ of elevation, I left the trail to head down towards the creek. I left the trail where an obvious, and massive, avalanche had occurred a few years earlier. There was a faint trail closer to the creek.

My goal was to cross the creek and head up Sundog’s north ridge. I crossed the creek near some willows, on a few logs that seemed to have been placed for just that purpose. On my way in, and on my way out, these logs were coated in ice, which made the crossing interesting.

Safely across the creek, it was time to follow the ridge by heading south. The ridge was easy to follow, but there was some initial avalanche debris to navigate.

I noticed all the trees seemed to be leaning up, not down, which I thought was odd, until I looked behind me. It was obvious a large avalanche had occurred on the opposite mountain, which crossed the creek, and knocked over trees several hundred feet up the ridge I was now on.

I continued following the ridge to treeline.

Just before treeline I came to an outcropping, which I maneuvered by going to the right, staying at its base.

Now at treeline, I continued to follow the ridge

As soon as the talus and scree started, it didn’t quit. There were a lot of game trails all the way to the summit, none of which were consistent.

Now is a good time to note the false summit

I followed the ridge to the summit. The ridge was straightforward, the only surprise coming at the end.

Just before the summit, I climbed up a class 2+ gully. The rocks were loose, and microspikes helped. I left behind my trekking pole and started climbing up.

At the top of the gully was more ridge (this is a false summit)

That led to the real summit

I summited Sundog at 7:15am

Sundog:

And now to head back. It was a nice day, but windy, so I didn’t stay too long on the summit. I turned and headed back the way I’d came:

It was a long ridge!

The scree filled gully was easier to navigate on the way down

Then I followed the ridge to treeline

Once at treeline, I continued to follow the ridge, aiming for the avalanche runout, and Silver Creek below

I went left this time around the rock formation

And navigated the avalanche debris to the creek

I crossed the creek on the same logs, interested to find they were still covered in a layer of ice.

I easily picked up the trail on the other side, and followed it back to the trailhead.

I then walked up the road to my truck, parked about half a mile away. I made it back to my truck at 9:30am, making this a 8.1 mile hike with 3219’ of elevation gain in 5 hours.

Oh, and I found a stash of 8 track tapes near an old, abandoned mine. I wonder if they’re still good?

On to the next trailhead!

Sheep Mountain – 13,168, PT 13,100, PT 13681 & Silver Mountain – 13,714

RT Length: 25.26 miles

Elevation Gain: 6689’

Ah, the thrill of changing plans. I like to check off a bucket list item for my birthday, usually involving a lot of effort or planning and mileage. I was supposed to do the Rim to Rim Grand Canyon hike for my birthday, and due to COVID and the shuttles not running so my boyfriend was going to be my shuttle driver (with the east gate closed it’s now a 5 hour drive from one rim to another). However, last week I broke up with my boyfriend. After the breakup I gave myself a day to wallow, and then came up with a plan B (Plan C was Rim to Rim to Rim). In the end I wasn’t able to hike Rim to Rim on my birthday, but I was able to find someone to shuttle my truck a week earlier (in exchange for a photo shoot along the way at both Horseshoe Bend and Ouray Via Ferrata… to be featured in his next book). So instead I hiked Rim to Rim on September 12, and decided for my birthday I’d try to get in a long hike somewhere in the San Juan’s.

After birthday dinner with my daughters I drove to the Little Cimarron East trailhead and parked for a few hours sleep. This is a 2WD drive on a dirt road. There was space for 2 vehicles at the trailhead, but it looks like you can park along the road as well if needed. Side note: This trailhead is much preferred to the Nellie Creek Trailhead approach. Hands down.

I got in a few hours sleep and was on the trail at 4:30am. This is a class 1 trail (at least until the first stream crossing) that looks like it used to be a 4WD road.

After the stream crossing there’s a junction. Continue straight.

The trail goes through an avalanche area but a clear path has been established.

