I was surprised to find a few other vehicles at the icy Herman Gulch trailhead when I arrived. Two looked abandoned, and the other looked like someone was sleeping inside. Brave, considering it was 12 degrees outside (which seems to be the magic number this season). I parked, gathered my gear, and was on the trail at 5am. This time of year it’s very cold in the mornings, which means it’s very difficult to motivate myself to get out and hike, but I always know I’ll be glad I did later. Such was the story this morning.
The trail starts just behind the information sign at the north end of the parking area.
I followed the Herman Gulch trail for .25 miles before turning left and a junction and following Herman Gulch Trail 98 (the signs are obvious)
I followed this well packed, class 1 trail for 3.5 miles to the upper basin.
Once in the upper basin the trail ended and the fun began! I put on my snowshoes for this part. I knew there was a lake here (Herman Lake), but with the snow I wasn’t sure of it’s exact location/outline, so I skirted the lake to the right, staying on what I knew to be solid ground. I’ve fallen into a snow covered lake before, and didn’t want to repeat the experience. Here’s an over view of my hike. I took the solid line up, the dotted line down
And step by step, first skirting the lake
Then finding an access rib, and following it west
The snow here was sugary and I kept postholing/treading backwards. I’d forgotten my ice axe at home and only had my trekking pole. The trekking pole worked, but if I’d slipped it would have been nice to have had my ice axe (especially just before the summit). Here are some pictures of the way up the rib
The further up I hiked the less snow there was. Here I kept on my snowshoes because they were helpful more than not. I aimed for the saddle
Once at the saddle I had to take off my snowshoes because they started getting in the way. Here I turned right, and followed the ridge northeast to the summit.
There was snow at the summit, but it wasn’t worth putting on my snowshoes. Here is where I would have liked my ice axe as well. Instead, I held my snowshoes in one hand, trekking pole in the other, and climbed up. The snow here was very sugary and at times I sank up to my waste.
But this wasn’t the summit… Here’s the actual summit
I summited Pettingell Peak at 8:50am
Pettingell Peak:
Here’s looking back at the ridge I took in
It was a beautiful day so I sat for a bit on the summit, enjoying the view. (I was so glad I’d gotten out and hiked!)
From the summit I continued hiking northeast, making a little loop of the ascent.
Looking back, you can see a cornice is beginning to form near the summit
Here’s an overview of the route I took down from the ridge, back into the basin, and out through Herman Gulch
The initial descent didn’t have much snow, so I scree surfed down. Here’s a visual of the fun
Scree Surfing:
After the scree ended I put on my snowshoes as I descended into the basin.
Here’s a look back at how I ascended (left) and descended (right) Pettingell Peak
And now, back to the basin (following my tracks in)
I once again skirted the lake and made it back to the basin, where there were dozens of people, several dogs, and a well packed trail awaiting me.
Here’s looking back at my tracks coming down from Pettingell Peak.
I took off my snowshoes and followed the trail southeast
Here are some pictures of the well packed trail out. I passed dozens of people on this part of the hike as well
Back to the junction, where I turned right and hiked the quarter mile back to the trailhead
I made it back to the trailhead at 11am, making this a 9.89 mile hike with 3407’ of elevation gain in 6 hours. When I made it back to the trailhead all of the dozens of parking spots were taken.
Autocorrect is the bane of my existence (especially with Raynaud’s, as my fingers don’t register on touch screens very well). When I saved this trip via Strava and named it, I made sure I typed in ‘Pettingell Peak’ under ‘title your run’. I checked more than once to make sure I’d spelled the peak correctly. Unfortunately, it autocorrected once I hit send, and got titled instead ‘Petting Elk’. If you see any, don’t pet the elk.
This was my third attempt at Emma Burr Mountain. The first two times I turned back due to wind, but today the forecast kept wind speeds around 15mph, so I tried again. I was in this area last week, and the approach conditions are still the same, so I’m just copying and pasting for efficiency purposes.
The drive in to St Elmo was icy but doable in a 2wd
I was on the trail at 4:00am. The trail starts out following Trail/Road 267 west
This road goes all the way to Tincup Pass, and by the looks of it, a 4WD vehicle had driven the entire way recently. High five to this individual, as they have some serious chutzpah. I was glad I’d parked below however, as I wasn’t sure how my truck would have done on the ice.
This trail parallels North Fork Chalk Creek.
I followed the road for 5.15 miles, staying right here to stay on the road. As I hiked, I saw quite a few moose tracks. It looked like a mama and baby were in the area, so I was on the lookout. I saw tire tracks, but no human footprints.
After hiking for just over 5 miles I made it to the upper basin. Just as with last week, here the tire tracks stopped. I donned my snowshoes and made my way northwest to Tincup Pass. I also noticed the snowshoe tracks I’d made last week were gone, and unfortunately, no moose sightings this time.
Once at the pass I got the picture I’d wanted but forewent last week due to the weather. My son and his Boy Scout Troop always had an annual campout here, with a corresponding picture with this sign. He’ll get a kick out of seeing the snow in this picture. The sun was starting to rise.
Here I took off my snowshoes and turned around, heading east up the side of the mountain
This was a much easier hike than I remembered from the last time I was here. I was pleasantly surprised the wind wasn’t more intense. Microspikes were overkill here, but once I put them on I rarely take them off because doing so would require me to take off my gloves, and I can’t recover from that type of cold, especially if there’s wind. There was a faint trail here that eventually disappeared.
Before gaining the ridge I kept to the left, traveling northeast.
Here’s a look back at Tincup Pass
Once on the ridge I followed it to the summit. This is also where the wind picked up. I put on my balaclava and followed the ridge. The ridge is long, and there’s a false summit here.
Once at the top of the false summit the true summit was clear.
I made it to the summit of Tincup Peak at 8:21am.
Tincup Peak:
I’d already summited Tincup Peak previously: My real goal today was Emma Burr Mountain, which can be seen to the north.
The trek over to Emma Burr looked more difficult than it was. I was especially worried when I saw this part of the ridge
As it turns out, I was worrying about nothing, as there isn’t a dropoff on the left side of the ridge. This was a class 2 hike all the way to the summit. I stayed directly on the ridge.
Here are some step by step visuals of the ridge to Emma Burr. You can stay low here or go high. Both are class 2
I summited Emma Burr Mountain at 9:22am
Emma Burr Mountain:
It was quite windy, so I didn’t stay on the summit long. Instead, I turned and headed back the way I’d come, towards Tincup Peak. Heading south now I had a great view of a cornice forming on Emma Burr
The day was still young and the forecasted snow hadn’t materialized, so I decided to make this a loop and head over to PT 13050. Here’s an overall view of my route to the ridge. I didn’t re-summit Tincup, but instead stayed just below snowline
I traversed Tincup’s east slope to the ridge. Here the wind stopped and it was getting warm, so I was able to take my balaclava off.
Once on the ridge I followed it east.
There were times I was worried I’d cliff out (I didn’t have much beta on this peak), but if you stay to the right this stays a class 2 hike. I lost 660’ of elevation as I hiked east towards the Tincup/13050 saddle. There’s a gaping hole on the ridge here (I skirted it to the right)
The trickiest part of this ridge comes just before the saddle/lowest point. This is the only area I went left instead of right.
From the saddle it was an easy ridge hike to the summit. I gained about 500’ here
I knew I was at the summit when I found this cairn (it’s difficult to tell where the exact summit is for this peak, so I went with the cairn, but walked all over the summit).
