Ascent of Peak 6262 on 2017-07-29| Other People: | Solo Ascent
Only Party on Mountain | | Date: | Saturday, July 29, 2017 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Motorized Transport to Trailhead: | Car | | Peak: | Peak 6262 | | Location: | USA-Colorado | | Elevation: | 6262 ft / 1908 m |
Ascent Trip ReportWoke up realized it was going to rain all day in the high mountains so I abandoned my goal of getting a 14er. Instead, I set my sights on the hogback ridge peaks I had not completed in Golden/Lakewood area. I followed the following agenda:
1) Indian Mountain – Apex Park (7281) Summited
2) Bandimere Ridge – South Dinosaur Park (6283) Summited
3) Peak 6262 – South Hogback Ridge (6262) Summited
4) Peak 6482 – South Hogback Ridge (6482) Private property did not climb
5) Hogback – South Hogback Ridge (6536) Private property did not climb
6) Plymouth Mountain – Deer Creek Canyon Park (7295) Summited
7) So. Plymouth Pinnace Pt – Deer Creek Canyon Park (7286) Summited
Peak 6262 – This summit is a challenge. The maps show a public named road but it was closed with a gate. There is a subdivision of expensive homes (over 900k) being built on the back side of the mountain. It was obviously easy to bag this one from the backside until this land development project started. Now they are signing the back trail no trespassing for residents of the subdivision. So here are your choices and none are great. Access to this peak is about to go away. One choice is to walk around the gate and hike up the mining road Diamond Back Road. Easy hike, right up to top but you will need permission. On the weekend the hauling trucks were not being used but there was plenty of action at the structures at the summit. Or one could go look for a house being constructed in the new subdivision and slip up the back side of the mountain. There are sales people and construction workers building homes along the street. That is an easy fast climb but would also require permission. Another potential path is to park at the pull out along Turkey Creek Road near the shale slide and work yourself up the steep class 2+ deer and herd trails along the exposed ridge. At one point along the ridge the fence disappears and one can scramble, hike, and bushwhack terrain that is similar to Mount Glennon. Advantage to this route is stay out of issues with trespassing for much of the hike and has great view down on the highway and old mining sites but this route eventually also puts you on private property just before the summit (or you have to contour around the back side on some difficult terrain). Bottom line is there is no good way to get this 300 foot prominence peak anymore and it will only get more difficult as the subdivision is completed. I was able to get the peak and on the way down bushwhacking I slipped on a wet slab (these new salmon boots I bought are very comfortable but the soles suck! There are not viberam). As I picked myself up off the side of the slope and was relived I was not hurt I noticed a big buck horn on the ground. I went over to pick it up and found another…then another! One of the racks was a 7 pointer! To make this trip even more interesting, when casing out the various routes, I startled up a coyote and saw him from 40 feet and he has the back hind quarter of a deer leg in his mouth. I wonder who killed it?
Peak 6482 – This was another disappointment. As you head south on the hogback ridge private property issues become a mess. It looked like the folks that had nailed this peak before me off of the dirt road adjacent to Crestbrook Drive. I drove the road past the last house and right about where I was hoping to park my car, the road ends in a big private gate. There is a small access gate to the peak about a mile north that say Jefferson County Open Space but there are no trails and no parking allowed at that gate. It was raining and did not feel like bushwhacking up from there and hope I did not find more no trespassing gates along the way. I am not going to try this one again unless someone can find a good public access to it.
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| Summary Total Data | | Total Elevation Gain: | 462 ft / 140 m | | Round-Trip Distance: | 1.2 mi / 1.9 km | | Grade/Class: | 2,2+, 3 | | Quality: | 5 (on a subjective 1-10 scale) | | Route Conditions: | Bushwhack, Scramble | | Ascent Statistics | | Gain on way in: | 462 ft / 140 m | | Distance: | 0.6 mi / 1 km | | Route: | seeTR | | Start Trailhead: | see TR 5800 ft / 1767 m | | Descent Statistics | | Distance: | 0.6 mi / 1 km | Ascent Part of Trip: Denver-11
Complete Trip Sequence:
Total Trip Gain: 3522 ft / 1073 m Total Trip Loss: 1520 ft / 463 m |
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