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Point 13,308
Point 13,342
Ute Ridge 13,455
Indian Ridge 12,740
July 17, 2011
~11.1 Miles, ~5,000 Gain.
Trailhead: Off of FS 506 (south of Beartown 4WD) trailhead for trail 787.
An easy day was needed after yesterday but there were not too many options. The alarm went off early but it was raining so we went back to bed. We woke up around 6:30 AM and the skies began to clear. John and I got a short lift to the 787 trailhead and started our hike around 7:15 AM.
The trail was such a novelty. A few downed trees but better than most of the talus we were dealing with the day prior. We followed trail 787 to the 13,308-13,342 saddle where we ditched our packs. From the saddle, we proceeded west up the class 2 east slopes of 13,308 arriving on the blocky summit at 8:40 AM. The weather was looking marginal.
Point 13,308 from trail 787.
East slopes of 13,308.
Summit of 13,308.
13,342 and Ute from the summit of 13,308.
We returned to our packs and started towards 13,342. Cliffs on the west ridge of 13,342 blocked easy access so we traversed to the south slopes and headed upward. Near the top, there was some giant boulders that had to be negotiated and we arrived on the summit at 9:20 AM. Fortunately, the weather appeared to be improving.
Cliffs on the west ridge of 13,342.
Large blocks near the summit of 13,342.
13,308 from 13,342.
John working his way through the boulders.
Indian Ridge from 13,342.
From the summit of 13,342 we headed southeast then directly to the saddle at 12,616. Grassy slopes made for quick progress. We bypassed 13,092 on the south side and continued up the class 2 southwest ridge of Ute arriving on the summit at 10:30 AM. Things were slow going as we were both very stiff.
Working our way near the summit of Ute.
Neat rocks on Ute.
Summit of Ute.
Rio Grande Pyramid from Ute.
Vestal Basin peaks from Ute.
On our journey back to camp, we decided to climb Indian Ridge. From the summit of Ute, we descended the southwest ridge to ~13,200 then down a scree gully directly into Starvation Gulch. We contoured in Starvation Gulch at ~11,500 as we worked our way to the southern edge of the southwest ridge of Indian Ridge. The first part of the southwest ridge between ~12,100-12,300 was a San Juan scree salad. John joked about how his additions weren't as brutal as our Trinity addition the day prior.
Ute from Starvation Gulch.
Indian Ridge from across Starvation Gulch.
Once above the scree, it was an easy class 2 hike to the summit where we arrived at 12:40 PM. After a short break, we headed southwest back down the ridge and traversed the west side of the ridge eventually intercepting the trail back to camp where we arrived back at 2:00 PM. A decent hike to stretch out the legs.
Summit push to Indian Ridge.
13,308 and 13,342 from the summit of Indian Ridge.
Ute from the summit of Indian Ridge.
13,308, 13,342 and Ute from Indian Ridge.
Approximate Route.
13,342 on our way back from camp. The cliffs can be seen.
John descending Indian Ridge.
Route.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
You're my kinda climber ... sticking it out through the bad weather when you can see the good stuff is coming. Nice report. Thanks for posting. Happy trails!
put out some kick a*s trip reports! Great stuff, thanks!
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