You Cant Miss the Color Red

Red Peak(13219) and Madonna Dome(12331) Oct 20.2025

By the time I got back to Hoosier Ridge (13362) from Red Mountain C(13229), the wind was tolerable but it was the snowflakes. I could not see between them. Red Peak was out there somewhere but landing somewhere was not my goal. Staying safe was a priority so I reluctantly and smartly did a 180 and hiked to the car with a tailwind pushing me back.

Fast forward to a family outing on a sunny day when I was standing atop Boreas Mountain(13082) enjoying the views. There it was: Red Peak. It looked just a few steps less from this side than going up&down all the hills from Hoosier Pass. Later I found Bills Red Peak-NE ridge directions and filed them under to-climb close to home. A few years later, Oct 22-2025 came. The weather report said perfect for a last season climb. I drove to the south end of Breckinridge, turned left onto the old railroad bed, Boreas pass road, and zoomed into the ghost town(11482) around 830AM(pic1). The temperature gauge said 18degrees with a slight breeze (thank you Boreas, the Greek God of cold, stormy north winds) so bringing the winter jacket was a good last minute idea(pic2).

According to Bills pictural directions, a red C&S boxcar marked the beginning of the hiking trail. An empty railroad track laid there so after wandering around for a few minutes, I found a path to their right side(pic3). From there the beginning of the hike to Point 12029, Bills pictures were vital to see the landmarks. After that, I eyeballed my way to Red Peak. But what the pictures did not show were the steepness and length of the 3 hills both ways.

After I started on the Class1 trail, it got wider(pic4) through the willows as I followed it to this rock(pic5). I went right and followed what looked like a 4WD road to Point 12029 which was an important rock cropping to be at(pic6). This turned me into the direction of Red Peak(pic7). No visible trail but dodging the patchy snow on the ground was easy. The downhill to the saddle lasted a quick while with a longer while of easy breathing sent me up the obvious ridge to Madonna Dome(12331)(pic8). Here are my summit pics(9). Either the register log was new or almost zero climbers have hiked from this direction, because the last entry was dated 2022. I signed. This was an unusual lengthy summit as it was lined with large 6foot tall cairns (pic10).

Red Peak was clearly in view but so was the 1000feet down to the gulch full of what looked like little pine trees. Even the power lines looked like miniature props(pic11). Small in size but they were a big humming accompaniment in this valley up and down the hillside. I double checked my peak pictures to see if maybe I had climbed this peak. I didn’t. I aimed toward a white tower and landed on a 4WD road filled with weeds. Bills directions followed the road as it circled wide to the right but I found a foot wide path paralleling the willows going straight through fewer pines that connected with the other side of the 4WD road(pic12). This lead to the NE ridge of Red Peak. There was no other way to go but UP real slow(pic13). It was mostly a ridge walk on tundra, red dirt and around rocks. The 2 false summits were a rocky Class2 and 2hours later, my summit pics(14). Due to shortened daylight hours and my late start, I quickly took pictures(15). I spent a few minutes looking around at all the peaks I have summited and patted myself on the back.

I reversed the route to the car. Pic16 of why Red Peak got its name. The soil was eroded rocks that were saturated with iron. The tundra was fast walking down upon. Other than slowly going up the big hill, and somewhat slowly going up the second hill and slow up the third hill, I couldn’t see any flatter shortcuts. I have learned that shortcuts become longer ways if you don’t know where you are going. No worries; the weather was perfect and my brain&day were reserved for this adventure.

Boreas came into view(pic17) at Madonna Dome and I was back to the car in 40minutes. Heres pic18 of a test mine I passed. I got back with enough daylight to finish my tour via the Boreas Pass Auto Tour Brochure from the National Forest Service. I wandered around the ghost town of Boreas(pic19): pic20 of the inside of the section house, pic21 about Boreas and having the highest located Post Office in the US and pic22 of the stumps from the trees the residents had cut for fuel and shelter. This was Circle8 of the tour(pic23). I’ve written 2trip reports about Boreas focusing on the Denver, South Pass & Pacific Railroad(1880-1937). A Tail Wind Would be Nice(2020) and Meeting the Boreas Relatives(2021). This underdog trainline has always amazed me on how it chugged over this terrain 12months of the year in challenging weather conditions. In addition to having been the highest narrow gauge RR in North America I marveled at its road’s sustainability: a narrow prospectors path widened into a stagecoach route, then a RR bed and to todays vehicle recreational dirt road(pic24).

Circle9 was a lone marker for a train station stop called Farnham. Considering flat RR bed travel was 7-10miles between stops, mountain grades shortened distances for relief. About halfway on this west section was Circle10 for the Bakers Tank(pic25), that once held 9305gallons of water to restock steam locomotives. A huge meadow was Circle11 which had been a gulch full of silver and another RR station stop. Between here and Breckinridge, rails cut through the 3 main geological rocks, sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic, leaving narrow framed hairpin turns. I swear I could see ghost handprints on the walls(pic26) to not tumble out of the train when going around the curves. Circle12 was called Barney Ford Hill for a former slave who founded a gold,silver&lead mine and Fords Chop Stand 5star restaurant.

Going West, before turning onto CO9 was the High Line RR Park, an outdoor historic park and Circle13(pic27). Free admission, the many story boards explained that the little engine that did it changed Breckinridge into a booming town. The best pic was standing in front of Engine#9(pic28) which also marked the spot where the DSP&P line was spiked onto the ground. Summers were shortlived for Engine#9 as Rotary#1(pic29) kept the line open during the long winter seasons(pic29). These powerful machines were not only massive in size but held some mighty big stories of their travels from Denver and over Boreas pass from Como to Breckinridge. A spur continued over Fremont Pass to Leadville. The DSP&P disappeared into the past in 1937(pic30) and its depot exploded into a high speed gondola RT on Peak9. By the mid 1980s, technology shrunk the little red caboose to a red blinking light(pic31-32).

In sum, Red peak was a fun and invigorating climb. Easy to negotiate Class1-2 terrain, with Class2 on the false summits and rock hopping to the top; routefinding in front of my toes on the beautiful red soil(pic33); views long and peaceful; time passed quickly and the contemplative cadence soothed my mind. Too bad the 4WD road could have been used but it had stakes driven into it(pic34). I watched trucks and jeeps traverse Boreas Pass all day but I was the solo hiker enjoying the great outdoors. From the Boreas side, Red Peak was 6.25miles RT and definitely half shorter than hiking 12miles RT from Hoosier Pass. However because of the repetitive uphills intensity, total hiking time from the NE side was nearly the same. Either way, the hiking line followed the continental divide. FYI: Denver was a short drive away. The added plus was that both sides of Boreas was an immersion in history that permanently shaped Colorado. Now at the end of the RRline research for me in this area, the little red caboose does not end this report. Representing all boxcars in rail lines(pic35), located at the High Line RR Park, was the red C&S boxcar(pic36).