spring creek pass – Wild Wanderer

UN 13256, Coney Benchmark – 13,339 & UR 13138

RT Length: 32.25 miles

Elevation Gain: 5511’

I know the traditional way to do this peak is from Carson Pass, but the last time I drove that road I told myself it would be the last time. I had marmot issues parking at the pass, and lost my 4WD on the way down. It wasn’t ideal. Earlier this summer I had attempted to make it to Carson Pass from the bottom of the trail, near where CR 30 and 36 meet. I was greeted with hoards of mosquitoes, and decided to hike another peak instead.

This time, I parked at Spring Creek Pass, knowing it was going to be a long day. What I hadn’t anticipated were all the elevation gains and losses along the way. The parking lot holds about 20 vehicles if everyone parks nicely. Another bonus: It’s a paved 2WD road to get there, and the bathroom was stocked and clean.

I parked and was on my way at 1:45am. I followed Trail 813/Colorado Trail/Continental Divide Trail for most of this hike. On the way in, in the dark, I took the 4WD road 547.1, which eventually connected back up with the Colorado Trail, but added about an extra mile. I followed the very well-marked trail west for 8.25 miles. Here are some pictures of that well marked trail, as it went in and out of the trees (which it seemed to do the entire hike).

Here’s an overview of the route you can see at this point

After hiking about 8.25 miles, the road curved to the left, and I was now heading southwest. Here the trail loses about 500’ of elevation as it brings you back into the trees.

I passed through some willows, and continued following the trail to gain the ridge. This is where the snow began and the trail was no longer obvious. I was able to do all of this with just microspikes, but on the way back, I really, really wished I had an ice axe.

Here the trail was again obscured by snow, so this is the route I took to gain this ridge, keeping it mostly snow free

It was rocky near the top, but still class 2, and there was a large cairn to guide me.

The trail picked back up again, and I followed it southwest, skirting below UN 13138

After hiking for 14.5 miles, I could finally see the two ranked peaks I was aiming for today

To avoid the snow on the way up (circled in red) I decided to just ascend straight up the slope. (I crossed the snow on the way back down, and this is mainly where I wished I’d had an ice axe).

The terrain quickly turned from tundra to rocks (still class 2)

After gaining the ridge, the summit was to the southwest.

I summited UN 13256 at 8:15am.

UN 13256:

To the southwest, I could see Coney Benchmark. I would lose almost 400’ of elevation to get there.

Knowing the Colorado Trail was down there somewhere, I headed south until I found it.

I then gained 475 feet to the summit of Coney Benchmark. Here’s the route I took.

This was all class 2 to the summit.

The summit was easy to find, but someone put a plastic summit register at the top, so of course the paper inside was wet.

I summited Coney Benchmark at 9:15am

Coney Benchmark:

Looking northeast, back the way I came, I could see UN 13256 and UR 13138

I retraced my steps back to the Coney Benchmark/13256 saddle

This time I skirted around 13256 and followed the Colorado Trail

This was the sketchy part, where I wished I’d had my ice axe. It’s steeper than it looks.

To summit 13138, I made my way to the 13256/13138 saddle, and just followed the ridge. All class 2.

I summited UR 13,138 at 10:35am

UR 13,138:

Knowing if I continued to follow the ridge northeast I’d come back to the Colorado Trail, that’s what I did.

I picked up the Colorado Trail, and followed it 13 miles back to the trailhead, losing and gaining elevation the entire way back.

I made it back to my truck at 3:45pm, making this a 32.25 mile hike with 5511’ of elevation gain in 14 hours.

Check out all that elevation gain/loss!

On to the next trailhead!

Unnamed 13,162 – Unnamed 13, 510

RT Length: 17 miles

Elevation Gain: 4750’

On my way to the Spring Creek Pass Trailhead I was the only one driving on the road. Probably because it was 1am. I did have to slow down for a moose who wanted to jaunt back and forth across the center line, and a herd of elk I surprised as I drove by (they’d been lying down by the side of the road). I made it to the trailhead before 1:30am and decided to get some sleep before starting out. My truck was the only vehicle in the lot. I love my heater.

I was on the trail at 4:30am. There are several ways to get to the snow mesa. Last time I was here I took the snowmobile route

This time I decided to take the Colorado Trail/Continental Divide Trail/813 trail. This is the one I’d recommend without snow on the trail. If there’s a groomed snowmobile track, take that instead. The trailhead is directly across from where I parked my truck.

From the trailhead it’s a nice uphill hike for about 2 miles to the mesa, heading east and southeast. Here’s an overview of where you’re headed

And what the trail looks like

You’ll know you’re getting close to the mesa when you parallel a gully to your right.

Be careful here in winter conditions: the cornices fall. Luckily for me, today there was a lot less snow than last year. I didn’t need traction to ascend into the mesa. From below, you can see a Colorado Trail marker. Aim for the marker. This is also where my flashlight ran out of batteries. I was glad it was starting to get light out.

