13er route descriptions ?

[jrbren_vt]

Sorry if I missed the memo. I notice that when I click the “routes” tab for any 13ers, I get

Sorry, no route descriptions have been added for Bard Peak.
Try the Trip Reports^

Replace appropriate 13er name in for “Bard Peak” above.

Have the 13er route descriptions been moved or eliminated from this site altogether ?

In the mean time I can use trip reports and all trails, but I liked the route description on this site to get another perspective. Sometimes I would find route descriptions here that I can't find elsewhere.
I am trying to get back into hiking shape after breaking my fibula on June 18. It's mostly heeled but still very susceptaple for reinjury for the rest of this year so looking for relatively foot friendly trails (using brace and trekking poles).
I did the Grizzly, Cupid, Sniktau trio yesterday which was doable but very tiring right now. The foot that had been broken did well. Grizzly was probably beyond what I should be doing but was manageable with extra caution. Thinking Parnassus or Pettingell next.
Parnassus looks doable from trip reports (thanks to Wildwanderer). Wondering if there is a foot friendly way up Bard without making it too long of a day (eg, doing both Parnassus and Bard may be a bit much for the next few couple of weeks until I get stronger).
Maybe Sherman or Bierstadt ?

Thanks.

[9patrickmurphy]

https://www.14ers.com/13ers

Not all 13ers have a route description written for them. I don't know if Bard had one at one point, but I don't recall it having one when I was researching that peak. Follow the link above to see at a glance which 13ers have route descriptions and which do not.

[angry]

I use the climb 13ers website. https://www.climb13ers.com/colorado-13ers/

[CaptainSuburbia]

Making your own route is what makes 13ers so great.

[Reg0928]

Making your own route is what makes 13ers so great.

This x1000.

Find a parking spot on a 4wd road and charge up the hill!

[two lunches]

Making your own route is what makes 13ers so great.

This x1000.

Find a parking spot on a 4wd road and charge up the hill!

Laura (WildWanderer) has made some OUTSTANDING contributions in the realm of Trip Reports for 13ers, but generally speaking, many of those peaks do not have any established route beyond "up". if you would like to add a route, there is a button to do so.

happy trails, OP

[viejo]

If you want to extend the Parnassus walk, try heading back west over Wood, and if feeling it, continue to Machebeuf. From Machebeuf, you can continue west and pick up the Jones pass trail down to Herman Gulch. Or from Wood or Machebeuf, drop back into Watrous Gulch. All pretty foot friendly. Personally, I avoid detailed route descriptions. Solvitur ambulando.

[E_A_Marcus_949]

Some have routes, some don't. People have written wonderful trip reports and some read like a route description even. I find that part of the fun though with 13ers - needing to do the research and likely not having a trail.

[jrbren_vt]

Looks like I may have jumped the gun by assuming the Parnassus and Pettingell group would be the first to have route descriptions given their proximity into Denver & I70. I assumed these are super popular as 13ers go (they look fabulous from Sniktau group). I looked through a half dozen 13ers in this area and none had route descriptions. Since reading these replies I went back to some I know I read route descriptions, eg Little Horn in the Sangres, and it is still there. So maybe these 13ers are not as busy as I thought they were. Cool.

I will likely do Parnassus from the I70 trail head (Watrous Gulch TH) & use the AllTrails GPX. Going to Bard as well right now is probably pushing it for me right now (given I would have to reclimb Parnassus, else find another way down), I will come back another day for that. Thanks to Wildwanderer for the inspiring trip report on this one. Citadell looks like fun but class 3 is too much for me just yet. I at least want to be 100% healthy for that. Sherman and Bierstadt are likely targets for 2H October barring any setbacks (although these maybe easier than Parnassus). I am not sure how to make a 3K'+ day out of Sherman, looking at it's route descriptions it doesn't get there even with adding 2 13ers to the day. Maybe these are best saved for winter when you can start from the winter closure ?

Anyway, thanks for the replies. I usually like finding my own way as well, but right now I am looking for foot friendly stuff that I have not done before. There is a lot to choose from.

[madmattd]

I will likely do Parnassus from the I70 trail head (Watrous Gulch TH) & use the AllTrails GPX. Going to Bard as well right now is probably pushing it for me right now (given I would have to reclimb Parnassus, else find another way down), I will come back another day for that.

You can drop down the Bard-Parnassus saddle towards I-70 and pick up the Bard Creek Trail that will take you back to Watrous Gulch (I'd aim slightly skier's right on your way down the lower half and pick up the trail near the obvious knob around 11,900'). There's some TRs on here I know I found before I did those peaks a number of years ago. The initial descent is fairly steep and I'm not sure I'd say it is foot-injury-friendly, but know it's there for another day perhaps. I don't recall Parnassus from the Woods saddle being all that rocky or loose, so not a bad choice.

[HikesInGeologicTime]

Take with an appropriately-sized grain of salt, since I’m sure there are some differences between recovering from a fractured fibula vs. my own fractured calcaneus, but when I was about at your point in recovery (as in, planning high-altitude hikes again), I was allllll about the trails.

Parnassus is a beautiful mountain and overall pretty forgiving as a hike, but there’s a lot of walking on tundra once you hit treeline. Tundra, in my experience (which, again, might be completely different from yours) isn’t the funnest for an early reintroduction to alpine hiking because it can be soft and mushy like carpet, which was not an environment in which my own foot thrived that soon after I was able to start hiking again (and in fact, carpet sometimes still bothers me after I’ve had a fun day outside!).

Bierstadt was a good reintroduction to fourteeners for me because the dirt/rock is solid. Sherman might be even better; been a long time since I’ve done it in dry conditions and from the Fairplay side, but I seem to recall it having fewer necessary big steps up large boulders than Bierstadt has. For thirteeners, I’d suggest Mt. Flora - also no route description on here, but there’s a trail/road from Berthoud Pass all the way to the false summit, and the real summit (next bump to the north) is a short talus-hop away…just enough to make you feel like you got your PT in for the day, if not the week! Mt. Audubon is very fresh on my mind, has a route description on here, and is worth visiting even if you’re at full strength, imho.

Best of luck with recovery! I totally understand wanting, no, NEEDING to have route descriptions this early into the “renormalization” process. Feel free to PM me!

[arthurtect]

There is a trip report or two for Parnassus and Bard that makes a loop out of all those peaks, but from the north side. I did that and it was a lot of fun!