Cow Benchmark

Trailhead: Horsethief

Distance: 13.25 miles

Vertical Gain: 4,950 feet

Time Elapsed: 6 hours, 8 minutes

After spending Labor Day weekend tagging 12 ranked 13ers in three days around Beartown and Silverton, the idea of climbing just one peak felt almost suspiciously easy.

Cow Benchmark is often tacked onto a circuit of five other peaks on Engineer Pass, but that detour adds five extra miles to an otherwise tidy loop. We decided it deserved its own outing via the excellent Horsethief Trail. Consider this a formal proposal for Cow Benchmark’s excommunication from the Engineer Pass peaks.

Getting There

Step one was simply reaching the trailhead. We fortified ourselves with a half-dozen scrap cookies from Mouse’s and drove north of Ouray to County Road 14 (Dexter Creek Road). The road to the lower trailhead is supposedly 2WD, but after a week of heavy rain it was riddled with washouts and potholes. Passable in a sedan? Perhaps, but far more comfortable in an SUV. At Dexter Creek Trailhead, a sign declared: Passenger vehicles not permissible 100 ft ahead. Those without 4WD can park here and walk the road, adding 2.5 miles and 650 feet of gain roundtrip.

The first obstacle was the creek crossing - currently little more than a puddle, though the wide debris field made it clear this thing rages during spring runoff. A steep ramp out of the creek led us to a short section where a path had been cleared through a small rockslide, requiring one wheel up on a pile of rocks while more loomed overhead. Beyond that, the road stayed steep, narrow, and rocky but otherwise free of drama as it climbed steadily to the Horsethief Trailhead.

Parking at the trailhead was limited, with room for maybe ten vehicles and no flat spots. We debated retreating to a dispersed site we’d noticed on the way up, but in the end opted to stack rocks under the 4Runner’s tires until it was level enough for a decent night’s sleep.

The Climb

We set off at 6:45 the next morning, following the trail as it wound upward through aspen forest. In a few weeks, this stretch would be glowing gold with fall color; a month earlier it would have been bursting with wildflowers. Having timed it for neither, we had to settle for simply enjoying the quiet climb. At 1.8 miles, we reached a junction with Old Horsethief Trail and followed the sign toward Bridge of Heaven.

Corbett Ridge and Whitehouse Mountain appeared first on the skyline, quickly reinforced by Mt. Sneffels and the Yankee Boy Basin summits. But the pièce de résistance came after two more miles of trail and a final set of switchbacks that brought us to the Bridge of Heaven, perched high on Cascade Mountain’s ridge.

Heaven, as most imagine it, floats above fluffy white clouds. Short of an inversion rolling in, that wasn't happening today. Still, the views were divine, and Cow Benchmark was now in sight - though stubbornly distant. We hoped the trail would carry us there as efficiently as it had to “Heaven.”

From the Bridge, the route traversed across Cascade’s south face before zigzagging 500 feet down into a drainage. From there, it skirted the southwest shoulder of UN 12,741 on its way toward Cow Benchmark’s saddle. As we drew near, we spotted a lone hiker silhouetted on the northwest ridge.

A wilderness sign stood at the saddle, where we paused to assess our options. The ridge featured two bumps: the first where our mystery hiker was still laboring, and a second nastier-looking tower we dubbed the Calf. Given its uncertain difficulty, we aimed for the low point between it and Cow Benchmark instead.

The climb began on steep grass, which soon turned into loose dirt studded with rocks. From higher up, a glance at the Calf’s south side confirmed our choice - it looked like the easiest descent involved a rope.

Once on the ridge, a faint path cut through colorful bands of broken shale, giving way to patchy grass and fine black volcanic scree. A small cliff band forced us into one of two obvious black gullies; we chose the righthand one. Above it, the summit block resolved into two high points separated by a grassy strip that offered easy passage to the top. The left-hand point was the true summit.

The Summit

At last, the top.

A weathered benchmark disk marked the summit, with Ouray far below and Red Mountain screaming in iron oxide to the south. To the northeast rose familiar shapes in the Cimarrons: Courthouse, Precipice, Coxcomb, El Punto, Wetterhorn, and Uncompahgre. We’d climbed several of those last month, and it was fun to trace our lines across their ridges from this new perspective. From there our gaze shifted east to the Engineer Pass 13ers. They'll make a fine return trip someday.

We lingered for views, then retraced our steps. Plunge-stepping the scree took a fraction of the time the ascent had, and after shaking rocks from our shoes we rejoined the trail.

The return to the Bridge of Heaven was mercifully gentler than expected, its switchbacks easing us back up while patchy clouds kept the sun at bay. Along the four-mile stretch back, we crossed paths with a few fellow hikers enjoying the popular route.

Back at the 4Runner, we agreed: Cow Benchmark may be out of the way, but it earns its keep as a standalone objective. Just don’t forget to bring cookies.