I summited PT 13050 at 11:40am
PT 13050:
Here’s a look back on the route from Tincup Peak/Emma Burr Mountain
I was making this a loop, eventually making my way back to the 4WD road I’d hiked in on. So, I continued heading east
I followed the mountainside east, went right around this rock outcropping, and then headed for the trees
Here’s looking back
At this point I put on my snowshoes and aimed southeast, heading towards the 4WD road. Once in the trees I found a drainage and followed that down. This would not be fun to do in reverse.
The snow lessened just before making it to the road. If you were to do this hike in reverse, the spot I exited was just over 2 miles from where I’d parked.
Once o the road, I followed it back to my truck, parked on the west side of St Elmo.
I made it back to my truck at 1:40pm, making this a 15.94 mile hike with 4888’ in elevation gain in 9 hours, 30 minutes. As a side note, I saw a ‘no parking’ sign on this side of the road this time (it must have been covered in snow last week), so I’d advice you to park before entering St Elmo and hike through town to start this hike.
There was a storm predicted for this weekend, so I set out to try to get this loop in before the snow hit. I had no trouble driving the 2WD dirt road all the way to Winfield, even though it was icy in spots.
Once I made it to the 4WD road it became icy. I decided to park in the dispersed camping area and hike along the road. There are several dispersed camping areas here, and plenty of parking.
I put on my microspikes at the truck and didn’t take them off the entire hike (although they were overkill for over half of the hike). I started out following the 4WD road southwest. It quickly became icy and I was glad for the spikes. I could also hear owls on either side of the trail. They were hooting, calling to each other back and forth. We’ve recently had an owl take up residence in our backyard and the calls were similar, so I’m guessing they were great horned owls. I also heard a chirping in-between calls. I’m not sure what animal the chirping belonged to, but it happened every time an owl’s call ended, and before the next one began. In any event, the sounds kept me occupied as I hiked in the dark.
I followed the 4WD road for 2 miles to the upper trailhead (Lake Ann). Here the trail splits. I took the well marked ‘Huron Trail’ that went left up the mountainside.
The Huron Trail is a well marked and easy to follow class 1 trail that takes you all the way to Huron Peak. This is also a well documented trail, so I’ll just add a few photos.
Once at the saddle the trail became increasingly icy, and I was glad to be wearing my microspikes. Also, one of them broke (I continued to wear it anyway. The other one broke as well later on, but microspikes are easily fixable so I wasn’t too worried).
I summited Huron Peak at 7:45am
Huron Peak:
From the summit I had a great view of all the other peaks I intended to hike on this loop. Here’s the overall route, which consists of a nice ridge hike
I turned around and headed back to the Browns/Huron saddle, and then over to Browns Peak. I summited the point here on my way over to Browns, but that’s unnecessary, as it’s not ranked and just adds elevation (the elevation part was why I summited the point)
I summited Browns Peak at 9:10am. Browns Peak is unranked.
Browns Peak:
Here’s a look back on the route to Browns from Huron
From the summit of Browns I could see my next 3 summits, as well as the trail I intended to take back down
It was a simple ridge hike to the saddle and then back up to PT 13462
There was a small false summit before the actual summit
I summited PT 13462 at 9:40am
PT 13462:
Here’s looking back at Huron Peak and Browns Peak
The hike over to Middle Mountain B was also a simple ridge hike. Here’s the route
I summited Middle Mountain at 10:10am (also unranked)
Middle Mountain:
Here’s looking back on the route so far
It was still early in the day so I decided to head over to Cross Mountain. This is another unranked peak, but it’s named, so I didn’t want to leave it out on today’s hike. It was a quick and easy hike northeast over to Cross Mountain.
I summited Cross Mountain at 10:35am
Cross Mountain:
Here’s a look back at the other peaks I summited this morning
I was making this a loop, which meant I needed to re-summit Middle Mountain, turn right and head northwest down the ridge to the 4WD road. Here’s an overview of the route
First, I made my way back to Middle Mountain
Once I’d re-summited Middle Mountain I turned right and headed northwest down the ridge, aiming for the 4WD road
Then I followed the road back to my truck. Here’s an overview:
A word of caution here: the 4WD road isn’t truly a road for most of the way up the side of this mountain. It looks to be an old mining road that hasn’t been used in many years, and has experienced rockslides and avalanches, turning the road into more of a trail down the mountain and into the gulch. In other words, if you have a 4WD vehicle, or even a motorcycle, don’t plan on driving it up this road. Evidence:
Once down in Lulu Gulch the 4WD road picks up again, and is easy to follow.
Here’s a look at the hike down from the ridge
The 4WD road was indeed easy to follow, but it seemed to go on and on. And on. And on. I was very happy with my choice to summit Huron first today, as this was a very long slog back to the main 4WD road and I would have been terribly bored following this road as it switchbacked (needlessly?) down the mountainside. It kept going, and going, and going. I seriously wanted to just cut the switchbacks and make it a straight line (but didn’t)
I was thrilled when I reached the main road
Here’s looking back at the turnoff (this is what you see when hiking in, you can go straight to the Huron Trail or left to follow the mining road and summit Middle Mountain first)
I followed the icy 4WD road back to my truck, thankful for my microspikes
I made it back to my truck at 12:15pm, making this a 13.83 mile loop with 4811’ of elevation gain in 8 hours, 15 minutes.
Note: I do not recommend doing this hike in reverse.
Two days before this hike I’d driven down Cottonwood Pass and noticed the route for Mt Yale and Mascot Peak looked virtually free of snow, whereas the other peaks in the area seemed to be holding a lot more snow.
I arrived at the Denny Creek Trailhead and was on the trail at 4:40am. There was only one other vehicle in the lot, which could hold around 40 cars. I’m not going to go into great detail about the hike up Mt Yale because it’s very well documented and mostly a class 1 trail. I’ll just add a few pictures of today’s route.
There’s a great trailhead sign indicating the start of the trail at the north end of the parking area
There were three frozen creek crossings, all easy to cross on logs (but remember, ice is slippery, so take care)
The trail was well packed to treeline. No traction was necessary.
I saw a rabbit directly on the trail. This rabbit didn’t seem to mind my presence, and refused to move/run away until I was about 2 feet away from it. It ran and ‘hid’ under a pine tree, but since it’s now white I had no trouble seeing it behind the branches.
Once at treeline there was still snow, but it was easy to follow the trail to the saddle, and then southeast to the summit of Mt Yale.
The summit of Mt Yale is the highest point at the southeastern part of the ridge.
I summited Mt Yale at 8:20am. There was a sign at the summit (I don’t remember it being there last time I summited, and I’m surprised no one has taken it back down/hidden/destroyed it yet)
Mt Yale:
Mt Yale was where the tracks in the snow stopped, but Mt Yale wasn’t my primary objective today so I didn’t stay long on the summit. Instead I continued heading southeast, making my own tracks, postholing at times.
I came to a gully that I was going to descend before heading to the saddle between Mt Yale and Mascot Peak. There was more snow in this gully than the pictures show, and I was glad I wasn’t doing this in winter. A ice axe would have been helpful today, and I should have put on my spikes, but instead I balanced myself with my trekking pole on the slippery snow and made cautious decisions about foot placement. I descended 1122’ to the saddle.
Here’s a look at my route from Mt Yale from the Yale/Mascot saddle. The snow at the top was more troublesome than it looks. There also seem to be several ways to descend to the saddle.
