“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”
― St. Augustine of Hippo
― St. Augustine of Hippo
Once again, I found myself wandering into the mountains of Colorado to hike few more unique peaks. This time, American Basin was our destination.
My buddy Jarred, who I've known for many years now, wanted to get out and hike a 14er as he hasn't been able to in a long time. A few years back we hiked in the same area Redcloud and Sunshine. So it seemed he was pretty excited to get out here again, especially with the fall colors in full expression. Also, I was happy he wanted to join because it is often hard to find a hiking partner willing to travel the 6 hours from Denver to make it to really any mountain in the San Juan mountains. This time around, Michaela his girlfriend was able to join as well and even better, this was her first 14er. The mountain in our sights, Handies Peak, 14,048 ft.
Jared/Michaela - Handies Peak Summit, 14,048 ft.
Miles: 5.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 2500 ft.
Myself - Jones Mountain A (13,860 ft), American Peak (13,806 ft), Handies Peak (14,048 ft)
Miles: ~9.4 miles (8.75 hrs with about 45 min of breaks)
Elevation Gain: 4675 ft
Miles: 5.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 2500 ft.
Myself - Jones Mountain A (13,860 ft), American Peak (13,806 ft), Handies Peak (14,048 ft)
Miles: ~9.4 miles (8.75 hrs with about 45 min of breaks)
Elevation Gain: 4675 ft
We arrived late in the evening after making the drive after work on Friday from Denver. It was around 11-11:30 pm when we made it to the top of the American Basin 4wd road. I decided we would go all the way to the parking lot rather than stop lower to find a good camp spot in the trees. It was a beautiful night, with a SUPER bright moon. There was a short section of large rocks in the road near the end which my car surprisingly made it up fairly easy. I thought I'd need more clearance but I didn't scrape.
We started at 8 am sharp. Beautiful morning, sun just topping over the summit shining on the high cliffs of American Peak ahead. We had our coffee and breakfast and were ready to roll. We had a great time strolling up the nice, easy trail to Sloan Lake. A family with a baby in their backpack passed us. We also met a guy coming down who spent the night on the summit of Handies! Wow! What a night to do so.
My goal for the day was Jones Mountain A and Handies Peak. Since I never get to venture down here, I thought I would take advantage and hike a few extra peaks. I have a sort of soft goal in the back of my mind to hike all 100 highest peaks in Colorado. After this weekend, I am up to 65 of 100.
We started at 8 am sharp. Beautiful morning, sun just topping over the summit shining on the high cliffs of American Peak ahead. We had our coffee and breakfast and were ready to roll. We had a great time strolling up the nice, easy trail to Sloan Lake. A family with a baby in their backpack passed us. We also met a guy coming down who spent the night on the summit of Handies! Wow! What a night to do so.
My goal for the day was Jones Mountain A and Handies Peak. Since I never get to venture down here, I thought I would take advantage and hike a few extra peaks. I have a sort of soft goal in the back of my mind to hike all 100 highest peaks in Colorado. After this weekend, I am up to 65 of 100.
Here is my route that I marked using Google Earth.
I went up the normal Handies trail to Sloan Lake with Jarred and Michaela before breaking off towards Jones Mountain A. I hope Jarred and Michaela had a good time hiking together. I must admit, I felt a somewhat selfish to wander off to hike my own goals for the day to then meet up with them in the end. I knew if I were to hike Jones Mountain A today, I would need to do it first because I'd need my energy to hike this route because it doesn't have a nice defined trail and takes more focus. Bonus peak would be to hike American Peak as well. The jaunt west below American Peak to the steep incline to the low point in the ridge that gives access to Jones Mnt. A was pretty straight forward. Talus and boulder hopping all the way, then a short steep dirt incline up to the ridge.
I went up the normal Handies trail to Sloan Lake with Jarred and Michaela before breaking off towards Jones Mountain A. I hope Jarred and Michaela had a good time hiking together. I must admit, I felt a somewhat selfish to wander off to hike my own goals for the day to then meet up with them in the end. I knew if I were to hike Jones Mountain A today, I would need to do it first because I'd need my energy to hike this route because it doesn't have a nice defined trail and takes more focus. Bonus peak would be to hike American Peak as well. The jaunt west below American Peak to the steep incline to the low point in the ridge that gives access to Jones Mnt. A was pretty straight forward. Talus and boulder hopping all the way, then a short steep dirt incline up to the ridge.
