Route Description

- Drive to the town of Gardner - northwest of Walsenburg on Colorado 69.
- From Gardner, head west for about 1/2 mile on CO 69 and turn west on the road to Mosca Pass. There should be brown Forest Service signs on CO 69 indicating the turn.
- Just after the start of this road, there is a Forest Service sign that says "Upper Huerfano - 21.5" and "Lily Lake Trhd - 22.5".
- Continue 6.8 miles and bear right. Shortly after this the road turns to dirt.
- Drive 4.7 miles to a junction and turn left onto Forest Road 580.
- Drive 3.4 miles and the road will enter private property. There is a "Forest Access" sign that reads "Upper Huerfano - 5.3 mi."
- Continue 0.6 mile and stay left at the entrance to the Singing River ranch. The road becomes rough, narrow, but still 2WD.
- Continue 0.8 mile and pass the entrance to the Aspen River ranch. The road turns to 4WD after this point.
- Drive 3.4 miles enter the San Isabel National Forest. The road continues to get worse.
- Drive 0.8 mile and pass a small sign for the Huerfano and Zapata trails.
- Drive 1 more mile to the end of the road at the Lily Lake TH. The last 1/4 mile is rough but usually ok for most 4WD vehicles.

Details:

From the parking area, hike south on the Lily Lake trail through the trees and quickly down to a large meadow - Photo #1. The Huerfano River is in the center of the meadow off to your left (east). Hike 1 mile to a sign for the Lily Lake trail - Photo #2. The Lily Lake trail turns right and goes up the hill. Stay straight on the unmarked trail. Hike another 100 yards and the trail will cross the river - Photo #3. Weave through the trees as the trail stays near the river. Stay on the trail as it continues through the trees but not too far from the river on your right. 1/4 mile after the river crossing, the trail begins to climb left (southeast) through the trees and away from the river - Photo #4. Near 10,800', a boulder field is off to the left as you climb up through the trees on the thin trail.

For the next 700', the trail climbs to and along the left side of a gully with a small stream. Exit the trees near 11,400' and follow the trail along the stream. Near 11,500', there is a small, rectangular mine entrance on the rocks across the gully. Photo #5 shows the upper portion of the gully. Near 11,700', cross the stream and continue on the trail as it climbs southwest out of the gully and back into the trees. Hike through the trees to reach the crest of a small ridge near 12,000'. Your next goal is to cross a large basin (Photo #6) on a good trail, and begin climbing again near 12,100' - Photo #7. You are now heading up toward the saddle between Iron Nipple (13,500') and Lindsey. Continue up to another flat area (Photo #8) and then follow a small ridge (Photo #9) to a crest at 12,900' (Photo #10) where the top of Lindsey is visible. Follow a broken trail east up through a boulder field and onto the saddle at ~13,150' - Photo #11.

From here, the route becomes more serious as it climbs a gully on Lindsey's North Face - Photo #12 and Photo #13. Hike southeast along the ridge on a small trail and, near 13,200', the trail turns east and starts across the face. Continue to the base of the gully - Photo #14, Photo #15 and Photo #16. The route from here is semi-steep, loose, and more difficult. Climb up the gully and try not to get the rocks moving. When possible, use the more stable rock on the edges of the gully. Near the top of the gully (approximately 13,600'), there are some narrow areas where you cannot avoid some Class 3 climbing unless it is filled with snow - Photo #17. At the top of the gully pass through a small notch (Photo #18) and ascend east across several more shallow gullies as you gradually gain elevation. If you take your time, you should be able to find some cairns and trail segments. Continue climbing up across several more areas with semi-loose rock - Photo #19.

Above 13,800', the route remains steep (Photo #20 and Photo #21) until you hit Lindsey's summit ridge near 14,000'. Photo #22 is a view of the summit from here. Hike less than 0.2 mile over and up to the summit - Photo #23, Photo #24 and Photo #25.