After hiking for 5 miles (exactly) I came to a small meadow. Here I left the trail and headed west, staying to the left of the gully, but following it up.

I eventually picked up a faint trail. There were a lot of game trails in the area, so I kept losing then re-finding the trail.

When I hit treeline I crossed the gully and headed left and northwest up the side of the mountain

The rest of the hike to the summit of Sheep Mountain was fairly straightforward. Here’s the route I took, staying to the left of the cliffs

Once on the ridge I skirted the rocks to the right to keep this class 2

I summited Sheep Mountain at 7:55am. The summit was wide and flat and it was my birthday, so I decided to jump for the photo.

Sheep Mountain:

I was making this a ridge hike today. Next on the agenda: PT 13100. I turned and followed the ridge south

This was an easy class 2 ridge to follow. As times I stayed left to avoid rocks.

From the saddle, here’s looking up at PT 13100 and back at Sheep Mountain

It was a simple ridge hike up tundra until the very end. Then the terrain became rock and it was difficult to tell where the actual summit was, so I followed the entire ridge. I spied a cairn and I considered the cairn the summit.

I’ve circled the summit cairn in red (although the rock outcropping certainly felt/looked the same height)

I summited PT 13100 at 8:50am

PT 13,100:

Next up was PT 13,681. Once again, I followed the ridge south

The volcanic ash towers at the saddle were pretty cool!

From the first saddle, here’s looking back at PT 13100 and Sheep Mountain, along with my route, and a look up the ridge

I followed the ridge to the false summit of PT 13681

When I made it to the ridge, instead of climbing the false summit I stuck to the left, keeping this class 2

Here’s a look back from the ridge

After skirting the false summit to the left I could see PT 13631. I stayed low until I made it to the saddle, and then stuck to the ridge until I hit the second false summit

From the saddle, here’s looking back at how I skirted the bump

From here I took the ridge straight up and over, making this class 3. You can keep it class 2 by going to the left and skirting the ridge. They both end up in the same place.

A view from halfway up the ridge

If you go over the ridge, this is the downclimb (still class 3, not as bad as it looks)

And here’s the rest of the class 2 route to PT 13681

I summited PT 13681 at 10:45am

PT 13,681:

Here’s a look back on the route so far

And a look at the route to Silver Mountain. The rest of the way was a simple tundra ridge walk

I summited Silver Mountain at 11:35am, and since it was my birthday (my 40^th!) I kept my tradition of standing on my head because I still can. Also, this is harder than it sounds, as I had to set up the automatic timer, get far enough away from the camera and then actually do the headstand before the camera took the picture.

Silver Mountain:

Now to head back down. I had several options, but chose this one because it looked easier on a topo map (it most likely wasn’t). I continued south along the ridge to the Silver Mountain/Big Blue Peak (unranked) saddle.

After passing the two large cairns, I continued a bit further down, turned left, and headed east down the gully

My goal was to link up with the Fall Creek Trail. Here you can see it to the right. However, I didn’t want to lose too much elevation, so I took a game trail up high to the left (they both link up on the other side of the hill). I lost just over 1000’ of elevation here, and gained under 200’ by staying high to the left.

Once at the top of the hill I figured my elevation gain was over for the day. Boy, was I wrong! I dipped down once again, losing another 400’ of elevation, only to gain another 500’ of elevation to make it to the next ridge. I was following the Fall Creek Trail, then switched as I stayed high on the Little Cimarron Trail, but this trail doesn’t look like it gets used much by people. There are many game trails in the area that parallel this one, and they make route finding frustrating at times. Here’s the overall route:

Once I’d regained the ridge it was a nice 2 mile tundra walk on a fairly visible trail. Side note: It’s hunting season, and the elk are bugling. Advice to hunters: Practice using your bugle call BEFORE trying it in the wild for the first time. I heard some pretty funny noises coming from what were obviously hunters and not elk.