There was a faint trail heading up the initial part on the ridge. I lost it and thought staying a bit lower on the left in this photo would be better. It was loose and not fun. I was very careful to climb higher more ridge proper. Turns out the trail is definitely more ridge proper although it looks worse from the bottom. From the top coming down it is more obvious which way is easiest. Always look for the easier way when unsure. Patience is important. Make the right decision to be safe.
The final route up to the top went quick. The best route is not so intuitive though. I went up the trail until I lost it because I was heading straight to the summit staying a bit lower to the south. I stopped completely as the talus scree was just that loose and sketchy. I couldn't step without feeling the slope would give out. I had to back track a few steps and noticed I could climb up more solid rock straight up to the ridge proper. So I did this. Good choice. I hated this loose rock. Reminds me why the San Juan mountains suck at times. Loose, Loose, Loose rock.
Made the summit at 10:55 am, considering I left Sloan Lake at 9:25 am. Not bad.
Next, descend the ascent route and go to American Peak. I figured American Peak would be a bonus. The descent off the summit of Jones and the ridge went much smoother. I could see the better route through the loose scree on the slopes. I was glad to be back to the low point between American Peak and Jones. Enough loose talus for me.
In looking at American Peak. It was a bit daunting at first because it looked far away compared to Jones. I was reluctant because of the distance. However, I figured I'd see how the trail to American Peak starts out as I could always turn around. Thankfully, this trail was a fantastic hikers trail. And, the best part is it was very well made naturally. It crossed the talus at a constant elevation basically all the way to American Peak. This lifted my spirits tremendously and allowed me to bust it across to American Peak. I made it to the summit in 20 minutes from the saddle with Jones. That is how good this trail was as long as you stayed on it. My confidence rose. I made the summit just shy of 11:45 am. I snarfed down my sandwich, an apple, some sausage, a fruit snack, reapplied sunscreen, and was heading back at 12:05 pm. I wanted to make quick time to get back to Sloan lake to meet Jarred and Michaela. I certainly did make fast time. I made it back to the saddle in 20 minutes, jump skied the loose dirt slope from the saddle to the talus in American Basin, then crossed to Sloan Lake by 12:55. This jump scree down was glorious. So quick on soft dirt. Very nice to make fast time.
Made the summit at 10:55 am, considering I left Sloan Lake at 9:25 am. Not bad.
Next, descend the ascent route and go to American Peak. I figured American Peak would be a bonus. The descent off the summit of Jones and the ridge went much smoother. I could see the better route through the loose scree on the slopes. I was glad to be back to the low point between American Peak and Jones. Enough loose talus for me.
In looking at American Peak. It was a bit daunting at first because it looked far away compared to Jones. I was reluctant because of the distance. However, I figured I'd see how the trail to American Peak starts out as I could always turn around. Thankfully, this trail was a fantastic hikers trail. And, the best part is it was very well made naturally. It crossed the talus at a constant elevation basically all the way to American Peak. This lifted my spirits tremendously and allowed me to bust it across to American Peak. I made it to the summit in 20 minutes from the saddle with Jones. That is how good this trail was as long as you stayed on it. My confidence rose. I made the summit just shy of 11:45 am. I snarfed down my sandwich, an apple, some sausage, a fruit snack, reapplied sunscreen, and was heading back at 12:05 pm. I wanted to make quick time to get back to Sloan lake to meet Jarred and Michaela. I certainly did make fast time. I made it back to the saddle in 20 minutes, jump skied the loose dirt slope from the saddle to the talus in American Basin, then crossed to Sloan Lake by 12:55. This jump scree down was glorious. So quick on soft dirt. Very nice to make fast time.
Once back to Sloan Lake, I ate some more food with Jarred and Michaela. I was very happy to be back safely and knowing I had a nice trail left to Handies. I was pretty exhausted already. Jarred and Michaela said they just got back to the lake a few minutes before myself. They had the summit of Handies to themselves for about 15 minutes! Awesome! They both were feeling good. Glad to hear. In years past when taking Jarred up hiking, I managed to get him at least a little bit sick. Glad to see this time he was doing great and Michaela as well.
I split off with them at 1:15 pm to head to the final summit of the day. Handies. I did well today to make Handies a tough climb, even though it is the easiest route of all the 14ers due to its short distance and nice trail.
I split off with them at 1:15 pm to head to the final summit of the day. Handies. I did well today to make Handies a tough climb, even though it is the easiest route of all the 14ers due to its short distance and nice trail.
Thanks for reading! Here are some final photos of the day. I made it back to the car by 3:45 pm with a nice stop at the lake on the way down to ice my feet.
Cheers, until next time. I'm sure this fall will see a few more adventures.
Cheers, until next time. I'm sure this fall will see a few more adventures.