Teocalli Trailhead – Wild Wanderer

Teocalli Mountain – 13,208, PT 12934, PT 13162, Triangle Peak – 13,380

RT Length: 16.72 miles

Elevation Gain: 5244’

The drive in to the Teocalli Trailhead was sketchy. My stock Tacoma made it, but the last 2 miles were brutal, and the last quarter of a mile I kept going because I had to and couldn’t turn around if I’d tried. The drive made for a great incentive not to need to come back to this area.

I parked at the trailhead. There were a ton of flies and mosquitoes out. The flies looked like normal flies, but when they bit me, I got welts. The next day they looked like burns. Bring bug spray.

I was up and on the trail at 4:15 am. The trail was class 1, but overgrown with plants, so at times it was hard to see. I followed Teocalli Trail NO 554 for .65 miles

After hiking for .65 miles, I came to a junction. Here I turned right, and continued following the trail east to the next junction. This was a class 1 trail.

The next junction was 1.5 miles away, and clearly marked. Here I turned left, and followed the class 1 trail north

At 12420’ the class 1 trail ended, and became a class 2 trail.

I headed west, to the summit of Teocalli Peak. Route finding was easy, and I even found a few cairns along the way.

I summited Teocalli Mountain at 6:25am.

Teocalli Mountain:

There was a military box chained to a rock as a summit register, but it was open and empty, so I left a new one, and continued north. If you’re going to do the loop as I did, note you need to be very comfortable with class 4 climbing and exposure, as well as bushwhacking through trees/brush/willows. There is a knife edge that puts the one on Capitol to shame (circled in red below), and several class 4 chimneys. If you’re not comfortable with this type of scrambling/climbing/hiking, turn back now. If you are, it’s time to put on your helmet and get ready for some type 2 fun!

Here’s an overall view of the route. I spent a lot of time looking at my exit route down the basin, as I wasn’t sure if it would go. I memorized the terrain in my mind for later in the day.

I followed the ridge north, as I descended to the Teocalli/PT 12934 saddle. This was full of loose rock. I put on my microspikes and navigated down the class 2+ terrain to the saddle.

The first obstacle from the saddle is getting around these rocks. I went right, and up a grass filled gully that turned into a rock filled gully

Then the terrain became rocky, and the class 3 climbing began. I took this route up the rocks initially

And then went straight up the knife edge. Do not go to the left or right, as the rocks are all loose. The best way to climb this is to stick to the ridge.

Then it was a rocky, class 2 hike to the summit of PT 12934

I summited PT 12934 at 8:15am

PT 12934:

From 12934 it looked like an easy ridge hike to the base of PT 13162, but I was wrong. There is class 3 scrambling and class 4 chimneys to contend with. There are too many moves to picture, so I’ll surmise the ridge by saying if you have to dip down, go right, but the ridge mostly goes. Here are some pictures of the fun parts.

From the 12934/13162 saddle, this is the route to the ridge. It’s all class 2. There are actually 2 gullies that ‘go’. I took one up, the other down, and they both felt about the same difficulty wise (difficult class 2).

Here’s looking back at that ridge

Here are some step-by-step pictures to PT 13162. Microspikes were very useful ascending and descending the gullies

Now on the ridge, I followed it southwest to the summit. There was some low class 3 scrambling here. This is the route I took

I summited PT 13162 at 11am

PT 13162:

From the summit I once again got a good look at my decent route down the basin. I took a mental picture of it for later

I retraced my steps back to the 13162/12934 saddle. Once again, both gullies ‘go’, so pick your favorite

Back at the saddle, it was time to head northwest towards the PT 13162/Triangle Peak saddle. I stayed at about 12600’ of elevation the entire time

I also found a cool fossil. I have really good luck finding fossils around 12500’/12700’

Here are some photos of my way to the Triangle/13162 saddle

Once there, it as mostly an easy ridge walk to the summit

Except for the last bit, which was class 3. I did not take the scree filled/steep gully, but instead chose the class 3 scrambling route to the left

I summited Triangle Peak at 1:20pm

Triangle Peak:

I’d thought about summiting a few more peaks in the area, but as you can tell from the picture above, the weather was moving in, and I wanted to get back below treeline. Here’s the route I took out of the basin. Basically I made my way to where the maroon rocks met the tundra, and followed the rocks out of the basin. The dotted line is my route from 13162 to the saddle of Triangle Peak

Here are some pictures of my route into the basin

And from the basin back to the trailhead. I stayed left the entire time, keeping the creek to my right. The creek does flow through terrain too difficult to cross, so don’t follow too closely or you will cliff out. There are no established trails here, but every once in a while, mainly when I was in the trees, I was able to find a game trail to follow. Just keep heading south.

