Irving Peak via Vallecito T/H

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bdwyer
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Irving Peak via Vallecito T/H

Post by bdwyer »

Anyone know if there is a climber's trail from Vallecito Trail? I heard there is one at about 6.5-7 miles in.
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HikerGuy
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Re: Irving Peak via Vallecito T/H

Post by HikerGuy »

I downloaded this GPX file a couple of years ago. I think it came off a trip report here on 14ers.com, but I can't find the report now. I believe the author said there was NO trail, but the route was doable. It looks awfully steep to me though.

EDIT: Found it! It was not a trip report, but rather a route added by Boggy B.
https://www.14ers.com/route.php?route=2 ... type=13ers

irving-lake.gpx
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Mtnman200
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Re: Irving Peak via Vallecito T/H

Post by Mtnman200 »

Here's a brief description from my copy of Robert Rosebrough's "The San Juan Mountains" book:
Irving Peak.jpg
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Last edited by Mtnman200 on Mon Sep 06, 2021 8:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Bombay2Boulder
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Re: Irving Peak via Vallecito T/H

Post by Bombay2Boulder »

I recently did the Irving Lake approach with a friend a couple of weeks back. I will not recommend this approach. We pretty much were on the route description's GPX track, there is considerable downfall on this route now, there are game trails here and there but nothing that really help. It makes for extremely slow going, the waterfall crossing itself was a cakewalk. It took us around 12+ hrs to get to Irving lake from the TH and for reference we were both above average pace hikers.
DaveLanders
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Re: Irving Peak via Vallecito T/H

Post by DaveLanders »

I used Rosebrough's description to climb Irving in '94. It was steep; I logged it at 4200' vertical in a 6 mile round trip from a camp near the Vallecito/Johnson Ck junction. I think the whole thing was only class 2.
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Boggy B
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Re: Irving Peak via Vallecito T/H

Post by Boggy B »

Bombay2Boulder wrote: Mon Sep 06, 2021 8:34 pm I recently did the Irving Lake approach with a friend a couple of weeks back. I will not recommend this approach. We pretty much were on the route description's GPX track, there is considerable downfall on this route now, there are game trails here and there but nothing that really help.
I debated how to tackle Irving, N. Irving, and 13030 for a long time. Certainly these peaks are most leisurely accessed via Rock Lake and combine well with any number of others in the vicinity, but for an overnight I ruled out the N. Vallecito approaches for their many more miles of driving and hiking, and besides the prospect of walking over Hunchback Pass a billionth time.

Like the OP I considered camping along Vallecito, but that means doing vastly more work on day two. I have read that Irving Creek itself is a nightmarish bushwhack. Rosebrough's terse secondhand description of the W slopes is colossally understated and involves the same kind of terrain as my route, but with potentially no water source at its end.

Carrying a bivy and powder for dinner I made the lake in under six hours (not running), so I didn't think my route was too bad, but I'm sorry to have sold you a lemon. I do think for an overnight it's one of the least bad options. For more than one night, I'd give the W slopes a go, or maybe check out Hidden Lake.
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