Jones Mountain Trip Report 07/26/2024

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Jones Mountain - 13,867 feet Niagara Peak - 13,816 feet American Peak - 13,814 feet
Date Posted	07/26/2024
Modified	07/27/2024
Date Climbed	07/17/2024
Author	BirdMan

Staying Dry, Doing American Pie
I planned to take Route 110 out of Silverton to get to the 2 WD Grouse-Burns Gulch TH to go for these trio of peaks. A quick cautionary note: This may be obvious to anyone who does the necessary research but Route 110 goes both north and east out of Silverton. After taking the north route out of town and doing more than a few extra off-road miles I learned a fun new fact - my blood boils at 110 near Silverton! Ha, ha... just kidding - though it was a less than direct route for me to get to the TH. Based on the unexpected off-road miles I'd already put in, and after reading how narrow and rough the 4 WD road is up to 11,720', I decided to park at the 2 WD TH and hike the 1.8 miles up the shelf road to 11,720'. It seemed like a good decision and there's ample parking at the 2 WD TH. The Burns Gulch approach, which I took, is the faint 4 WD road angling off to the lower right towards the mountains. To get started, I elected to cross the bridge just past the parking area and then connected with the trail immediately on the right hand side of the road. You could also connect with the Burns Gulch approach trail about 100 yards before the bridge but that would have required crossing the Animas river. The bridge can be a little hard to notice from the road but it's easy to remember that the parking area is before you cross the Animas river. I had camped just a few miles away in Eureka (!) the night before and woke up early without an alarm. As a result, I was on the trail before 7 am. Heading up the rocky 4WD shelf road. Colorado, I never get tired of you! There are a few pull-offs to camp at above 11,000' and it would have meant less overall miles hiking but I was still comfortable with my decision to hike up. A couple of hardy vehicles made the trek up. The Silverton area is known for it's abandoned mines. It's around this mine that the you lose the road. After leaving the road and heading up towards the Niagara-Jones saddle there's no trail to be found. The grass is forgiving and with no trail you just pick your best route up. The morning remained cool with the sun not yet up over Jones Mountain to the east. No place I'd rather be. It seemed like the refrain for the day was, there's a trail through that? But yes, when you reach the rocky gully to gain the ridge there is a trail through this. The trail was to the hiker's left going up. When I reached the Niagara-Jones saddle I remembered why I keep coming back to the mountains and just how beautiful the San Juans are. I had to take a moment to try to soak this all in. The pictures just don't do this area justice. Looking back to where I came from this morning. A four wheeler's paradise, though I prefer to be under my own power. After a moment I took in the remaining route to the first summit of the day. The trail to the top stays on the right (north) side as you ascend and about halfway up cuts over to the left (south) side of the ridge. I was pretty successful staying on the trail but I certainly found it easier to stay on it on the way down. And before I knew it I topped out on my first peak for the day, Niagara Peak, a little after 9 am. Woo hoo! I brought my helmet with me as I heard I might want it for American Peak. Though if a rock fell it wouldn't be because a human knocked it down on me. I didn't see a soul all day! Too bad I wasn't going to Ridgway this trip. I have fond memories of Colorado Boy brewery. I wanted to do Crown Mountain (13,569') and North Crown Mountain (13,599') seen here but I was already feeling a little tired from doing Phoenix Peak 2 days prior and I mainly wanted to get Jones and American done. They look like a couple of beautiful peaks but I decided to pass on the Crown mountains for the day. If I decide to go for all the 13ers then maybe I'd be back? Hmm... But wait, what's that behind the Crown mountains? Looks like the distinctive Vestal Group peaks! Someday. I hung around a little while on the summit of Niagara but then returned to the Niagara-Jones saddle to survey the route to Jones Mountain. Just a hop, skip and a jump - or some such. Even in mid-July there were still some sizeable snow fields. You can see the trail angling up and to the left. The final pitch to Jones Mountain was a rocky mess but as the saying goes, there's a trail through there! The route to American Peak is off to the right. I was happy to get the second summit of the day, Jones Mountain, around 10:30 that morning. Rockin' the suburban Dad look. The full route to American Peak in the background. The weather was holding for the day though a look back found Niagara in the shadows. I was just over there... I changed my music from Dylan's MTV Unplugged (if you're a Dylan fan, check it out!) to an old Hendrix compilation and kept heading over Jones Mountain towards American Peak. Below looks back at Jones Mountain and the route you take towards American Peak. The notch at the bottom center left is where I would drop in to head back to the TH so I wanted to make sure I noted that. Where is everybody? I could get used to doing 13ers mid-week! The route is pretty well defined from Jones to American, though it doesn't look it. There weren't many cairns but honestly you didn't need them. Along the way there were a few spots where the views improved. Here's a nice look back down to the TH and the Animas river area. First step's a doozy. I was getting psyched to get closer and closer to American Peak. The skies clouded up a bit but I never felt the day was going to change to rain and lightening. Another break in the rock provided a view of what I believe to be Sloan Lake. At last the summit of American Peak was in view. I had lugged my helmet all day and while I wasn't sure I'd needed it I decided to throw it on for the remainder of the route. Just 200 more feet of climbing or so. And just before noon I was on the third of three summits for the day. Thanks Jimi! Looking goofy in my brain bucket. Given that "all" I had to do was go down now, I hung out on the summit for a while, eating and taking it all in. Hard to believe I was just on the top of Jones and Niagara Peaks. Let's keep the fluffy white clouds in the sky. No dark and scary ones like my previous outing. Heading down I was able to relax and enjoy the day even more. I had traded out Jimi for a little Smashing Pumpkins and later Paul Westerberg. Getting inspired by American music on American Peak. Having retraced my steps to the notch it was time to drop into a giant mess of talus and angle my way down. Sometimes there was a trail through this. The talus field went on and on - but it still seemed better than climbing back over Jones Mountain and returning the way I came. Will this stuff never end? Eventually my feet and I got back on speaking terms when I found my way to a grassy expanse. Ah - more cushion at last. I even found a small lake where I could cool off at briefly. The rock that I laid on so I could splash water on my head. One last look back before I re-joined the 4WD shelf road and hoofed it back to the car. Flowers, flowers everywhere in the mountains. And soon I was right back where I started. The whine of engines filled the land! Kidding, and I'm glad if it allows people to get into the wilderness that couldn't ordinarily. Lastly, a summary of the route for the day. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Staying Dry, Doing American Pie