From the saddle the route up to Mascot Peak was simple, straightforward, and not as steep as it looked from Mt Yale. This was the easiest part of the uphill climbing for the day. The only difficulty was the wind.
I summited Mascot Peak at 10am
Mascot Peak:
I was making this a loop today, so after a few pictures I continued southwest down the ridge. I stuck to the top of the ridge. There’s a great view of Cottonwood Pass until you get to treeline, so as long as you stay on the ridge it’s difficult to get lost.
Here’s looking back at Mascot Peak and Mt Yale from the ridge
Just before treeline I left the ridge and headed right (west) down what could loosely be called a gully.
I aimed for an old, solitary tree standing amongst the rocks, and then followed the gully as it descended southwest to Denny Gulch
I kept following the obvious curve as it headed to treeline (no trail here, just keep taking the path of least resistance towards Denny Gulch)
In case you want to do this route in reverse, here’s looking back at the route from before treeline and up to the ridge. I would not have wanted to upclimb this, and instead recommend taking the class 1 trail up to Mt Yale. This was very steep, and fun to scree surf down.
Once at treeline I kept aiming for Denny Gulch, following a drainage of sorts southwest
It’s obvious when you reach the gulch, as the mountain starts to back up again. There was a small stream running, and I decided to follow this stream south. I kept crossing and recrossing the stream to find the best route. There were a few animal trails here, and a lot of ducking, climbing, and bushwhacking over fallen trees and through overgrown bushes to get back to the road.
I could have followed Denny Gulch all the way to the road, but ended up coming across a well-defined game trail that headed northwest. I took that for a short distance, and it turned into the remnants of an old mining road that looked like it hadn’t been used in half a century or so.
I followed the old road until it abruptly ended, but I could hear vehicles on the road in the distance, so I aimed southwest towards the road
Once at the road I followed it west back to the trailhead
I made it back to my truck at 12:40pm, making this a 10.72 mile hike with 4839’ of elevation gain in 8 hours.
With the recent snow I wasn’t quite sure what to expect on today’s hike. I drove down road 742 in the dark until it dead-ended. The road was icy in the morning, and not too bad on the way out.
I parked at the trailhead, the only vehicle in the lot (both when I arrived and when I left).
It was 14 degrees outside, so I put on my full winter gear and was on the trail at 6am. The trail starts at the southwest corner of the roundabout, and immediately crosses a stream.
In the morning there was more ice than this photo shows, and the stream was at least a foot deep in areas. There was no way I was starting this hike off with frozen toes, so crossing the stream here wasn’t an option. I spent about 15 minutes searching for a better way to cross (in the dark). I was able to find a good crossing about 15 yards upstream, rock hopped across without any difficulty, and picked up Mt Tilton Trail #582.
Even with the recent snow the trail was well packed, but not by humans. It was packed down by hoofprints. Some very large hoofprints. There was also fresh moose scat along the trail and a lot of moose tracks, so I kept on the lookout (but never ended up seeing a moose).
There was one more stream crossing. This one was almost completely frozen over. I didn’t really want to cross it, not being sure of how thick the ice was, but I noticed a set of moose tracks on top of the ice and figured if a moose could cross the stream, so could I. I placed my feet on top of the moose tracks and made my way across.
The trail remained easy to follow, no traction needed. I passed the remains of a log cabin
And after hiking for 2.15 miles I came to a second set of log cabin/mining remains and a trail junction. I turned right and followed Taylor Divide Trail #440
I followed this trail briefly, about one tenth of a mile, until the trail started to head back down, and instead turned left and headed northwest up to treeline. It was about half a mile to treeline from leaving the trail.
Once at treeline I had a great view of Taylor Peak and how I wanted to summit. Here’s an overview of my route
And step by step. I stayed to the right of the willows to gain the basin
Once in the basin I headed north to gain the ridge
The rocks here were loose, and there was just enough snow to make it slow going, as I had to watch every step. I was worried I’d roll an ankle or plunge into a hole underneath the snow.
Once on the ridge I followed it north to the summit. There were two false summits before reaching the actual summit
The ridge to the second false summit had some snow to navigate, and what became class 3 climbing due to snow on the route. Sticking to the ridge worked
Here’s the actual summit of Taylor Peak
I summited Taylor Peak at 9:40am
Taylor Peak:
It was a bluebird day, so I decided to head over to Star Peak as well. This ended up taking a lot more time than I’d anticipated. There was just enough snow to make me question every step. The snow as sugary, the rocks rolled, and as it started warming up as the day went on the snow became slippery.
Here’s a look at Star Peak from Taylor Peak
The ridge doesn’t look like it ‘goes’ all the way from Taylor to Star, especially towards the end, so from the summit of Taylor Peak I turned and retraced my steps back to the basin.
Once in the basin I stayed high and followed the mountainside west
I believe the traditional way to gain the ridge here is to use the gully, but I didn’t like the current conditions, so instead I took a slight ramp to the right of the gully. The rock here was rubble, loose, and not much fun to traverse. However, once I’d gained the ridge and looked down the gully I knew I’d made the correct route choice in todays’ conditions. Here’s my overall route to Star Peak
I took the solid line up, the dotted line down (I’d recommend using the dotted line, as the higher you go here the more loose the rock is)
Once on the ridge I followed it south to the summit. This is probably class 2 in summer, but in these conditions it felt like class 3. The ridge goes, but it’s very narrow and the rocks are loose. The trek here was very slow going as I’d step on snow, only to break off a microwave sized rock or plunge several feet into a hole. I used my trekking pole to gauge every step
The summit was topped with snow
I summited Star Peak at 1:50pm.
Star Peak:
It was a perfect, bluebird day, yet it had taken me quite a while to reach this summit. I sat for a bit to enjoy the view.
Here’s a look at the route from Taylor Peak to the ridge of Star
I headed back down the ridge
And down into the basin.
Once in the basin I aimed for the drainage
Here’s looking back on my route down from the ridge (dotted line) and the traverse from Taylor (solid line)
Once in the drainage I picked up a game trail that led me back to where I’d emerged from treeline.
From here I followed the prints I’d made in the snow this morning south, back to the Taylor Divide Trail
And then back down the basin, over the frozen creek with the moose tracks
Following the well defined trail and crossing the stream that led to the parking area.
I made it back to my truck at 5pm, making this a 13.34 mile hike with 4167’ of elevation gain in 11 hours.
I’m not entirely sure why I chose this approach, but I wouldn’t recommend it; the route finding below treeline is arduous. In any event, if you still want to do this hike, this is how I climbed Mt Jackson and 13433.
I arrived at the Cross Creek Trailhead and was the only vehicle in the lot. It’s a poorly designed lot that doesn’t offer much room but can fit 5-6 cars if everyone parks nicely. It looks more like a horse corral than a parking lot, and there’s not a lot of room to turn a vehicle around. There is parking across the way as well. I arrived and left in the dark, so unfortunately, no pictures of the trailhead. I was on the trail at 3:45am. Cross Creek trail starts behind obvious signage at the west end of the parking area.
This is an easy to follow class 1 trail. There’s a new bridge to cross over Cross Creek, and some nice stairs to ascend.
After hiking for 3 miles I came across some avalanche debris on the trail. As I was navigating at night I stepped over a log, and instead of hitting solid ground my right foot sank in watery mud up to my thigh.