I came to the flower field I knew would eventually lead me to the trail, as I’d been in the area the day before.

I made it back to my truck at 5pm, making this a 16.72 mile hike/climb with 5244’ of elevation gain in 13 hours.

On to the next trailhead!

White Rock Mountain – 13,540 and White Benchmark – 13,401

RT Length: 11.04 miles

Elevation Gain: 4470’

I parked at the trailhead. There were a ton of flies and mosquitoes out. The flies looked like normal flies, but when they bit me, I got welts. The next day they looked like burns. Bring bug spray.

I was up and on the trail at 4:15 am. The trail was class 1, but overgrown with plants, so at times it was hard to see. I followed Teocalli Trail NO 554 for .65 miles

After hiking for .65 miles, I came to a junction. Here I left the main trail, and took a side trail. I swear it’s there! It’s just covered in vegetation.

Now is a good time to get a look at the overall route northwest. Once in the trees, it’s difficult to know where you’re going until you make it into the basin

I followed a slight trail until I crossed the creek (creek crossing shoes needed) and then there was no more established trail (but a lot of game trails) I followed the drainage northwest to treeline. Also, here I saw fresh bear scat (still wet) so be aware there may be a bear in the area.

Once at 11570’, I rounded the side of this hill, and headed up

I ascended a small gully to the upper basin

Here are some closer pictures of my ascent into the upper basin

Now’s a good time to look west. This is the route I took down from White Mountain to White Benchmark. I stayed just under the cliffs. You’ll use this information later

Now in the upper basin here’s my route to the ridge. This is choose your own adventure, and I’m pretty sure you could pick any line and it would go. The arrow shows where I ascended the ridge, via a small gully.

Now on the ridge, I followed it northwest. Making it to the arrow was all class 2.

Once there, I had to drop a bit in elevation to get around the rocks. I put on my microspikes and went for it

Making it back to the ridge felt like class 3

Once around this obstacle, I now had to go around the white rock. I did this by heading back to the ridge, and then dropping down onto the other side.

To summit White Mountain, I had to once again dip down, then re-ascend to the ridge. Microspikes were extremely helpful here. This is the route I took. Once I left the white dirt and made it to the brown rock, this became a class 3 scramble on questionable rock. It looks like the terrain shifts constantly, so be careful picking your route

And some step-by-step pictures to the summit

I summited White Rock Mountain at 9:30am. No summit photo: With all the excitement of a functional summit register that I could actually open and sign, I forgot. This is also how I knew the sand shifts frequently: There were signatures from just a few days before, but I didn’t see on shoe track the entire hike, and I was leaving prints everywhere.

White Rock Mountain:

I retraced my steps back to the ridge

From the ridge I could see White Benchmark. I decided to stay high, just under the cliff bands

The rocks were relatively stable, but it was slow going

Here’s looking back at my decent route off White Mountain

I kept rounding the ridge to the south, and eventually could see the 12728/White Benchmark Saddle, and a trail!

Once on the saddle, I followed it north. It started out as easy tundra

But eventually switched to rock. I still had on my helmet. The route is fairly obvious. You can stick to the ridge the entire time, keeping it at class 3. If you opt to dip down to the left or right you might be able to keep it difficult class 2/easy class 3.

I summited White Benchmark at 12:30pm

White Benchmark:

I made my way back to the 12728/White Benchmark Saddle

Once there, I picked up the faint game trail. This trail has the potential to lead you all the way into the trees and beyond, if you don’t lose it. It avoids the willows below, and becomes quite robust at times.

Once in the trees, route finding becomes more difficult. There are many game trails in the area. Pick one and follow it southeast until it runs out, then pick another one and continue following it southeast. Repeat. Keep the creek/drainage to your left (east).