After climbing Handies Peak, Bob and I headed up Slumgullion Pass outside Lake City to get to the Stewart Creek trailhead. The directions in Roach's new 13er book are very clear, and it helps to have the Gunnison National Forest map to navigate these roads. The road junctions are well signed and easily visible even in the dark, and the roads themselves were all in excellent condition. We did notice a large number of trees that had evidently been blown over by wind; many of these trees had crossed the roads but had been cleared away and did not pose a problem for us.

After about 40 miles and 1:30 hours, we finally reached the Stewart Creek trailhead. It was deserted as expected. We parked and set up the back of the Expedition for sleeping, had a quick beer and settled in for the night. As usual, I did not sleep well even though I had climbed Handies earlier in the day, and I was tired and stiff in the morning. Bob had his watch alarm set for 05:30 but by consensus we slept in and woke up around 06:45. After some coffee and breakfast we started up the trail at 07:20. It was a perfectly clear day, and quite warm already. 15 minutes into the hike we both needed a clothing adjustment down to shorts and t-shirts.

The first trail segment follows Stewart Creek for 4 miles and slowly ascends from 10,480' to about 12,000'. Numerous beaver ponds dot the valley, and we noticed several log runs the beavers must have used when harvesting the aspens from the slopes above. The trail is excellent; the terrain varies from open meadows bordering the creek to thick spruce forest. Several of the blown down trees crossed the path, but were easily negotiated. We made good time and reached the upper end of the basin where the trail crossed over the creek and started a steep section.

I ran out of water before this point and we stopped at the stream crossing to filter some water. My filter apparently needed cleaning as the water pumping was going very slowly. I did a quick cleaning job and Bob filled up a Nalgene bottle but my Camelback was not as full as I thought it was. We started up the steep section, which wasn't all that bad but we were both a little worn out from the long approach and the previous day's climb. We saw an elk higher up in the basin, which seemed spooked by us and ran up and over the ridge. Eventually we reached the wide saddle at about 13,100' and took a short break before continuing. The trail was clear as it skirted the first 2 or 3 high points on the ridge, then followed the ridge line to the summit.

Shortly after our break, a lone bighorn sheep appeared over a ridge heading straight for us. It didn't seem to notice us and walked a short distance as we got our cameras out, then it broke into a run and changed course to avoid us as it headed down the hill. I took some action shots as it ran past:

          
Fotos ©2002 by John C. Maki

Even though the peak seemed to be far away from the saddle, this part of the trail was not very steep and went quickly. We bypassed the first couple high points on the ridge, climbed a moderately steep section, then found ourselves on the summit at 11:20 - a 4 hour ascent. The weather was ideal; sunny, a very light breeze, and the temperature must have been at least 60 F on the summit. Actually a little warm for my liking, but excellent for relaxing on a summit. A small plastic vase containing some dead flowers was by the summit cairn, along with a wooden cross and a ziploc bag with a pencil and a single sheet of paper full of names. The register covered the time from September, 2001 to May 2002, with the few May entries scratched in where the writer could find room. I didn't bother trying to find a space to write and put the register back.

Foto ©2002 by John C. Maki

We headed back down at 11:50. I had again run out of water near the summit on the way up, so when we reached the creek I took out my filter to get some more water. It seemed to take forever to get just a little water in the bladder, so I made a plan to thoroughly clean my filter upon returning home. I pumped enough water for the remaining hike and we left the head of the basin and started the long 4 miles back to the trailhead. I remarked that the problem with a "flat" section of trail is that it takes almost as long to hike out as it did to hike in. We were both pretty beat by this time and it was a little too hot with the sun beating down on us. But you just keep walking and eventually you get where you want to...

At about 11,000' Bob saw a garter snake on the side of the trail - it seemed awfully high up for a snake to live. We continued the long hike out and finally spotted the trailhead. Another quarter mile or so and we reached the trailhead at about 14:35. A welcome beer and footwear change, and we were on our way out of there and heading back home. This time we just followed road signs and with the aid of the national forest map, picked a path to the north and finally reached US 50 after a 40 mile, 1:30 hour drive - same as the way in from Lake City. San Luis Peak is indeed far from anywhere.

We had an uneventful drive home; a little rain here and there, a decent burger at the Smokehouse in Buena Vista. We started thinking about the next climb: Blanca/Ellingwood/Little Bear. Since neither of us is working, and since the drought has kicked off an early 14er season (which still seems to be a secret), mid-June during the week seems perfect to knock off Little Bear without having to worry so much about human-caused rockfall in the infamous Hourglass. With only 16 14ers left to climb (13 for Bob) we have little choice but to work on the more difficult climbs.