I quickly extricated myself and did a quick assessment. My shoe and pants were soaking wet, cold, and covered in a layer of mud. It was only around 5am, 30 degrees outside, and I had a serious decision to make. Did I turn around now or continue hiking? I was worried I’d eventually have a Raynaud’s attack, especially if I didn’t dry out before making it to treeline (where it would be windy: I could already hear trees snapping all around me in the dark). I cursed myself for not bringing at least an extra pair of socks. In the end I decided the only way to dry off would be to keep moving, and I could do that either by heading back or forwards, so I continued on. I followed this class 1 trail for a total of about 8.5 miles as it paralleled Cross Creek, staying straight at the Grouse Mountain Trail Junction (but noting where it was in case I wanted to make this a loop).
After hiking for 8.5 miles I crossed a stream and the real route finding began
After crossing the stream, I turned right and headed straight up the mountainside, passing a small pond to my left. There is no trail here, and the bushwhacking is intense. I passed several sets of bear tracks while route finding here.
I’d gained 800’ of elevation in 1 mile heading northwest when I came upon a trail! Woot! This was a pleasant surprise. It looked like a game trail, but every now and then I’d see a cairn.
I followed this trail southwest for just over half a mile, until it suddenly ended.
There was a cairn here, but it didn’t seem to lead anywhere. I went about 20 yards in every pertinent direction and couldn’t locate a trail. The snow on the ground wasn’t helping. I got out my map and realized I’d gone too far south, so I turned right and headed north up this drainage.
At the top of the drainage I headed west. You can see how much fun route finding was here as well. I kept wishing for treeline so I’d have a visual of my route. On a positive note, my shoes and pants had dried out, so while I was still dirty, at least I was dry.
I also passed more bear tracks here. These tracks had a different gait than the ones I’d encountered before, so I figured there were multiple bears in the area.
Hiking west eventually led me to a marshy area, and here I was finally able to get a good view of where I was headed
I skirted the marshy area to the south and then headed southwest. It’s important to head up over the rocky area and not stay low because going low will lead you to a large rock wall bordering a pond with no way to cross. Here’s an overall view of the route
And step by step up the (first) gully
And second and third gullies. This was really just one long gully that leveled out at times and started again. The snow was bothersome because it was sugary and every once in a while, I’d posthole. It did make me roll my eyes at being worried my feet would be wet from the swampy water: the snow had made sure of it.
At the top of this long gully I continued southwest
Until I hit another (you guessed it) gully. It was here the battery in my camera died and I had to switch to using my cellphone (I’m still figuring out my new camera, and the battery seemed to die rather quickly).
Here I got my first good look at the upper basin. There are several routes I could have taken from here. I’d heard there was a path up the north side of 13433, but I wanted to gain the saddle between UN 13433 and Mt Jackson. I figured my best shot for today would be to stay high and hugging the south side of Mt Jackson. Here’s my overall route
And step by step.
The ground here was surprisingly stable, I just had to watch out for rolling rocks every now and then
Here’s how I gained the saddle
Up until this point I wasn’t sure which peak I was going to climb first. I had the possibility of making this a loop (coming back down via the Grouse Mountain trail), but once I got to the ridge I was able to feel the wind I’d been hearing all morning. Winds were predicted at 20-25mph, sustained, with 45mph gusts. They were at least that. And brutally cold. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make one mountain today, let alone three. I got out my balaclava and heavy-duty winter gloves, turned right, and headed north to the summit of Mt Jackson. This was a fairly easy ridge hike.
I summited Mt Jackson at noon. The summit was relatively flat.
Mt Jackson:
The wind was blowing so hard all the straps on my gear were slapping me in the face and several times I had snot fly into my sunglasses. Ah, to be a mountaineer! I turned and headed back the way I came, bracing myself against the wind as I made my way towards the Mt Jackson/13433 saddle.
From the saddle here’s looking back at Mt Jackson and up at 13433
It was a short and simple ridge hike to the summit of 13433. I summited at 1pm.
UN 13433:
Here’s a view of Mt Jackson from 13433
At this point I couldn’t feel my fingers, so I quickly retraced my steps back to the saddle. The wind refused to let up, and was blowing loudly long after I left the ridge. I saw two crows playing with the currents above the saddle.
Here’s my route back down into the basin
And down the gullies
Here’s how I ascended the rock to avoid the pond to my left
And headed back out of the marshy area
Let the route finding begin again. I tried to re-trace my steps, but it just wasn’t happening. I kept looking for my original route in, but finally realized that wasn’t going to happen. I knew Cross Creek Trail was below me, and as long as I headed down and east I’d eventually run into it. So I headed east.
After wandering down and east and down and east I connected up with Cross Creek Trail and followed it back to the trailhead. I heard trees snapping in the wind the entire hike back. They’d make a loud, booming sound I initially thought was rockfall, except there were no reverberations from rockslides, just a loud crack and boom!
I got back to my truck at 8pm, making this a 28.33 mile hike with 6674’ of elevation gain in 16 hours, 15 minutes.
RT Length: 49.5 Miles (CalTopo) 42.61 Miles (Strava)
Elevation Gain: 9166’ (CalTopo) 13428’ (Strava)
Day 1: Approach, Columbine Lake, Aztec Mountain
After quite a long drive I made it to the trailhead around 9pm. Just before Vallecito campground there’s a sign indicating trailhead parking is to the left. I parked, and was surprised I had cell service. There were several horse trailers in the parking area, and a few vehicles.
I tried to get some sleep, but my nap earlier in the day had lasted longer than it was supposed to (my alarm didn’t go off, and 30 minutes turned into 3 hours). So, I read a bit, made a few phone calls, and got to bed later than anticipated. I was up and on the trail at 2:30am. The trail starts at the northeast corner of the campground. I started and ended the hike in the dark. Also, I had my new camera with me, and was interested in how the pictures from today would turn out.
This is a class 1 trail that goes north without any junctions, so it’s difficult to get lost/off track. I crossed the first two bridges (there are actually 3 if you consider the one that leads you out of the campground but doesn’t cross Vallecito Creek), but made it to the third bridge while it was still dark. I couldn’t see across the river, and I didn’t want to cross without a visual, so I laid out my sleeping pad and took a nap for 30 minutes until it got light enough for me to see, then I put on my sandals and crossed the river. I’m glad I waited until daylight: crossing wasn’t too difficult, the water only went up to my knees, but there were pockets/pools where I could have sunk in the water much, much further. My advice is to cross this creek (river?) in the daylight.
I continued hiking along the class 1 trail, but the stream crossing was causing me to have a Raynaud’s attack. Surprisingly, it was in my hands and not my feet. I kept pumping my fingers and balling my hands into fists, willing them to warm up and stop burning (yes, I realize that was a juxtaposition). My fingers burned for another 2 hours. I should have stopped and warmed up some water to revive them, but instead I continued hiking until I came to the Vallecito/Johnson Creek Junction. I made it to the junction after hiking for 10.3 miles, and continued left (west) towards Johnson Creek
This led me over the 4th bridge, where I continued heading west, up into Vallecito Basin.
Just as I entered the Vallecito Basin I came across a moose. She was just as surprised to see me as I was her. She was the size of a horse, adorable, and reminded me of a puppy dog, but I gave her space. After the initial inquisitive look she gave me she pranced off to the trees and watched me timidly as I hiked away.
I continued on, up a thousand or so switchbacks, through the Vallecito basin to Columbine Lake.
