Tag: san luis pass

13115, 13005, and Baldy Lejos – 13,118

RT Length:  10.19 miles

Elevation Gain: 2879’

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 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!

13166

RT Length:  17.29 miles

Elevation Gain:  3120’

I drove to the Eddiesville trailhead the night before, hoping to get a good look at current conditions in the mountains.  On the way in I saw an old, 1980s brown Tacoma parked on the side of the road, and a man sitting on a rock, watching a herd of sheep.  All the sheep were facing the opposite way (I’ve become a pro at animal butt shots at this point).

Both creek crossings were manageable, and all the downed trees had been cleared off the dirt road.

There was only one other vehicle in the parking area, which fits about 10 vehicles if everyone parks nicely.  No mosquitoes, but tons of flies (they didn’t bite, they were just annoying).

I threw 3 socks full of moth balls under my truck, wondering where the 4th one went (maybe a marmot absconded with it?) and went to bed.  I was on the trail at 4am. The trail starts at the south end of the parking area, and follows the Colorado Trail. 

I followed the Colorado Trail for 8.25 miles, all the way to the San Luis Peak/13166 saddle.  This was a very well-marked trail, which made it difficult to get lost.  Also, there weren’t many trail intersections, also making it easy not to get lost.  I crossed several small creeks and downed trees on my way, and passed through two gates (latched, not locked). 

Here are some pictures of the terrain, which followed Cochetopa creek up the basin.

After hiking for 7 miles, I crossed Stewart Creek

and saw a moose.  I have him his space, even though he was directly on the trail.

I was now above treeline, and could see the 13166/San Luis Peak saddle. 

The Colorado Trail nicely brought me there.

For those of you looking for the current conditions for San Luis pass, here they are.  Still areas of snow on the trail, but passable.

At the saddle, I disturbed a small herd of deer. 

Deer:

From the saddle, I turned left and headed southeast, gaining 525 feet of elevation towards the summit.  This was easy tundra to navigate.

Until I saw this.  Hmmm… I was going to have to go and investigate.  I headed to the east side of the formation, dropped all my gear except my camera, and headed up.  Sorry, no helmet, as I wasn’t aware this was more than a class 2 hike. 

This was easier than it initially looked, nothing worse than rainbow climbing at the gym. The rock was all grippy, sturdy, and had lots of hand/footholds.  The rock was solid, like in the Crestones, but with more and larger hand holds. I’d call this 30 feet of vertical climbing exposed class 3.

Here’s the route I took up, following the orange rock to the ridge, turning left, and crawling on hands and knees to the summit because it was windy (and exposed, and I didn’t have a helmet, etc.).

I summited 13,166 at 8am

13166:

Now to head back down.  I actually just did this feet first, no need to turn and face the wall.  There are plenty of hand and foot placements to use for support.

Back on firm ground, I grabbed my gear, and headed back to the saddle.

Back on the Colorado Trail, I followed it back to the trailhead

Oh, and I saw another moose.  This one was curious, and kept walking towards me, so I didn’t stay long.

Here are some pictures the rest of the way back to the trailhead

Back at the trailhead, I noticed a chipmunk under my truck, seated atop a sock full of moth balls.  So I’m guessing they don’t work with chipmunks.  Oh well, at least it wasn’t a marmot.  I made it back to my truck at 11am, making this a 17.29 mile hike with 3120’ in elevation gain in 7 hours. 

I’d say “on to the next trailhead!” but I’m staying here.