Peak 10

From the south end of Breckenridge, drive 2 miles south on Colorado 9. Turn right on Spruce Creek Road. Stay right up a hill before turning left at an intersection. Continue another mile to reach the obvious 2WD trailhead at 10,400'. To continue to the upper, 4WD Spruce Creek trailhead, pass through the gate and drive nearly 2 miles to reach the end of the road, near 11,100'. If you're headed to the Crystal Creek area, leave the lower trailhead, and after 0.2 mile turn right and follow a steep, narrow, 4WD road that goes all the way to Lower Crystal Lake, at 12,000'.

 1 shows this route from the east.

If you parked at the main trailhead (10,400'): Follow the 4WD road up a short distance to a road junction. Going straight will take you into Spruce Creek. Turn right and take another road up toward Crystal Creek. Follow the steep road for over a mile and eventually leave the heavy forest. Near 1.3 miles, from the trailhead, locate the Wheeler trail where it crosses the road.

If you parked at the south end of the Aqueduct road: Walk past the gate and, after about 50 yards, enter the forest on the Wheeler trail. Follow the Wheeler trail for almost 1 mile to where it intersects the road in the middle of Crystal Creek.

Hike north on the Wheeler trail toward a shoulder on the east end of Peak 10 -  2. Without snow, this trail is very easy to follow. At 11,600', begin climbing the slope leading up the shoulder.  3 shows the hike from Crystal Creek up onto the shoulder. Continue on the trail as it heads to the right and then back to the left (west) for a long traverse ( 4) under Point 12,408' up to the right. Reach the crest of the shoulder near 12,400'. Breckenridge and the ski area are northeast and much of the remaining hike is visible -  5. Walk north on the trail a bit farther before leaving the trail on the left. Hike west up the East Ridge. You cannot see the summit from this point. Near 12,800', stay right to avoid a steep talus section. Follow the ridge west to 13,100' where you can see the radio towers and summit -  6.

Continue west along the ridge to reach the road that comes up from the right. Curve around to the south side of the ridge before reaching the radio towers -  7. The summit is not far away. Pass the towers and follow the remaining East Ridge -  8. From the towers, there's about 350' of remaining elevation gain. Snow is present on the ridge through June. With snow, a cornice may make this ridge a bit dangerous. Ascend snow or stable talus to the easy summit -  9.

High-clearance 4WD vehicles can also drive up into Crystal Creek and park near the intersection of the Wheeler trail. It's a rough, narrow road with few pull-offs along the way. Remember - this is the road that starts on the right a short distance up from the main trailhead.