It took me 18.5 miles to make it to Columbine Lake. I made it there at 1pm and decided to sit and take a break for a while. It was here I realized my biggest mistake of the weekend: I didn’t have any chapstik. My lips would be burning until I made it back to the trailhead (and especially after each shot of whiskey). I snacked on a packet of tuna, filtered some water, and considered my options. I’d wanted to hike Grizzly and McCauley today, but I didn’t think I had enough time to make it back before the sun went down behind the mountains. I need to be in my bivy before the sun sets, so this was a serious concern for me. But I wasn’t tired yet. I decided instead to leave my large pack here, take just what I needed in a small pack, and summit Aztec Mountain this afternoon instead.
Here’s an overall view of the route I took to the ridge to Aztec Mountain, as seen from Hope Pass the next day
From Columbine Lake I turned and followed the trail northwest towards Columbine Pass, then turned left when it hit trail 541 (no signage, and in fact I had to wing it for a bit as the trail didn’t quite go through, but it was obvious from below where the trail was and I just aimed for it) and headed south.
I followed trail 541 for .7 miles, and then left the trail and aimed for this grassy area. My goal was to gain the ridge, and this seemed the best place to do so, as I could see a path on tundra/scree up to the ridge. After hiking up and down this is the route I’d recommend to ascend the ridge.
The terrain here is steep, and it was slow going, but I was able to ascend the ridge
Once on the ridge I was at a bit of a saddle. There is no need to head right (north) to gain this point, as it’s not ranked and you’ll just need to head back down anyway. Instead, skirt the point by heading west.
This will bring you to the ridge that will lead you to Aztec Mountain. This ridge doesn’t ‘go’. Staying low is the better option here. Here’s an overview of the path you’ll want to take
Staying low keeps this class 2. The final gully is easy to access, and the final scramble to the summit is straightforward
I summited Aztec Mountain at 3:15pm
Aztec Mountain:
Here are some pictures of the way back down to Columbine Lake
I was chasing the sun, trying to make it to the lake before the shadow of the mountain made it there and cooled everything down. Between the shadow and I it was pretty much a tie, so I gathered my gear and hiked a bit further into the sunshine and set up camp for the night.
I made it back to Columbine Lake at 5:15pm, satisfied with my choice to hike Aztec Mountain today instead of Grizzly and McCauley. I was spending the night at 12,300’, with a great view of Columbine Lake. I went to dry out my feet but my sandals were still wet from this morning (I’d forgotten to take them out and place them in the sun when I left for Aztec). I ate dinner, filtered some water, heated the water in my jetboil and filled my Nalgene with warm water for the night. I looked around for my extra pair of socks but couldn’t find them, so I guess my feet weren’t going to dry out tonight. I placed the water bottle at my feet and looked at my tracker: it said I’d done 20 miles today. Not bad. I snuggled up in my sleeping bag and bivy and looked over at Grizzly Peak. I thought about the approach tomorrow, jotted some notes down in my journal, put on all the clothing I had with me, and called it an early night.
It was a long night. A long, cold night. I was warm in my bivy and sleeping bag. Halfway through the night I felt something sniffing my ear. Seriously. It felt like a dogs’ muzzle and startled me awake. From inside my bivy I flailed my arm at it, unzipped my bivy, and looked around. There was no moon but the sky was bright with stars. I could see the mountains and the lake and rocks and tundra, but no animal. It hadn’t made a noise when I’d touched it, but I’m guessing it was a fox or a coyote with an ear fetish. The air is thin at 12,000’. A few hours later I woke up, noticing breathing was more difficult than usual. To breathe better I quickly opened my bivy to get in a few gulps of air. Not only did this not help with my breathing, but when I put the bivy back over my head the condensation from my breath had turned to ice. Wonderful. Note to self: don’t unzip the bivy.
Day 2: Grizzly Peak C, McCauley Peak, Descent
The morning couldn’t come soon enough. Just before first light I re-heated the water in my water bottle, packed my gear and was on the trail with just the essentials, leaving my big pack at the lake. I took the same trail I’d taken to summit Aztec, but at the junction with trail 541 I went right and followed the trail towards Hope Pass. Here’s an overall view of the route from yesterday’s hike
This part of the hike was on a nice trail, and when there wasn’t a trail there were great cairns. From Hope Pass I got a good look at Grizzly Peak C, and the route I wanted to take to gain the ridge. Here’s the overall route I took, aiming for a gully and rock rib that ascends the mountain
I didn’t descend to Hazel Lake, but instead stayed high, aiming for the grassy slopes below Grizzly’s ridge. There are several ways to do this
From there I aimed for the obvious gully/notch/access point (not sure what to call this?)
This gully/notch/rib is easy to follow to the ridge. Stick close to the wall and follow it southeast as it hugs the mountainside. It starts out as class 3 but after the initial solid gully it becomes class 2. I was pleasantly surprised to find cairns here.
Here’s the last bit to gain the ridge. Aim for the notch (there are cairns here too). The last part of this is class 3.
I went through the notch and found snow on the other side. This wasn’t unexpected, as I’ve spent the past 3 weekends in this area and knew north facing terrain was holding snow. What was unexpected was the amount of snow, and how it all lined the trail. It ranged from non-existent to 3 foot drifts, and from bulletproof to sugary. What’s important for the reader to know is there are multiple ways to summit Grizzly Peak, and tons of cairns to prove it, so I was able to get creative these last 250’ or so to the summit. I rock hopped where necessary, kicked in steps, and created trenches to get to the summit, always heading up and east. Here are some highlights.
The last bit to the summit was luckily snow-free, and class 3-4 (the chimney was class 4)
As I made it to the summit I wasn’t sure if the true summit was left or right. I went right and luckily chose correctly (there was a summit register beneath this point).
I summited Grizzly Peak at 9:15am. I know some of you are wondering, did I did I sit at the top of the summit point? The answer is no. The point was too pointy to sit directly on top of, but I did climb up the summit boulder, sat on it about a foot from the point and touched the top, so I’m calling it a summit. You can sit wherever you’d like. I also didn’t take the video from the point, as I do a 360 degree video and wasn’t about to attempt turning in a circle while standing on the point.
Grizzly Peak C:
Time to head back down. I down climbed the chimney and headed back, retracing the steps I’d left in the snow to the notch
I made my way back down around the side of the mountain to my entry point
My next objective was McCauley Peak. I could clearly see the line I wanted to take, up the grassy slopes to the Grizzly/McCauley saddle. Staying high didn’t cliff out, but there was one class 4 downclimb required in the area circled in red. If this scares you, you can just go lower initially (the dotted line) and re-gain elevation.
I gained the saddle and headed south along the ridge. This was all class 2
From the top of the ridge I could see the rest of the route. There were cairns here indicating I should go low, but the route was no more than class 3 sticking to the ridge. Here’s an overview of the route I took
The summit is actually the southernmost point. I rounded the west side of the mountain and found a gully to ascend (note: all gullies here ‘go’).
There was one class 3 move and then it was all class 2 to the summit
I summited McCauley Peak at 11:30am
McCauley Peak:
It was a beautiful day! The predicted winds never materialized, so I stayed a little longer on the summit than usual. Then I headed back down the gully and over the ridge
Here’s the overall route back to Hope Pass
And the route from Hope Pass back down to Columbine Lake (and my stashed gear)
I made it back to my gear at 1:30pm. I mulled it over, and decided instead of sleeping here tonight I was just going to hike as far back as possible, stopping along the way if need be (there are tons of camping spots along this trail). I consolidated my gear and was on my way back down the basin towards those thousands of switchbacks.