At exactly 2 miles of mesa walking, and just before reaching this old shack I turned left and headed west. Here the trail pretty much ended. There were 2 cairns in the area (which surprised me, the first I’d seen all day), so I just kept aiming for the valley below, where I knew I’d pick up with the trail I’d hiked in on.

I had a good view of the path I’d taken up to Sheep Mountain that morning

Gradually, the Little Cimarron Trail became more visible, as I followed it towards the creek below.

I crossed the Little Cimarron River (more of a creek now)

And headed north, easily picking back up the trail

I stayed right this time at the junction between the Little Cimarron Trail and Little Cimarron East Trail, crossed the stream again, and followed the trail back to my truck. Along the way I saw a dad holding a rifle and two daughters, both under 10 years old, sporting camo and bright orange hunting hats. They were the only other people I saw all day. The girls had big smiles, and looked thrilled to be camping/hunting with their daddy.

I made it back to my truck at 5pm.

This was a 25.26 mile hike with 6689’ of elevation, completed in 12.5 hours. Here’s a topo of my route.

Not a bad way to celebrate my 40^th birthday! On to the next trailhead!

13,795 (attempt)

RT Length: 5 miles

Elevation Gain: 1948’

Note: My successful summit of this peak can be found here.

I never should have attempted this hike today, but the weather was clear and my beta told me the mountains in this area were snow free. There are so many 13ers in the San Juans I wanted to knock another one out before the snow sets in again. As I was leaving the house around midnight my daughter asked me if I’d take her to the school musical that night at 7pm. I did some mental math and figured I’d have plenty of time to climb this 7.5 mile peak and be back in time to take her to see the musical.

I drove in the dark to the Grizzly Gulch trailhead, a little surprised to see so much ice on the 2WD dirt road in

There was one other vehicle in the lot when I arrived. I’m guessing they were headed to Redcloud/Sunshine today. Last time I was here I’d had a porcupine visit me in the middle of the night, making noise in the gravel below my truck as he tried to get up inside.

It was getting light as I put on my gear. From the parking lot it didn’t look like I’d need microspikes or snowshoes, but I decided to bring them anyway. I was on the trail at 6:30am. The trail starts at the west end of the parking lot and then crosses a bridge and heads southwest on a well defined trail.

Well, it would have been a well defined trail if there hadn’t been so much snow! Not enough in the beginning to put on spikes/snowshoes, but way more than I’d anticipated.

It was immediately obvious no one had been on this trail since the last snow, which had to have been over a week ago. What was curious was how soft and sugary the snow was after sitting for so long. There were also tons of animal tracks visible in the snow, mostly fox and moose, and they’d been here recently by the signs of urine and scat on top of the snow.

Last time I was here I’d seen a moose, so even though I never ended up seeing one I was extra vigilant today. I went in and out of the trees several times and noticed much less snow in areas without trees. This gave me hope for the rest of the trail above treeline. Of course, most of the snow in these areas was only on the trail itself.

When I made it to treeline I was disappointed to find quite a bit of snow. It wasn’t the snow that bothered me, it was the type of snow: all sugary with very few areas that were consolidated. The drifts were the worst! 4+ feet of sugary snow that didn’t respond to snowshoes made for difficult traversing. I put on my microspikes. Here’s the path I took to the middle of the basin

There was a stream that needed crossing. It was partially covered in snow/ice and I couldn’t tell how wide or deep it was. It took me several minutes to find a good area to cross where I wasn’t worried about falling in.

After crossing the creek I located a faint trail on the side of the mountain and worked my way towards it. The trail was only visible because it was covered in snow. The walk to the trail took a long time because I was postholing with every step.

Climbing up the hill should have been easy, but the snow was still sugary and the talus below unstable. Rocks rolled with every step I took, so I took them slowly

There were several large areas of snow directly on the trail that were not passable. I tried making a bridge in the snow but it wasn’t consolidated enough to hold my weight. Stomping it down did not create a trail so I had to descend on the talus to find a stable route.

