Recommendation for overnighter in Sangres / Elks

[hvolmer]

I really need to hit some mountains that aren't up I-70/285.

What I would like to do is drive down the night before, hike in a little or camp near my truck, climb something the next morning, and head home that evening. Saturday night through Sunday most likely. I'm not really prepared for multi-day pack trips, but I figured a few of these would help me understand what I need to build pack-wise, and get me into some different terrain.

Are there good Sangre or Elks peaks for doing this? Gotta keep it class 3 or less.

Thanks

[GregMiller]

Just did Challenger/Kit Carson this last weekend, fit's the bill perfectly. Nice ~4 mile hike into Willow Lake, which is gorgeous, then a Class 2 up Challenger, and Class 3 (barely) over to Kit Carson and back. We hiked up Saturday afternoon, did the mountains Sunday morning/afternoon, and got back around 9 or 10 Sunday evening (because we woke up late and took extra long on the hike).

[Kiefer]

I thought Cathedral Lake and peak were fantastic!
Cathedral Peak is class-3. Just to the north on a nice, class-1 trail is Electric Pass Peak and Leahy Peak (class-2).
Camping spots exist near the lake and the good thing is it's only a 2.5-3 mile hike!

Same drive (up Castle Creek Road from the main round-a-bout outside Aspen) as for Castle Peak but you turn off MUCH sooner. Turn is marked.
You won't see very many people. Most drive past Cathedral on towards Castle/Conundrum.
Been up there twice this year.

[GregMiller]

I thought Cathedral Lake and peak were fantastic!
Cathedral Peak is class-3. Just to the north on a nice, class-1 trail is Electric Pass Peak and Leahy Peak (class-2).
Camping spots exist near the lake and the good thing is it's only a 2.5-3 mile hike!

Same drive (up Castle Creek Road from the main round-a-bout outside Aspen) as for Castle Peak but you turn off MUCH sooner. Turn is marked.
You won't see very many people. Most drive past Cathedral on towards Castle/Conundrum.
Been up there twice this year.

Ooh, I'll definitely keep that one in mind. You happen to see what the ridge looks like over towards Conundrum? Wondering if you could do Cathedral -> Conundrum -> Castle.