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I had been wanting to climb these peaks ever since I read a trip report by Steve Knapp on LOJ. I completed the loop clockwise rather than counterclockwise. Ben G and Tdawg were my willing hiking partners. This would be Ben G.'s last Colorado summit for about two years so we had to make it a good one.
We got a much later start than we had planned, which would come back and bite us later on. Our route was simple, climb the north ridge of 13212. The bushwhacking went very quick considering we climbed 2500 feet in a mile and soon we were looking at the impressive summit block of 13212. We had to traverse around to the southwest on ledges to a gully which provided easy access to the summit. There was a class 3 ramp and a couple of other class 3 moves required to reach this summit.
North ridge photo: (Ben G) Photo by Ben G Photo by Ben G
After a short summit stay we headed out on the ridge south towards 13284. The ridge was a mix of class 2 walking and class 3-4 scrambling. About an hour of scrambling later we summited 13284 which has an unofficial name of "Wayah Peak".
Because it's there Photo by Ben G
The climb over the two soft ranked peaks was the most difficult climbing of the day. It was almost constant class 3 on solid fun rock. We had to navigate around a couple of cliffs, this was the most fun section of the day.
Photo by Ben G Photo by Ben G Photo by Ben G
After the soft ranked peaks the ridge mellows out for a bit before climbing to 13300. The climbing after 13300 gets much more difficult, there is one more cliff to navigate on the downclimb. I climbed out and saw a rotting rappel sling. This was my indication to not attempt this overhanging downclimb. We descended some grassy ledges (class 3) and encountered a stiff class 4 downclimb to reach the saddle. We received a break from scrambling for a while after this, the only problem was we were greeted with loose rock and scree for a bit.
Ben G on class 4 crux looking back on crux tower
We joined the continental divide and followed it to 13202. The ridge up to 13202 goes at mostly class 2 with a few class 3 moves. There is a convenient ledge which allows access to the summit.
Marten Creek (Ben G)
It is a long hike over to 13026 with a 12970 foot ridge bump in the way. We made the long trek to 13026, it really felt like a long walk after the long day. From 13026 we descended into the valley. It went quickly until the bottom of the valley, which as Steve described it, was a boggy mess. It took a significant amount of effort to follow the overgrown trail and head down the valley. It took a very long time to reach the car. If I were to do this again I would complete the traverse and avoid Marten Creek altogether. I do not recommend going into this valley.
Tower near 13202 (Ben G) Snow Travel (Ben G) studying the route down (Ben G) Descent valley Evening light Photo by Ben G Photo by Ben G Moonlight (Ben G)
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
Tradeaaron- The TH we used was the Fryingpan Lakes TH, which can be accessed through Basalt and Ruedi Reservoir or by going over Hagerman Pass.
Anna- These peaks would be beautiful in the fall.
I did the the ridge from 13300 to 13212 a few years ago from Fryingpan Lakes and it remains one of my favorite hikes ever. What a beautiful place...thanks for the reminder.
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