Unnamed 13385 Trip Report 12/03/2025

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Unnamed 13385 - 13,385 feet
Date Posted	12/03/2025
Date Climbed	11/02/2025
Author	MaryinColorado
Additional Members	d_baker

Silliness on UN 13,385
Silliness on UN 13,385 This is the first of what I hope are many installments in my quest to claim (haha) unnamed 13ers for my family. I am a person of whimsy, if you can't tell from other TRs, and the nugget of this silly idea started years ago. When I summitted my first unnamed 13er, The Artist Formerly Known As UN 13,550, I "claimed it" - or so I thought. But to claim a peak, doesn't there need to be a flag involved? That seemed like an unforgivable deficiency. So I ordered an Irish flag bearing my family crest and started over. Congratulations, UN 13,385, you are henceforth O'Malley Peak A - at least within the confines of my own little heart. Let's take a closer look at this truly lovely jaunt! To the Stats, We Go! Total mileage: 6.42 Total elevation gain: 2,487' Mileage splits: Mile 1 = 617' Mile 2 = 1040' Mile 3 = 476' Mile 4 to finish = 354' The Road In Darin and I followed the directions provided in Trotter's TR: slightly north of Buena Vista, turn left on CR 386, right onto CR 387, left at unmarked T intersection, keep going until the gate. I agree with Trotter about the steep inclines. While Darin kept his 4Runner in 2WD and did just fine, I suspect 2WD vehicles with less clearance and power would struggle. And certainly any semblance of snow, mud, or ice would make those inclines pretty interesting. The Hike Begin at the gate and just travel the road for a bit. It's quite pleasant, and you pass a small artifact in the form of a mini bulldozer. Arrive at the end of the road, and views open up, also revealing a lot more mining structures. This is where you get your first glimpse of the Buffalo Peaks which - spoiler - will become a common navigational comment throughout this TR. Up until the end of the road is ever-so-slightly SSW. From here, though, we turned right up the hill onto the Wapaca Trail past the cabin and headed distinctly NW. You don't stay on the Wapaca Trail long at all because it starts heading the opposite direction. Per the map, it looks like you can follow the meandering of the Wapaca Trail until it spits you out onto the Colorado Trail (CT), then you could continue trail-less upward from there. However, this appears very inefficient and adds significant amount of hiking. So dive into the trees, and just head on up aiming distinctly SW. We didn't encounter anything problematic in the bushwhack to the CT. Dare I say, it was quite manageable and not terribly unpleasant. But about the Buffaloes... I look behind me a fair bit for navigation purposes, so on our way up I would catch glimpses of the Buffaloes, and I thought to myself, "Self, those are a very distinctly helpful point of orientation, if needed." The Buffaloes peeking through the trees right at the appearance of the CT; squarely in the center of your line of sight. After a bit, a big clearing signals an upcoming encounter with the CT, which you will cross, not follow. Crossing the CT Continue your southwesterly mission uphill. The next phase of bushwhacking was as non-problematic as the first. We encountered a little more snow, but it was no big deal. You'll emerge into another clearing, and leftward you'll see a pointy-ish pile of rocks. You want to aim to the right of those rocks in whatever fashion makes most sense to you. Time for another look back at the Buffaloes. Yep, they're still there! Columbia's ridge barely starts coming into view and is also a good directional point of reference because you don't want to head in its direction, you want to curve away from it, really. So at this point, I'm just going to vaguely say "keep going up". Being out of the trees at this point, it's fairly easy to visually navigate. Though, admittedly, UN 13,385 itself stays out of view for quite some time. Play some willows Frogger here as you head up We headed toward this rocky section. Once you get to the top of it, 12,800' comes into view. You're going to go up and over that, so navigationally the route is pretty simple from this point onward. Expertly-drawn doodle dots to illustrate how to gain 12,800' Somewhere en route to 12,800', we took a snack break, and this nearby pika stood watch. Pika and Princeton. Once UN 13,385 comes into view, there's a bit of temptation to just sidehill around 12,800', but I can almost guarantee you it's a craptacular endeavor to go that way. Up and over 12,800' was great, and you barely drop at all coming off 12,800'. So there's no major elevation loss that would make the side-hilling around worth it. Over yonder is the summit finally in view! From 12,800', the remainder of the route is very obvious and very straightforward. X marks the spot, a.k.a. the summit. More expertly-doodled dots Views of Columbia and Harvard become more prominent, and it's amazing! And now you're really curving to head northerly again. Columbia left, Harvard right More broad view of Columbia This is a first for me; we came across a relatively fresh elk kill! Seemed obvious a hunter got it, and I appreciate that it looked like other animals were also benefiting. Kind of a cool find if you're into this sort of thing. Straight shot to the summit from here. The final couple hundred feet is rocky but not in any terrible sort of way. Be sure to go uphill in style! Aim to impress the Buffaloes; they're watching your every move. Ironically, though, I have never earned style points on any of my hikes. Hmm. I am not sure why. Darin on the rocks, Columbia's ridge and the Arkansas Valley looking on On summit, claiming it and naming it with flag on display! Haha. O'Malley Peak A, you did not disappoint. After a long long time of schedules not lining up, it was great to be on a peak with the d_baker, once again! Absolutely love the views from the summit and especially of Harvard from this vantage point. Wow! I dragged my DSLR along and had zero regrets. Oxford, Belford, and Missouri - I see you! The summit register proves this is not an oft-visited peak. Per the norm, we enjoyed looking through it and spotting names we know. It's like stalking, but different. Views? Impeccable. Columbia, Harvard, Oxford, Belford, Missouri... you're surrounded by greatness and can see beyond to Elbert, Massive, and even Holy Cross. For descent, if I were without GPS, map, etc., the Buffaloes are visually very useful if you paid attention to them on the ascent. Aim toward, not away. And this is the last time I'll mention them, I promise! Final Thoughts This was a VERY pleasant 13er! I'm a big fan. I do understand why it's not visited often, though. When Darin suggested we do it, I immediately pulled up a map to see what's nearby to connect with. Oh... there is nothing. This peak is a very tall island nowhere near other 13ers, so you really have to want to be there. It makes for a lovely day on its own, and the views are definitely worth it. As always, leave no trace wherever you roam. Love the pikas; preserve their home. My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload): Login required to view this map... Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Silliness on UN 13,385