Back down to Vallecito Creek and its bridges (or lack thereof). This was much more enjoyable in the daylight. I was able to appreciate the creek and its depth, and even saw dozens of trout swimming in the deeper pools.
I followed the class 1 trail back to the trailhead, following the creek, and passing a hunters’ camp along the way. The mules said ‘hi’ as I trekked by. There were no people to be found.
The whole way back I was prepared to stop and camp, but I was making great time so I just kept going. I mean, I really, really needed that chapstik. About a mile from the trailhead my camera stopped working. It wasn’t until I made it back home I realized the battery had somehow fallen out. This was weird because the door was still closed, and I only realized it was gone when I opened it to take out the flash card. Luckily I have a spare. I made it back to the trailhead at 8pm, and found my extra pair of socks sitting nicely in the passenger seat. I have very different numbers for my stats looking at CalTopo and Strava. I usually go with CalTopo for numbers for consistency sake, but I’ll just leave these here for you to decide which are more accurate, along with a few topo maps of my route.
I was in this same area last week, and got a good view of the route I wanted to take to summit these peaks. This weekend the haze from the fires obscured a lot of the photos, but I think I can still get the general description across. I once again drove from Silverton to Beartown, but I decide to drive a little further up the road this time towards Kite Lake. That wasn’t the best idea (the road gets worse as you drive towards Kite Lake) but my truck still made it. She wasn’t thrilled with me, and I’ll be replacing her skid plate this week, but she made it. I drove in and out in the dark, so here are some pictures from last week’s drive.
I parked yards before the lake and was on the trail at first light: 6:30am
I realized on my way down I could have taken the trail to El Dorado Lake to gain the ridge, but that’s not what I did on my way in. You should though. Instead, before Kite Lake I headed south, and then southwest and followed the drainage below Hunchback Mountain to the ridge.
Once on the ridge I came across a trail, and followed it northeast
This would bring me to a rocky rib. Here’s an overview of the route up to White Dome, with the rib circled in red (it’s deeper than it looks). The rib drops down about 25 feet, crosses a ravine, and then gains 30 feet. This is class 3, closely bordering on class 4, and the only time I wore my helmet the entire hike.
Here’s looking down and up the ravine
And how I crossed
Here’s looking back on how I climbed into the ravine. This is pretty much vertical, straight down.
Once out of the ravine I continued southwest across some talus, aiming for another rock band. This was easy to climb up, and there was a cairn at the top, indicating the route to take. This is all class 2/easy class 3. Here are some photos:
Once I gained the ridge it was an easy hike west to the summit
I summited White Dome at 8:45am.
White Dome:
Next up was Peak One. Here’s an overall view of the route
This was a ridge hike, with no large obstacles to summiting. I dipped down once or twice to the right when needed, but this is all class 2
Here’s looking back at White Dome
I summited Peak One at 10am.
Peak One:
Now I had a decision to make. I could either turn back and head for my truck now, or make this a loop. I looked at my stats. I’d only gone 3 miles. Nope, not enough mileage/elevation/work to justify the drive in. I was going to make this a loop and summit Peak 3 and Peak 2 today as well. It would significantly raise my elevation gain (mostly on the way out) but it would mean I would need to make that 1.5-2 hour drive on a dirt road from Silverton one less time. Here’s looking at Peak Three and Peak Two from Peak One, with my overall route there and down into the basin that would lead me out
I started by heading south and following the ridge down, losing over 900’ of elevation. This ridge was class 2, with nothing too tricky. I could mainly stick to the ridge, but it would be obvious if I needed to dip right or left.
Here’s my overall route from the ridge over to Peak Three
And a look back at Peak One
And some step by step photos of my way to Peak Three. After losing approximately 900’ I regained another 800’ to the summit, first by taking a rock rib towards the upper basin, and then ascending using the scree filled gully. The scree here wasn’t too bad.
At the top of the gully it was a quick hike to the summit
I summited Peak Three at 12:30pm. I had a hard time getting my camera to cooperate, so we get a unique summit photo this time
Peak Three:
There were some pretty awesome views of the Trinities, and Wham Ridge looked dry (I didn’t get a clear picture of Vestal Peak however, sorry!)
And here’s looking back at White Dome and Peak One
Now on to Peak Two. Here’s the overall route
This is an easy ridge hike. I started out heading north and just followed the ridge. Here are some highlights. From the saddle, looking back up at Peak Three and Peak Two
There’s actually a trail here that skirts the ridge to the left
Then it’s straight up this point to a false summit
And a quick dip and rocky trek to the summit
I summited Peak Two at 1:50pm. Something was wrong with my camera. I couldn’t set up the timer for a photo, so I just took a selfie, which ended up being unfocused. I also couldn’t use any of the buttons, the visual playback didn’t work, and I wasn’t entirely sure the camera was taking a photo (even though I heard a click). Oh well, I guess it’s time for a new camera. I’ve never liked this one anyway….
Peak Two:
I looked to the northeast, and could see my intended exit route. I planned to hike back down to the basin and catch up with the Colorado Trail.
That first required me to head back the way I’d come to the Peak Two/Peak Three saddle
At the saddle I turned left and headed east and then north out of the basin
As you’re exiting, you’ll want to stay left to avoid a smooth rock waterfall
After the waterfall, aim for the trees, pass them to the right, and you’ll be able to see where the Colorado Trail picks up below
This is where I slipped on a rock the size of a microwave that decided to roll as I was using it for balance. I didn’t hurt myself, but I did bang up my camera, and when I went to take another picture all the buttons were functioning again (which was nice, but I’m still investing in another camera). Also, I need new shoes with better traction (this has nothing to do with the rock rolling, I just need new hiking boots). After this I followed the Colorado Trail east for 3.5 miles, gaining about 2100’ of elevation on a class 1 trail
The last bit was especially fun, as it involved dozens of switchbacks (sarcasm)
At the top of the hill I turned right and followed the trail south until I hooked up with the El Dorado Lake Trail, and took that east to Kite Lake and my truck
I made it back to my truck at 1:50pm, making this a 15.03 mile hike with 6051’ of elevation gain in just under 12 hours.
Peal Pass road is no joke. I drove up late at night (a little after midnight) because I had appointments until 7:30pm, and I was glad I’d decided to drive in so late: there were no other vehicles to pass on this road. Also, it was a Monday night, so I’d missed the weekend traffic. I would have been in trouble if I’d met another vehicle on this road: in the 10+ miles I only saw 2 or 3 possible turn out areas. There are many areas that are shelf road with no visibility of vehicles coming from the other direction. There were potholes several feet deep: more than once I got out to make sure my truck could handle the terrain. The stream crossings were only about a foot deep and easily crossable, but committing since you couldn’t see vehicles coming from the opposite direction.
Since it was night the shadows played tricks, but my truck was able to successfully make it to 10,420’ where I parked it for the night at the junction of 738/402. There was a 4Runner in the 2 vehicle lot and I backed in right next to it. My truck could have made it the last mile should I have chosen to drive further. Knowing I was only going to get a few hours of sleep tonight (it was almost 2am) I quickly went to bed and got up at 4:45am. I was no the trail by 5am. The trail heads up and northeast, following the 4WD dirt road.
I came to another creek crossing and decided to take off my shoes to cross (I kept them on when I crossed on my way back, as I could see the rocks better)
Here’s the rest of the 4WD road
At this point I’d like to stress how much easier this hike would have been had I started in daylight: the trail is faint and hard to find/follow. See the trail?