I planned to take Route 110 out of Silverton to get to the 2 WD Grouse-Burns Gulch TH to go for these trio of peaks.

A quick cautionary note: This may be obvious to anyone who does the necessary research but Route 110 goes both north and east out of Silverton. After taking the north route out of town and doing more than a few extra off-road miles I learned a fun new fact - my blood boils at 110 near Silverton! Ha, ha... just kidding - though it was a less than direct route for me to get to the TH.

Based on the unexpected off-road miles I'd already put in, and after reading how narrow and rough the 4 WD road is up to 11,720', I decided to park at the 2 WD TH and hike the 1.8 miles up the shelf road to 11,720'. It seemed like a good decision and there's ample parking at the 2 WD TH.

22653_01 — The Burns Gulch approach, which I took, is the faint 4 WD road angling off to the lower right towards the mountains.

To get started, I elected to cross the bridge just past the parking area and then connected with the trail immediately on the right hand side of the road. You could also connect with the Burns Gulch approach trail about 100 yards before the bridge but that would have required crossing the Animas river.

22653_02 — The bridge can be a little hard to notice from the road but it's easy to remember that the parking area is before you cross the Animas river.

I had camped just a few miles away in Eureka (!) the night before and woke up early without an alarm. As a result, I was on the trail before 7 am.

22653_03 — Heading up the rocky 4WD shelf road.

22653_04 — Colorado, I never get tired of you!

There are a few pull-offs to camp at above 11,000' and it would have meant less overall miles hiking but I was still comfortable with my decision to hike up.

22653_05 — A couple of hardy vehicles made the trek up.

The Silverton area is known for it's abandoned mines.

22653_06 — It's around this mine that the you lose the road.

After leaving the road and heading up towards the Niagara-Jones saddle there's no trail to be found.

22653_07 — The grass is forgiving and with no trail you just pick your best route up.

The morning remained cool with the sun not yet up over Jones Mountain to the east.

It seemed like the refrain for the day was, there's a trail through that? But yes, when you reach the rocky gully to gain the ridge there is a trail through this.

22653_09 — The trail was to the hiker's left going up.

When I reached the Niagara-Jones saddle I remembered why I keep coming back to the mountains and just how beautiful the San Juans are. I had to take a moment to try to soak this all in.