Silliness on UN 13,385

This is the first of what I hope are many installments in my quest to claim (haha) unnamed 13ers for my family. I am a person of whimsy, if you can't tell from other TRs, and the nugget of this silly idea started years ago. When I summitted my first unnamed 13er, The Artist Formerly Known As UN 13,550, I "claimed it" - or so I thought. But to claim a peak, doesn't there need to be a flag involved? That seemed like an unforgivable deficiency.

So I ordered an Irish flag bearing my family crest and started over. Congratulations, UN 13,385, you are henceforth O'Malley Peak A - at least within the confines of my own little heart.

Let's take a closer look at this truly lovely jaunt!

To the Stats, We Go!

Total mileage: 6.42

Total elevation gain: 2,487'

Mileage splits:

Mile 1 = 617'

Mile 2 = 1040'

Mile 3 = 476'

Mile 4 to finish = 354'

The Road In

Darin and I followed the directions provided in Trotter's TR: slightly north of Buena Vista, turn left on CR 386, right onto CR 387, left at unmarked T intersection, keep going until the gate. I agree with Trotter about the steep inclines. While Darin kept his 4Runner in 2WD and did just fine, I suspect 2WD vehicles with less clearance and power would struggle. And certainly any semblance of snow, mud, or ice would make those inclines pretty interesting.

The Hike

Begin at the gate and just travel the road for a bit. It's quite pleasant, and you pass a small artifact in the form of a mini bulldozer.

Arrive at the end of the road, and views open up, also revealing a lot more mining structures. This is where you get your first glimpse of the Buffalo Peaks which - spoiler - will become a common navigational comment throughout this TR.

Up until the end of the road is ever-so-slightly SSW. From here, though, we turned right up the hill onto the Wapaca Trail past the cabin and headed distinctly NW. You don't stay on the Wapaca Trail long at all because it starts heading the opposite direction. Per the map, it looks like you can follow the meandering of the Wapaca Trail until it spits you out onto the Colorado Trail (CT), then you could continue trail-less upward from there. However, this appears very inefficient and adds significant amount of hiking.

So dive into the trees, and just head on up aiming distinctly SW.

We didn't encounter anything problematic in the bushwhack to the CT. Dare I say, it was quite manageable and not terribly unpleasant.

But about the Buffaloes... I look behind me a fair bit for navigation purposes, so on our way up I would catch glimpses of the Buffaloes, and I thought to myself, "Self, those are a very distinctly helpful point of orientation, if needed."

23360_06 — The Buffaloes peeking through the trees right at the appearance of the CT; squarely in the center of your line of sight.

After a bit, a big clearing signals an upcoming encounter with the CT, which you will cross, not follow.

Continue your southwesterly mission uphill. The next phase of bushwhacking was as non-problematic as the first. We encountered a little more snow, but it was no big deal.

You'll emerge into another clearing, and leftward you'll see a pointy-ish pile of rocks. You want to aim to the right of those rocks in whatever fashion makes most sense to you.

Time for another look back at the Buffaloes. Yep, they're still there!

Columbia's ridge barely starts coming into view and is also a good directional point of reference because you don't want to head in its direction, you want to curve away from it, really. So at this point, I'm just going to vaguely say "keep going up". Being out of the trees at this point, it's fairly easy to visually navigate. Though, admittedly, UN 13,385 itself stays out of view for quite some time.

23360_13 — Play some willows Frogger here as you head up

We headed toward this rocky section. Once you get to the top of it, 12,800' comes into view. You're going to go up and over that, so navigationally the route is pretty simple from this point onward.