In the dark I missed it, and continued to follow the road. No worries though, because it was easy to take the road back to the trail when I realized my mistake. Here’s the trail
It aims towards the trees where there’s a registration box. It doesn’t look like this area gets a lot of use.
And now I was ready to hit the trail, but this is what I saw
No real trail to speak of. There are a lot of game trails in the area, which can be both helpful and confusing. I’ll save you the misery I went through route finding in the willows/trees in the dark, and give you the description of the clearer trail I was able to follow on the way back. Basically, avoid the temptation to go right into the trees. Stick as close to Middle Brush Creek as you can for the first 1.3 miles after the trail register, keeping the creek and beaver ponds to your left at all times (you’ll never need to cross the creek, but you can stay close).
The willows become problematic around 11000’, and these willows don’t quit. They range from 2 feet tall to about 10 feet tall, and where they’re over 4 feet tall they grow over the trail towards each other. There is no clearly defined trail that remains constant, but a lot of game trails that weave in and out.
Bears don’t seem to have difficulty finding the trail however
As soon as I entered the willows I started getting wet, and I was confused, as it hadn’t rained last night? Within a couple of yards I was dripping with water. My waterproof jacket was soaked, my pants spongy and my shoes were oozing water. I kept getting hit in the face with cold, wet branches and I had leaves covering my clothes. When I got home I noticed I had red streaks where the branches had whipped my legs. Have I mentioned I’m not a fan of willows? I was getting cold, and encouraged the sun to rise. Fast.
After wretchedly whomping through the willows, and after 4 miles of hiking I came upon a trail to the right (east). I headed towards the trail in the distance and followed it
This was a nice trail through the trees, and then once again, willows.
From here the trail is very obscure until you reach the upper basin. The willows have many, many game trails that make accessing the upper basin possible, but time consuming. I just kept aiming northwest, keeping the creek to my left and rejoicing when I found a game trail. I still got hit in the face with willows, but could see a trail below my knees.
I finally made it out of the willows at 12000’. Here’s the overall route I took to get to “Castleabra”
There are several ways to get to “Castleabra’s” ridge. I went directly up the south face, but could have also taken the gully to the right or left. I didn’t do this because there was a herd of about 30 goats having a grand old time kicking down rocks to the right and I didn’t bring my helmet. I was worried the scree would be brutal to my left going up, so I went straight up the middle. Here’s the route up the south face. This is all class 2 on unstable rock, and there are several access gullies. All go, just pick your line.
After gullies there’s some rubble to deal with to gain the ridge
Once I’d gained the ridge I turned left and headed west
I summited “Castleabra” at 9am. Unfortunately, I’d forgotten my camera at home, so these are all cell phone pics and due to that you get selfies (and sometimes the side of my finger in shots).
Castleabra:
Here’s a look at the route I took in
I was making this a loop, adding in PT 13550 as well. To do that I headed back the way I’d came, then angled down the scree towards the basin. There is no solid trail here, and none of the area cliffs out, so you can descend at any time and make your way scree-surfing towards the basin. Here’s the overall route I took
And step by step, back down the ridge
Here’s looking back up at the route I took down from “Castleabra”. As you can see from this photo, there are several options to gain the ridge for this peak, and the entire ridge is class 2.
Now on to summit PT 13550. The trick is to stay high and gain the ridge as quickly as possible. Don’t dip down further than you have to, because you’ll just have to re-gain the elevation later.
Once on the ridge it’s loose and rocky but all class 2. I followed the ridge to a false summit
I summited PT 13550 at 11am
13550:
Here’s a look back over at “Castleabra” and Castle Peak
It had been a long day and I was tired. I hadn’t gotten much sleep last night, and I was hiking slower than usual in the heat (but at least it’s warmed up and I’d dried out). Time to head back down the ridge
Here’s the route I took down the ridge and through the upper basin
And back down to through the willows. Luckily, I had a good idea of where I was going and the willows had dried out in the afternoon sun, so they weren’t as miserable as on the trek in. Here’s the overall route through the willows
And step by step. Yes, I was on a trail. Anyone have a chainsaw?
Back through the trees and across the talus trail
And back down to the creek/beaver ponds, following game trails where available
I picked up the faint trail that led back to the trailhead
And took the 4WD road back to my truck
I made it back to my truck at 2pm, making this a 15.2 mile hike with 4393’ of elevation gain in 9 hours.
When I got back to my truck I noticed a faint dusting of water droplets had landed on my truck last night. Just a few here and there on the dirt that coated the vehicle from the drive in. The skies had been clear when I went to bed, and I didn’t get more than 2.5 hours of sleep, but it must have sprinkled a bit in that time. Even a quick, light sprinkle of rain can cause the willows to turn into a nightmare. Next time I’ll wear my waterproof pants when willows are involved, no matter the weather.
Luckily, since it was a Tuesday I didn’t pass another vehicle on my way down (I’d been worried about that). Oh, and someone was moving cattle on my drive out. The wrangler was clicking and clucking to the cows and making swishing noises. She thanked me for stopping to let them by, and I thanked her for allowing me to take a photo and complemented her on her chaps (they were really cool). I miss farm/ranch life (kind of…). Time to head home and get more work done.
First of all, I’d like to recommend doing this hike backwards from the way I took the hike: Route finding is easier and it’s much more straightforward; You’re above treeline almost immediately and have great visuals of all the peaks/route.
Secondly, Cielo Vista Ranch makes special arrangements for people to hike these southern peaks and because of this they require you to hike (or at least drive in and camp) as a group. They wouldn’t give me a reservation to go solo, so every month since December I emailed Carlos asking if anyone else was hiking and if I could tag along. I’d get a response saying he’s “look into it” and then he’d go silent. Thank you Rose for putting the ask out there and letting me tag along on your reservation!
We all met at a special entrance to the ranch and around 5:30pm. Carlos met us at the gate and had one of his guys drive us 7 miles up a dirt road to our campsite. This is a 4WD dirt road, and while 4WD wasn’t necessary the entire drive it did come in handy once or twice. Carlos gave us each his business card and asked that we text him when we exited the property the next day. At this point I view Carlos as a celebrity. I mean this in a positive way. Yes, he’s charging us all out the nose, but at least he’s nice about it. Also, he’s known by his first name.
Here’s a topo of the road we took. These roads are not shown on maps (CalTopo). I made a GPX file on the way back, which came in handy because there aren’t many ways to get lost on this road but I always seem to find them (I backtracked twice). We’d noticed on the way in the GPX file(s) we had were correct, but the road they took us on switched back and forth between the two files (apparently some of the roads are now washed out and impassable). Also, TONS of moths. Like, Biblical plague amounts. We had our Miller Moth season last month: Cielo Vista is experiencing it now.
Here’s a picture of where we parked our vehicles and camped for the night, around 11,750’
We all sat and chatted for a bit. I kept thinking to myself I should go look at the route I’d intended to start out on while it was still daylight, but I had a couple glasses of whiskey and I fear I was a bit too chatty. You see, I’m used to drinking alone (that sounded bad) but what I mean by that is when I usually hike/camp/etc. alone I have a few drinks, scope out the beginning of the route or at minimum where the trail starts, and call it a night. Early. Instead here I was, talking to people at camp. It was so nice to have like-minded people to talk to: we understood and appreciated each other’s mountaineering experiences and goals. That’s so much more refreshing than my mom freaking out every time I bring up hiking because she thinks I’m going to die. We discussed our intended routes for tomorrow and I decided to take the opposite route as the others so I’d be able to do it solo. I didn’t get to bed until a little after 9:30pm, and I never got a good look at the route I intended to take.