22653_10 — The pictures just don't do this area justice.

Looking back to where I came from this morning.

22653_11 — A four wheeler's paradise, though I prefer to be under my own power.

After a moment I took in the remaining route to the first summit of the day. The trail to the top stays on the right (north) side as you ascend and about halfway up cuts over to the left (south) side of the ridge.

22653_12 — I was pretty successful staying on the trail but I certainly found it easier to stay on it on the way down.

And before I knew it I topped out on my first peak for the day, Niagara Peak, a little after 9 am.

I brought my helmet with me as I heard I might want it for American Peak. Though if a rock fell it wouldn't be because a human knocked it down on me. I didn't see a soul all day!

22653_14 — Too bad I wasn't going to Ridgway this trip. I have fond memories of Colorado Boy brewery.

I wanted to do Crown Mountain (13,569') and North Crown Mountain (13,599') seen here but I was already feeling a little tired from doing Phoenix Peak 2 days prior and I mainly wanted to get Jones and American done. They look like a couple of beautiful peaks but I decided to pass on the Crown mountains for the day.

22653_15 — If I decide to go for all the 13ers then maybe I'd be back? Hmm...

But wait, what's that behind the Crown mountains? Looks like the distinctive Vestal Group peaks!

I hung around a little while on the summit of Niagara but then returned to the Niagara-Jones saddle to survey the route to Jones Mountain.

22653_17 — Just a hop, skip and a jump - or some such.

Even in mid-July there were still some sizeable snow fields.

22653_18 — You can see the trail angling up and to the left.

The final pitch to Jones Mountain was a rocky mess but as the saying goes, there's a trail through there!

22653_19 — The route to American Peak is off to the right.

I was happy to get the second summit of the day, Jones Mountain, around 10:30 that morning.

22653_21 — Rockin' the suburban Dad look. The full route to American Peak in the background.

The weather was holding for the day though a look back found Niagara in the shadows.

I changed my music from Dylan's MTV Unplugged (if you're a Dylan fan, check it out!) to an old Hendrix compilation and kept heading over Jones Mountain towards American Peak. Below looks back at Jones Mountain and the route you take towards American Peak. The notch at the bottom center left is where I would drop in to head back to the TH so I wanted to make sure I noted that.

22653_22 — Where is everybody? I could get used to doing 13ers mid-week!

The route is pretty well defined from Jones to American, though it doesn't look it. There weren't many cairns but honestly you didn't need them.

Along the way there were a few spots where the views improved. Here's a nice look back down to the TH and the Animas river area.

I was getting psyched to get closer and closer to American Peak.

22653_25 — The skies clouded up a bit but I never felt the day was going to change to rain and lightening.

Another break in the rock provided a view of what I believe to be Sloan Lake.

At last the summit of American Peak was in view. I had lugged my helmet all day and while I wasn't sure I'd needed it I decided to throw it on for the remainder of the route.

22653_27 — Just 200 more feet of climbing or so.

And just before noon I was on the third of three summits for the day. Thanks Jimi!

22653_28 — Looking goofy in my brain bucket.

Given that "all" I had to do was go down now, I hung out on the summit for a while, eating and taking it all in. Hard to believe I was just on the top of Jones and Niagara Peaks.

22653_29 — Let's keep the fluffy white clouds in the sky. No dark and scary ones like my previous outing.

Heading down I was able to relax and enjoy the day even more. I had traded out Jimi for a little Smashing Pumpkins and later Paul Westerberg.

22653_30 — Getting inspired by American music on American Peak.

Having retraced my steps to the notch it was time to drop into a giant mess of talus and angle my way down.

22653_31 — Sometimes there was a trail through this.

The talus field went on and on - but it still seemed better than climbing back over Jones Mountain and returning the way I came.

Eventually my feet and I got back on speaking terms when I found my way to a grassy expanse.

I even found a small lake where I could cool off at briefly.

22653_34 — The rock that I laid on so I could splash water on my head.

One last look back before I re-joined the 4WD shelf road and hoofed it back to the car.

22653_35 — Flowers, flowers everywhere in the mountains.

And soon I was right back where I started.

22653_36 — The whine of engines filled the land! Kidding, and I'm glad if it allows people to get into the wilderness that couldn't ordinarily.

Lastly, a summary of the route for the day.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

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