Crestones via Cottonwood route questions

[herdbull]

You don't hear much about this route and I'm wondering if anyone has been up there this year? I like to stay away from the crowds and the "normal" routines if I can help it. The GF and I are heading out there from WI for 5-6 days in a few weeks and I wanted to head up the Crestones. I was planning on packing in from the Cottonwood side, spending a night and then myself making the climb for both of them. She has no 14er experience and minimal climbing experience so she will not be attempting the summits.

How is the route on that side? Any visible camping spots near the creek split? I've been up the S. Colony Lakes side last year and I hear the road isn't all that pretty this year so that's another reason to attempt the less traveled route.

I've gone through quite a few TR but most of them are all from the other side. There was one though that looked like a total nightmare for whatever reason. I'm thinking route finding had something to do with that though. Any beta would be appreciated.

[Samajax]

Same here. I'll be doing this in late August and have searched all the reports. Some are very old, and some are in winter. Some folks go up the shelf climbs, some go around to the north and west? I've also read Matt's report from his 100 Summits website (looks like that was his trip with Terry Matthews). Looks like its fairly straightforward, but definitely should be done during the day. Like Herdbull, any extra hints would be appreciated.

[herdbull]

I should also add my main objective is to get her out on an overnight. She can handle a 15-20lb pack and has been to 12,300' without troubles. She has also done a 14 miler. So she can handle the mtns just not the technical stuff.

It would be nice to get #52 & #53 completed at the same time but that doesn't HAVE to happen. The Crestones will always be there. The thought has crossed my mind about just taking her up Princeton, Huron or maybe Massive via SW route but those wouldn't involve an overnight. Or maybe an overnight up Harvard. I'd like to stay in that area between Leadville and Salida as I have a surprise planned at the Mt. Princeton hot springs as well as a night in a hotel in Salida.

[jwinters]

We did Crestone Peak from Cottonwood Creek in a day about a month ago. Nice alternative to Colony lakes, but a fairly big day. Trail is hard to follow from about 10,000 feet up to treeline due to lots of blow downs. It was manageable and we didn't lose a whole lot of time, but just a heads up. Looked like a couple decent camp spots near or below treeline that might work. We didn't get to Cottonwood Lake so I can't comment on that. Have fun! Oh yeah, on a scale of 1-10 the mosquitoes were a 15. It might be better now that it's cooling off a bit, but be prepared anyways.
-Jordan

[herdbull]

Thanks for the info. Still debating this or an overnight to Harvard so she can attempt her first 14er

[oldkingog]

A friend and I did this route a couple of weeks ago. It is a great backpack up and there is some good camping at 11,000 and 11,300. I wouldn't want to take my pack higher than this. The trail is mostly clear. A few trees down about 2.5 miles in, but not hard to navigate. There are some steep boiler plates just below camping, but nothing dangerous. There is some route finding issues through the willows past the waterfall to Cottonwood Lake, but it was a fun adventure. We climbed Needle the first day and then I did Peak the next day. I'd be happy to send you a gpx file of the route if you are using a gps. Just PM me! I would highly recommend this route. It was a relatively short hike to both Needle and Peak from the camp spot and no one else was camping there!

[jdorje]

Cottonwood is a challenging but rewarding trail. Just getting to the lake is more work than most 14ers, probably including Harvard.

I don't think near the creek split is a particularly good place to camp. It is steep, rocky, and forested. Plus you can get lost easily if you hike up from there in the dark. Near treeline there are open areas. The lake has great camping spots but it's above treeline. Camping just before the cutoff for crestone peak is probably ideal.

[fahixson]

We're planning to attempt Peak from the Cottonwood approach this week, hiking the approach trail either Thur or Fri. Here are a few trip reports that used the Cottonwood approach. Similar to what's been said here, looks like a tougher hike than South Colony, but potentially an enjoyable alternative.
Cottonwood to Crestones
Perfect Day to Finish the 14ers
Peak to Needle via Cottonwood Creek
Carrying the Torch
Peak to Needle Traverse from Cottonwood Creek TH
Peak and Needle via Cottonwood Trail
Crestone Needle and Peak via Cottonwood Creek
Crestone Peak via Cottonwood Creek
Crestone Peak via Cottonwood Creek Trailhead

If we come up with any tips that aren't included in these TRs, I'll post an update here.

[oldkingog]

Although these old trip reports are helpful, I think they are quite outdated as far as the condition of the trail. The forest service has done an excellent job maintaining this trail and there are plenty of cairns to assist the way. There was no timber-bashing of as there were in the older days.

[fahixson]

I posted my follow-up in the Cottonwood approach thread specific to climbing the waterfall. Herdbull mentioned he's leaning towards Harvard, but Samajax, if you're still planning on this trip, we found Highpilgrims pictures/drawings helpful. Hopefully, my pictures and comments give you some additional tips as well. Here's the other thread if you haven't seen it ...
Cottonwood Creek Waterfall Climb

[Samajax]

Fahixson, thanks for the pictures and the links. I've read all of those, but your slab pictures are helpful. It's very doubtful that we will do this in the dark, so we'll have plenty of time to get "off trail".

We were planning on camping above treeline, so I guess we'll have to find that perfect vertical slab to hang our food and keep the critters at bay. Looks like most folks camp below treeline, so any suggestions from keeping the critters out of the tent- we still have coyote urine from our Chicago Basin trip. Wonder how long that stuff keeps.

We've also planned Ellingwood from Zapata Falls, so it looks like the less traveled routes are going to be our jamb this year. That will make up for our very first Front Range party time plan of doing Torreys and Grays before heading south. First the crowds because of the "list", then some Sangre goodness. For some odd reason, we had Challenger/Kit Carson all to ourselves last year, same goes for the Needle back in 2006.

[fahixson]

Only critters we saw near camp were marmots and fish in the lake. A few flies, grasshoppers, and bees, but very few mosquitoes. We saw some sheep near the base of the gully and a goat next to the gully. Not sure if they wandered over to the lake while we were hiking. We didn't see any signs of bears anywhere along the trail or near the lake. However, there is a sign at the TH from 2012 stating that the area has seen high bear activity or something along those lines.

At the risk of being scolded, I'll admit we didn't hang our food or other smelly stuff. We did use some "odor proof" plastic bags (even double bagged), but I'm sure they're not 100% odor proof. We did all our meal prep and eating about 100 yards or so from the tents, as well as bathroom business. We didn't see any signs of animal activity around camp or eating spot when we returned. Someone has built a small windbreak/shelter in the rocks north of the lake. You'll see some neatly stacked rocks that served as a nice dinner spot. There were also three or four white buckets near that sheltered area. Not sure what they were for, but looked like they had been left there on purpose so we did not disturb.

We really enjoyed camping near the lake. I can see benefits of camping down lower too, but we had a great experience. It was amazingly quite. Not just because we were the only people around, but mountains seem to create a natural wind barrier around the lake and the running water is at the far west end. You couldn't hear the stream from camp. Almost hard to sleep it was so quite. I'm not sure I've ever been in a more quite spot outdoors. Only negative I can think of is it was tough to find good places to sleep. Fairly rocky around the lake, even in the grassy areas. So, if you have more than one or two people, someone will likely be sleeping on a bumpy spot.

If our trip is any indicator, I wouldn't expect to see many people. We were the only people camped at the lake on a Saturday night with perfect weather for the weekend. We did chat with that group of 4 at the meadow below the lake on our way up. There were four others at various spots in the gully we chatted with on our way down. They were heading up to Peak from the South Colony side. On the way down, we ran into two guys a mile or so from the TH that were planning to camp at the lake for two nights. So, it should be quite the change from G&T.