Oh, and I met a few ptarmigans

Here’s another view of the ascent

All of this careful footwork meant I was going slowly. I was really excited when I made it to the top of the headwall, as I knew I’d have a view of the rest of the route to the ridge and I was hoping to find it snow free.

It wasn’t. Here’s the route up to the ridge

I continued for about 20 yards, trudging through sugary snow that went up to my thighs and mentally did the math. This hike had taken me about twice as long as it should have to this point, mainly due to the condition of the snow. I had 1.5 hours left before my turnaround time and looking ahead of me the snow in the gully areas looked similar to the snow I’d already had to avoid to get this far. Unfortunately, there was no way to avoid the snow ahead of me. There was a small lake out there I couldn’t see and I was worried I’d break through the snow and ice and fall into the lake. I grudgingly made the decision to turn around and head back home. That would give me time to make dinner and shower before the musical tonight. I was super bummed because it was a 6 hour drive out here and the day felt wasted, but I also knew I’d had bad beta and couldn’t have anticipated these conditions. The snow needs to consolidate before it’s safe to hike here. Here’s the path I took back:

Postholing the entire way…

In this picture you can see moose tracks and the trail I needed to make my way back to

I followed the trail where possible

Aiming for the creek and the trail out

Here’s looking back at my tracks

Getting through the willows is the hardest part, especially in sugary snow

Isn’t it fun when the only snow is directly on the trail?

The creek was almost frozen

I made it back to the trailhead at 10:30am, surprised to see another vehicle in the lot. This hike ended up being a little over 5 miles with 1948’ of elevation gain, done in 4 hours. I’d been hiking at close to 1 mile per hour this morning, which is considerably slow considering I average 2+mph normally. The good news is I made it back home in plenty of time for the musical. I’ll be back either in spring or summer, when the snow’s either consolidated or gone. Here’s a look at my route:

Rolling Mountain 13,693′ (attempts)

RT Length: 13.5 miles

EG: 5079’

I have a feeling I’m going to have a lot of second attempts while working through the bicentennials and the rest of the 13ers. There just isn’t that much quality beta out there on these peaks when compared to the centennials. My goal with this trip report is to provide beta on a lesser climbed peak. Please feel free to add to this beta to continue improving its collective knowledge. Yes, I know there’s another approach I didn’t use (which I will next time).

My plans shifted and changed right up until I was driving to the trailhead. There are a lot of peaks I want to climb in the San Juan’s, and they had the best weather forecast for the weekend. They also didn’t get as much snow as the rest of the state this week, so I was hoping to hike a few of the more difficult peaks during the nice weather window. My plan was to hike Rolling Mountain Friday and give the Grenadiers some more time so melt out (if they needed it at all). I’d be able to see them from Rolling Mountain and gauge if they were climbable at that point. Plan A was to do the Trinities, Plan B was to hike Arrow Peak, both 25+ mile hikes with 8000’ of elevation gain. I didn’t have a plan C…

I made it to the South Mineral Trailhead at 7am and took my time getting ready. It was really, really cold outside. Luckily the drive in was nice, on a well maintained 2WD dirt road. There wasn’t any ice on the dirt drive in (but there had been on 550, making it a slow approach).

I followed the Rico/Silverton trail for about 2.5 miles, first starting out actually following the trail, which wasn’t more than a game trail through dense trees.

I quickly realized the trail follows the dirt road and instead of spending time route finding I just hiked along the road. I could easily have driven my Tundra the 2.5 miles I hiked.

The worst part of the road looked like this

Just after the Bandora Mine I entered a small basin

Here the trail might as well have ended, as the road became covered in ice.

I found my away across the ice and through the willows back to the road. Here I had two options, one going to the left, the other the right. I chose to take the trail to the right in, and the trail to the left out. Long story short: The trail to the right is more of a game trail so some route finding is involved. The trail to the left is a solid trail but crosses streams at least 3 times.