Once on the mesa I followed the Colorado Trail / Continental Divide Trail markers for 3.3 miles. These markers are great most of the time. In the summer the trail is well defined and not needed. When I was here last they were covered in snow and useless. Today they were nice benchmarks, keeping me on track since there were no tracks. In the morning, the snow was firm (not so by noon). The trail initially looks flat, but you’re really losing and gaining elevation all the time. This was especially frustrating on the way back.

After a total of 5.1 miles since the trailhead I came upon a junction and continued heading north on 813. Note: The trail looked doable when I started. If doing this in winter conditions, I’d recommend taking the lower route (the one I took back, via 787). However, I wanted to stay high to avoid losing and re-gaining elevation, and I had all the necessary gear (snowshoes, crampons, ice axe, etc.) so I decided to go for it. Also, from the junction vantage point, all looked good. Here’s the route I took

Unbeknownst to me, there was a slide area directly on the trail. This area is prone to cornice falls/slides. I felt comfortable crossing the area so early in the morning, but wouldn’t advise taking this route later in the day. I knew immediately I wanted to take a different route back.

Here’s a look back on the slide area

After the slide area there was another solid area of snow. I decided to descend a bit to make this more manageable. I brought out my ice axe and traction here.

I was still ‘following’ the trail (under snow), and as soon as I started heading north it was time to head up the east side of PT 13162. Here’s what that looks like (as seen later in the day from point 13020). Solid line is path up, dotted line is the route I took down and across to the 13162/13510 saddle. I was just doing my best to avoid the snow.

When not covered in snow this area is covered in tundra. It’s steep, but an easy ascent.

I just kept heading west, until I was at the ‘ridge’, where I started heading northwest to the summit

I summited Unnamed 13162 at 7:45am

Summit of 13162:

From here I could see the summit of 13,510 to the northeast. It looks like it should be a simple ridge hike to get there, but unfortunately, there’s a steep section in the way, so I re-traced my steps back to scenic trail 813.

There was one section I was worried about after the 13162/13510 saddle. I was hoping I could just go straight over the area, and not around. (Note, when I first wrote this report, I thought what I labeled below was PT 13020, but it’s actually further east… in the same general direction, but it’s actually the small peak just above the saddle in this picture).

Ok, back to trail 813 and to the saddle of 13162/13510

Here’s the rest of the route to 13510

I made it to the saddle and the rocky area looked climbable. It didn’t get any harder than difficult class 2. The gullies in this area were either snow free, or the snow was avoidable. I stuck to the ridge, dipping to the left (west) when necessary.

The rock here was loose, but once again, difficult class 2

I gained the ridge and looked back at 13162. I’ve circled the area I was trying to avoid on my way down, and detailed my route down.

The rest of the route to 13510 was an easy ridge hike. The snow was either consolidated or avoidable.

I summited PT 13510 at 9:40am

Summit of 13510:

Interestingly, there had been a summit register on 13162, but there wasn’t one on 13510, so I left one. There were also a lot of crow droppings. I even saw a few flying around.

From the summit of 13510 I had a clear view of PT 13020 (unranked). I decided to go for it before heading back down. Here’s the route

Here’s looking back on the route I took from 13510

Time to head back. I didn’t want to take the way I’d hiked in back out because of deteriorating snow conditions and possible slide activity. Instead, I hiked directly down into the basin, heading southwest. Here’s a view of the route I took down from 13020, as seen from my way to 13162. I just did my best to avoid the areas of snow when possible (and the willows at the bottom).

From the summit of 13020, here’s the route back to Trail 787

Here I’ve outlined the route I took in (dotted line) and the route I took out (solid line). Trail 787 was dry on the ridge/elevation gain back to the snow mesa. I could see it from the summit, and aimed there, doing my best to avoid snow on the way down. I’ve circled the small slide area.

The snow wasn’t totally avoidable however, and I did posthole through the section of willows. From down in the basin, here’s a look back at my route down.

I hopped a small creek, then took trail 787 southwest to the snow mesa and the Colorado/Continental Divide/813 trail.

Here’s another look at the slide area. It’s small, but the trail goes right through it. Also note the cornices above.

Once on the mesa I followed the trail posts across the snow. The snow had softened up considerably, so I had to put on my snowshoes. Even with them I was postholing up to my knees. It was a very long 3.3 miles back.

Here’s a look at the decent route off the snow mesa.

And the trail back to the trailhead. At this point the snow was mostly avoidable, so I took off my snowshoes.

I made it back to the trailhead at 2pm, making this a 17 mile hike with 4750’ of elevation gain in 9.5 hours

When I got back to my truck I was a little disappointed, as Strava hadn’t engaged. Luckily, most of this route was done on established trails, so it was easy to hand draw this topo route (just note it is hand drawn, and I don’t have a GPX file to share for this one).

On to the next trailhead!