June 6th & 8th 2024

“Sundog” 13,437’ CO Rank #249

Wildhorse Peak 13,271’ CO Rank #425

San Juan 13er Completion 75-76/249 (Ranked)

Life has been quite the whirlwind for Kiefer and I the past 6 months, but after 2 moves (Purgatory to Gunnison, and Gunnison to Montrose) in 3 months I can happily say we are settled nicely into our new place in Montrose. Prior to sitting down to write this long overdue trip report I took Kaiah for a hike above Red Mountain Pass to Bullion King Lake, and it felt nice to be home again.

Prior to leaving Gunnison we decided to maximize the time we had by tackling a couple of Lake City 13ers. I’ll be the first one to admit that the peaks by Redcloud/Sunshine are some of the most mentally challenging peaks for me on my quest to finish the San Juan 13ers. The peaks are easy by San Juan standards, but I often feel like I am adventuring in the Sawatch, just with MUCH better views. I’ve had the ridge from 13,403-Gudy Peak off Cinnamon Pass on my short list, and that was the plan the morning of June 6^th, but when we got to Silver Creek Trailhead and I saw how much snow was on the north side of Edith Mountain, I suggested we hike Sundog instead. Sundog has been on Kiefer’s short list for a while, so he eagerly agreed to pivot especially since from what we could see the peak was mostly dry. As for me, Sundog was not the biggest goal of the weekend but it turned out to be a worthy peak of #75/249 San Juans.

Kiefer and I have developed a bit of a tradition to hike Silver Creek trail during heatwaves and this time was no different, but although the heat was stifling we had not a cloud in the sky so we were able to take plenty of breaks in the shade and enjoy our time.

We left the truck around 7 am and headed up the familiar trail, the views of Handies and Whitecross opening up behind us as we ascended. Quickly we reached the normally easy crossing of Silver Creek where you head up the North Ridge of Sundog. The creek was raging and swollen but we were able to cross on a still sturdy snow bridge to begin the steep climb up the unrelenting ridge. We took a short break after the first rocky section, had a snack and admired the views around us. The beginning of the North Ridge passes through some deadfall, but it didn’t pose much of an issue. Navigation was easy, we headed up towards the ridge crest and followed it 2000’ up and up and up.

As we continued to ascend Kiefer and I both felt like we would never reach treeline, it turns out that is because treeline abruptly ends at a surprisingly high 12,100’ on the ridge. The only two snowfields we encountered were right at treeline, and were somewhat supportive in the morning, but complete mush by the time we descended, however both were short and with the high temperatures neither of us minded sloshing through the slushy snow.

Upon FINALLY reaching treeline, the ridge transitions to the red rock you’ll find on Redcloud Peak in abundance and a bit of a climbers path leads through the rock to the upper summit area.

There was a steeper rocky area just before the summit, but nothing harder than class 2. It was also still shaded and the perfect place to rest your cheek on the icy rocks. I stopped to enjoy this small reprieve and then moved on to catch up to Kiefer.

Just before we reached the summit Kiefer remarked “oh look there is Wildhorse, right?”… It sure was, and the upper grassy slopes to reach the summit of my most coveted peak of the year were 90% dry. The view of Wildhorse turned out to only be the second best view of the day. A few steps later we were on the rocky summit of Sundog, and even though the route hadn’t been particularly exciting, the views were incredible of the surrounding San Juan Peaks.

The weather was still perfect, although HOT, so we didn’t rush to leave the summit, but eventually we decided we’d better get home to the doggie and we reversed our course back down the North Ridge.

Once we reached Silver Creek we both drenched our shirts before continuing down the trail to the truck, and some amazing BBQ at Sportsman’s in Lake City (Try the Chicken Sandwich….SERIOUSLY). Even though our stay in Gunnison was short, I will admit that it changed my mind about Lake City, and it is now a place I enjoy going, not just a necessary blip on the way to some fun mountain adventures.

As we headed home, Kiefer said “so I take it we are doing Wildhorse on Saturday? You know there will be a ton of snow up on the flats”. “I’m willing to snowshoe across them, whatever it takes I want that peak even if it is harder right now”. Wildhorse was the one that got away last year after we pushed Kaiah too hard on Cow Benchmark and 13,140’. Lesson learned. Now she joins us for our shorter endeavors, and spends time on her favorite bed… aka the couch and with dog sitters when we head out for some longer hikes.

Saturday morning quickly arrived. We’d already paid the dog sitter so Kaiah got to sleep in while we jetted off back to Lake City and up Engineer Pass. Engineer Pass is MUCH easier from the Lake City side than the Silverton side, so we had a relatively fast drive up to the small pullout which serves as the trailhead for the Horsethief trail that cuts across the American Flats to the base of Wildhorse Peak.

We intentionally orphaned Blackwall so we can camp at the pond below Dragon’s Back Peak, and get an early start on the very aesthetic 12er prior to heading over to Blackwall this fall. Sometimes it's not about the number of peaks or efficiency, in this case the adventure Dragon's Back presents is well worth another trip to this lovely area.

We could see the flats were still caked with snow so we strapped our snowshoes and axes to our packs and headed up the trail. The whole state was under a wet slab avalanche warning, and based on the snow conditions it was easy to see why. However the American FLATS are aptly named and the snow was all low enough angle that we did not remotely have to worry about any avalanche danger.

The first few snowfields were passable without snowshoes, but it was not long before we stopped to put the shoes on to traverse the remainder of the flats to the base of Wildhorse. We were not able to take the summer trail, so we took a low traverse, losing about 200’ of elevation as we descended into a shallow drainage.

From the drainage we slowly gained elevation until we were at the steep tundra slope that grants access to Wildhorse’s unique summit ridge. I dropped a pin on gaia, and we stashed our shoes and headed up the tundra. It looks steep and it is steep, but some Queen got the job done, and Bohemian Rhapsody was just about over as we reached the final ridge. Don’t stop me now we’re almost there. The final ridge had a short airy step and the small summit came quickly. I couldn’t stop looking at Dragon’s Back… that is one beautiful and gnarly 12er.

The summit of Wildhorse was vastly different from Sundog’s, the 360 degree views were outstanding as are most of the San Juans, but it was not hot… it was WINDY so our stay was not as long as on Sundog.

We headed down the steep tundra and quickly reached the flats where our snowshoes were waiting for us to complete the return crossing of the flats. The snow had turned to mashed potato consistency but the views of Darley Mountain and 13,140’ across the flats were spectacular especially with the blanket of snow in front of them.

I am usually so focused on keeping up with Kiefer that I forget to take pictures, but this day I was snapping pictures left and right. Having seen the American Flats with and without the snow added an extra dimension and made them truly a sight to behold. Yes, climbing that 200’ out of the drainage on the mushy snow was less fun than cruising on the summer trail but it was worth the extra effort. Soon enough we were once again at the truck and headed down the pass.

We took a quick detour to walk down to Whitmore Falls, which were beautiful with the heavy flow from the snowmelt prior to heading back through town and back to Gunnison.

Sundog was actually better than I had expected, I expected a slog, which it was, but the views were top notch, so even though the ridge goes on forever on this one, I would definitely recommend adding it to your short list, especially if you were putting it off til later (like I was). Wildhorse, was in fact wild, it was not challenging, but American flats makes you feel small, and you are truly immersed in beautiful wilderness the entire hike. Wildhorse lived up to the high expectations I had for this peak since October 2023, and was an extremely enjoyable summit. I can’t wait until fall to go back for its neighbors! Until then… happy hiking to everyone!