The road to the right ended at a few campsites

And then a game trail took over.

This trail was faint and the only way I was able to follow it in the snow was due to moose tracks using the trail. They looked fresh, and appeared to be a mama and calf.

Since this is a faint trail the best advice I can give you is to keep the stream to your left and closely follow it.

Eventually I came across where the true trail picked up and route finding (for the time being) was over.

I continued to follow the trail south, past one of the possible routes up Rolling Mountain. I chose not to take this route first because on a topo map it looked like it had a tougher slope angle

I kept hiking until I came to the next basin. At the top of a rock slab hill I turned right (west) and left the trail.

I cut across the willows and headed up the slope, first on tundra, and then on terrible talus

All was going well until I made it to the top of this hill. My intended route to access the summit is outlined

But when I made it to the top of the hill I was surprised to find a steep downward slope, covered in snow.

My first thought was to just walk down it. I put on my microspikes and took a step and plunged up to my waist in snow. Wow! That was deeper than I’d thought! So deep and sugary I don’t think snowshoes or an ice axe would have helped. Next I tried to traverse around the snow on the scree, my intent to find the smallest piece of ice and cross there. However, the scree here is light and covering smooth rock slabs, making traversing the area like walking on marbles, even with spikes on. I tried heading higher but encountered similar wide, snow filled gullies. I retraced my steps and tried again. I couldn’t cross this area to my right because there was as 40 foot dropoff. Glissading wasn’t an option because I sank to my waist, and I didn’t have the tools necessary to climb back up (or self arrest).

This was so incredibly frustrating! I spent almost an hour trying to find a good way through this seemingly easy section, and hit a dead end every time. I glanced up and looked at the rest of the route. It looked like even if I made it past this part the area I needed to gain the ridge was covered in a large snow drift.

At this point I made the decision to turn around and instead try the route I’d passed on my way in. Yes, it would mean a lot of added elevation gain, but I felt I’d be safer. I had all day, so I wasn’t worried about time. Here’s the route back to the trail. I followed the deep drainage a little more closely this time.

A bonus of turning back: I saw a mama moose and her calf feeding on the willows! Although I tried I didn’t get a great picture of them, but I was able to watch them on my entire descent. I’m sure they’d been there all morning (I’d followed their tracks, remember?) I just hadn’t been able to see them. They never even glanced up at me: they were too busy eating.

Oh, and that drainage with the dropoff was full of ice…

I backtracked on the trail for about a mile and just before making it back to the South Park area I turned left (west) and left the trail. Here’s the route I took

This drainage was full of a lot of large, loose boulders. Not the kind that would cause a rockslide, but the kind that would roll out from under you can cause you to twist your ankle.

After the rocks came tundra

And as I made my way up this area I crossed my fingers I wasn’t going to encounter a similar snow-filled bowl like I had on the other side. Luckily, this is what I saw as I ascended. Woohoo! More rocks!

And just a little bit of avoidable ice. My goal here was to gain the ridge. I knew I needed to head straight to the rock wall and then turn right (northeast) and ascend the ridge

All was going well until I made it to the rock wall.

Here the snow became steep, and I had to get creative to stay safe. I made a small snow trench and shuffled my way to the gully. Here are my tracks looking back.

What I saw ahead of me made my heart sink: My (loose) beta told me to just ascend the gully to the ridge, and that this was a class 2 hike. Let me tell you, this is NOT a class 2 gully, or even a class 3 gully (maybe class 3 in snow: this would probably be an ok couloir climb). I decided to take it one step at a time, dropped my trekking pole and headed up.