23360_16 — Expertly-drawn doodle dots to illustrate how to gain 12,800'

23360_24 — Somewhere en route to 12,800', we took a snack break, and this nearby pika stood watch. Pika and Princeton.

Once UN 13,385 comes into view, there's a bit of temptation to just sidehill around 12,800', but I can almost guarantee you it's a craptacular endeavor to go that way. Up and over 12,800' was great, and you barely drop at all coming off 12,800'. So there's no major elevation loss that would make the side-hilling around worth it.

23360_18 — Over yonder is the summit finally in view!

From 12,800', the remainder of the route is very obvious and very straightforward. X marks the spot, a.k.a. the summit.

Views of Columbia and Harvard become more prominent, and it's amazing! And now you're really curving to head northerly again.

This is a first for me; we came across a relatively fresh elk kill! Seemed obvious a hunter got it, and I appreciate that it looked like other animals were also benefiting. Kind of a cool find if you're into this sort of thing.

Straight shot to the summit from here. The final couple hundred feet is rocky but not in any terrible sort of way.

Be sure to go uphill in style! Aim to impress the Buffaloes; they're watching your every move.

23360_29 — Ironically, though, I have never earned style points on any of my hikes. Hmm. I am not sure why.

23360_30 — Darin on the rocks, Columbia's ridge and the Arkansas Valley looking on

On summit, claiming it and naming it with flag on display! Haha. O'Malley Peak A, you did not disappoint.

23360_33 — After a long long time of schedules not lining up, it was great to be on a peak with the d_baker, once again!

23360_34 — Absolutely love the views from the summit and especially of Harvard from this vantage point. Wow! I dragged my DSLR along and had zero regrets.

23360_35 — Oxford, Belford, and Missouri - I see you!

The summit register proves this is not an oft-visited peak. Per the norm, we enjoyed looking through it and spotting names we know. It's like stalking, but different.

Views? Impeccable. Columbia, Harvard, Oxford, Belford, Missouri... you're surrounded by greatness and can see beyond to Elbert, Massive, and even Holy Cross.

For descent, if I were without GPS, map, etc., the Buffaloes are visually very useful if you paid attention to them on the ascent. Aim toward, not away. And this is the last time I'll mention them, I promise!

Final Thoughts

This was a VERY pleasant 13er! I'm a big fan. I do understand why it's not visited often, though. When Darin suggested we do it, I immediately pulled up a map to see what's nearby to connect with. Oh... there is nothing. This peak is a very tall island nowhere near other 13ers, so you really have to want to be there. It makes for a lovely day on its own, and the views are definitely worth it.

As always, leave no trace wherever you roam. Love the pikas; preserve their home.

My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload):

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

Skimo95	Nice job guys 12/3/2025 10:22pm Definitely a great 13er, for sure. I wound up using 4wd for the last mile or so on the road, up and down. Phizz even enjoyed it at 9 years old! Cheers
MaryinColorado	Thanks 12/3/2025 10:56pm Agree, I think a lot of folks would probably end up needing 4WD. Nice to hear that y'all enjoyed it a lot, too. I was surprised how enjoyable it turned out to be. :)
Kiefer	Disappointed.... 12/4/2025 4:18pm Mary/Darin, for all the silliness that was imparted on this trip, I am VERY disappointed in the lack of shenanigans. And you're Irish!! Next next, you need more shenanigans...and cowbell wouldn't hurt either. And Darin is wearing my jacket. Great trip!
MaryinColorado	Oh noooo 12/4/2025 4:23pm @Kiefer - sorry to disappoint! Whatever shenanigans were lacking here, I guarantee they will be made up for in my upcoming Whale Peak TR, though. LOL.
d_baker	Whispers 12/4/2025 5:38pm Kiefer, do I have a ghost twin?! Same color? Also, this was post-Halloween. I insisted it was too late for shenanigans and costumes and I wouldn't play a part to her props. I lost out on Thanksgiving to the no-props demand! Good day out, Mary! It was satisfying to clean up a Sawatch eRphan. Several more to go! Thanks for joining and sorry (not sorry) that I scared you when I passed cars on the way home....lol 4runners can safely go 90mph, it's okayyy
MaryinColorado	Confession! 12/4/2025 6:35pm I feel like you must have needed to get some of that out of your system, Darin. 😂 Yes, it was a great day out! Even better by getting there the right way thanks to your watchful eyes, lol. And now I know that a 4Runner can even go that fast. I probably wouldn't have discovered that on my own, as we know. Bahaha!
Kiefer	Twinsies! 12/8/2025 10:42am Darin, I am afraid to report, that we're Twinkies. :o) EMBRACE the twinkiness.
MaryinColorado	YEAH 12/8/2025 12:06pm I am very much in favor of this twinsing. Although, it also makes me feel like I need a new jacket. Lol!

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