I woke up at 3:30am and decided I wasn’t ready to get up yet so I slept a bit more. I was way too comfortable. The third time my alarm went off I figured I’d better get going. I woke up, gathered my gear, and was off. My plan was to head northeast around the mountain and pick up a trail in the basin to the north of Purgatoire. After hiking for about a quarter mile I came to a rocky area that didn’t look passable in the dark. Well, it might have been, but at that moment my flashlight went out and I couldn’t see a thing (I later confirmed on the hike both visually and after talking with others telling me they’d turned around there as well that that route’s not passable). I decided to retrace my steps and try again.
Back at my truck I saw the others getting ready; their headlamps glowing inside their tents/trucks. I got a new flashlight from my truck (a headlamp: I’m not fond of headlamps as they make me dizzy but it was better than nothing). I restarted my tracker and was on my way, following the 4WD dirt road as it wound around the mountainside, losing about 450’ of elevation in the process (which was what I’d been trying to avoid by going around the mountainside first. Oh well).
After about a half mile my headlamp gave out. Great. Two flashlights out in the same hour. Who would have guessed? At least I was just following a dirt road and the sun would be rising soon. I’d just make a lot of noise to scare the larger critters who may be hiking with me this morning away.
I heard a loud noise ahead of me. An animal had been startled by the noise I’d made, ran through the deadfall for about 20 feet and then stopped. Knowing some animal was standing still ahead I made a lot of noise with my trekking pole. It didn’t budge. I slowly hiked forward and noticed whatever I’d scared into bolting for a little bit I’d scared pretty badly: I could tell by the smell.
The animal was still there, and now I could hear it breathing. I made noises again but it didn’t move. I was worried it may be an injured animal and wanted to know what it was, and obviously I didn’t feel comfortable turning my back to it. In the dark I got out my phone and decided to take a picture (thinking the flash would go off and I’d be able to see what it was, even if the photo didn’t turn out. Note: Later in my hike I realized I could have used the flashlight app on my phone, but since I’d never used it before the thought didn’t come to mind until later).
I took a picture and the beast in front of me was…. a cow. Yep, a cow, and the first of many I’d see today.
Well, that was anticlimactic! I’ve raised cows before (both dairy and beef) and I know how to handle them. I clapped my hands, waved and shouted “Move on!” held my walking stick parallel to the ground and advanced forward. The cow turned, moved out of my way, and I continued on. I saw about 10 more cows before it got light, but knowing what they were I didn’t have a problem with them anymore.
I followed the dirt road for about 1.25 miles until it came to a 3 way divergence. I randomly took the middle road as it looked to be heading in the direction I wanted to go and it turned out to be the right one.
I continued east through the trees, encountering more cows, until I made it to the basin. The sun was now up and my anxiety level dropped. There were still tons of cows, but now I could see them, as well as cow trails and ATV trails. I followed the ones that went east.
Once out of the trees I could easily see the path I wanted to take to summit Alamosito. (Note, some routes tell you to take the saddle and drop down into another basin and then gain another saddle, summiting Vermejo first then backtracking to Alamosito. The way I went just made more sense to me, but several routes all ‘go’. Alternately you could gain the Alamosito/Purgatoire saddle and summit from there as well).
This was straightforward, except for these cows who didn’t seem to want me to pass. I made noise and told them to “get along” they just stared at me. One even lifted its hind foot and stomped a few times, kicking up dust. I got the impression they were expecting something from me. Even the calves had ear tags, so they’re used to humans (at least in some part). I passed them to their left and they went back to grazing.
Here’s a look back from the saddle. I’ve circled the campsite in red, and the area that cliffed out in yellow. Note: Everyone else just went straight up the ridge to start (a better choice to begin). My route to the saddle is in orange.
From the saddle I turned right and headed east. This was a very straightforward ridge hike. In fact, they all were today.
I summited Alamosito at 6:45am, after 2 hours and 3.3 miles of hiking. There was a summit register in a glass jar buried in the cairn.
Alamosito:
I turned north and headed down the ridge to the Alamosito/Vermejo saddle
There was some rubble to contend with on the way down, but all class 2
From the saddle I turned right and headed east up to the summit of Vermejo Peak (that’s a false summit you’re looking at here). There was some rubble here as well
At the top of this easy ridge walk there was another .3 miles to go before making it to the summit, also an easy trek that reminded me of Ireland: the tundra was green and there were lots of black and white rocks. The picture doesn’t do that justice.
I summited Vermejo Peak at 7:45am. From Alamosito to Vermejo it’s just over a mile and a half of hiking. There was a summit register here as well (one of the pipe ones I can never open because: Raynauds).
Vermejo Peak:
There were great views of Red Mountain A and Culebra from the summit
I turned and headed back the way I came, towards the saddle and back up to Alamosito
From the saddle there’s a great view of both Purgatoire and Alamosito
From the saddle I made my way back up to summit Alamosito
I re-summited Alamosito at 9am and looked over at Purgatoire Peak
This was another easy ridge walk. Rubble turned to tundra as I made my way towards the saddle
Here’s looking back at Alamosito and Vermejo Peak from the Alamosito/Purgatoire saddle
The rest of the ridge to the summit of Purgatoire was straightforward
I summited Purgatoire Peak at 10am
Purgatoire Peak:
There was a summit cairn, and also this thing. I’m not sure what it is? I could probably look it up, but, thoughts?
I turned west to head down the way I should have headed up, back over this unnamed point (which has about 260’ of elevation gain from the saddle, and tops out at well over 13K)
Here’s looking at the route from the morning when I was hiking up Alamosito
It starts out as a simple ridge walk on tundra, dotted with rocks the size of toasters, and once at the saddle it looked like there may be some scrambling involved, but there’s actually a game trail to the left of the ridge that makes the ridge easy to follow
Here’s a look at the route from the saddle towards Purgatoire Peak
From the top of the point there’s a tundra ridge to walk down, and just a little bit of forest to go through before reaching the road. As long as you aim for the road you’ll be fine, as you can follow it to the campsite. Yes, I should have hiked the couple hundred feet up this last night: it would have made the entire route more obvious.
Here’s a look back from treeline on the point you need to ascend if heading this way
Once you’re in the trees navigation can be a little difficult. Just keep aiming west and you’ll hit the road. Oh, and you can’t see them in these pictures, but there were moths everywhere! Thousands of them swarming around. They apparently appreciate the elevation / pines today.
I made it back to the 4WD road we drove in on and followed it back to my truck. I arrived back at my truck at 11:45am, making this a 9.74 mile hike with 4828’ of elevation gain in 7 hours (not counting my early morning false start).
I got back in my truck and followed the road back to the gate. The route was much easier on the way down than on the way up. I unlocked the gate, re-locked it, drove through, and text Carlos to let him know I’d exited the property. Also, the lock was much easier to figure out than the one that was there when I hiked Culebra (but to be fair, it was also the first day they’d implemented that system).
Here’s a topo map of my route, as well as the drive in.
It was still early in the day. I ate a sandwich as I drove the 3 hours to the next trailhead during a thunderstorm.
After gullies there’s some rubble to deal with to gain the ridge
Wild Wanderer 