It started out class 3, but quickly the little bits of dirt and gravel that were there gave way to smooth rock. I was unable to find secure hand/footholds, and after about 70 feet of climbing I felt I was entering class 5 territory. The rock here was smooth, and would have made a continuous slide in the rain. If I slipped, there’d be nothing to stop me for over 100 feet. Yes, I knew I could continue climbing up, but in no way did I feel confident climbing back down. I should have had a helmet for what I was doing, and rope for rappelling back down. Solo adventuring is dangerous, and I’ve promised a lot of people in my life if I felt in over my head I’d turn back. This was one of those times. I took a picture of the down climb

And one of the Grenadiers (fresh beta for tomorrow)

I slowly headed back down. I’d climbed much further up than I’d realized, and the down climb was much more difficult than I’d anticipated. The entire time I was descending I kept telling myself what a good decision it had been to turn around: this was scary insane! Yes, it was a bit disappointing to turn back twice in one day, but I’d learned quite a lot about this mountain, and there’s still one more approach I know of I’m going to try next time. Surprisingly, I wasn’t in a bad mood: failed attempts are all a part of the game. In fact, I was elated when I made it back down the gully safely! As a bonus, I now have a better idea of how I want to summit next time. Here’s a look at the route I took back to the trail:

Once on the trail I decided to take the proper trail back down.

As stated earlier, there were no less than 3 icy creek crossings

Back on the Rico/Silverton trail I had one more creek crossing and then a nice walk on a 4WD road back to my truck.

As I was walking along the road I was passed by trail runner, running with his dog. Trail runners always impress me, but this time I was doubly impressed: this guy runs with his CHIHUAHUA, and the dog LOVES it! They run every week, this time from Molas Pass to South Mineral Creek Campground. Has anyone heard of this guy? He had me take a picture of him and his dog with his cell phone (the dog posed happily) because he never sees anyone on the trails to take photos of them

The entire way back I was surprised at how dry the Ice Lakes Basin seemed. It was too bad I hadn’t done much research on the other peaks I’d needed to hike in this area: the conditions looked perfect! I made it back to my truck at 4:30pm, making this a 13.5 mile hike with 5079’ of elevation gain in 9 hours (more than anticipated: it felt like 8 miles). Strava said my highest elevation reached was 13,172’. Rolling Mountain is 13,693’

Back at the trailhead I re-braided my hair, changed my clothes and took a quick wet-wipe bath. Before long I was on my way to the next trailhead: Molas Pass. I drove up and got a good look at my options for tomorrow’s hike:

It looked to me like I didn’t need snowshoes or even traction (I’d bring traction anyway). As I sat there eating my dinner of tuna and crackers a vehicle pulled up next to me and a man and his dog got out. They looked like they were going to be there for a while so I got out to say hi. We got to talking, and I learned the man had recently completed the Colorado Trail after recovering from health related issues. It had taken him 5 months (5 months!!!) and he had a new tattoo to commemorate the journey he proudly showed me, which incorporated Arrow, Vestal, and the Trinities. We exchanged trail names (his was “Mosey” for obvious reasons). The Colorado Trail has been calling my name lately, but I’ll most likely have to do it in weekend segments because I’ll never get the time off work to do it all at once. He seemed appalled by this. I told him I was sleeping in my truck and heading out early in the morning, to which he took as meaning I was homeless. I assured him I wasn’t, just a dedicated outdoor enthusiast. He called that hardcore. After completing the CT he moved here from Bailey and just wanted to see the mountains again. It was my goal to get to bed before 7pm so I politely excused myself, brushed my teeth, put Vaseline on my feet, and waited for him to leave so I could find an appropriate place to use the restroom. I made a few notes in my hiking journal about the day’s events, had 2 (ok, 3) shots of whiskey, and took a look around me. Yes, it did seem as if I lived in my truck (I swear I clean it up when I get home on Sundays)

I set my alarm for midnight and set up my bed (3 sleeping bags and a body pillow: it was supposed to be 23* here tonight). I was still going back and forth on which peak(s) I’d hike in the morning, but figured I’d make the decision when I could see them up close. As I’d learned today, even a little bit of snow on the trail can completely change your hiking plans.