Papoose Mtn./Squaw Mtn.

Statistics

Date - 04/03/2026
Elevation - 11,174'/11,486'
Route - West Slopes/Fire Trail Tower Road
Miles - 4.1
Elevation Gain - 1,263'
ACME Mapper - Link
CalTopo - Link
Partners - Not Applicable

Description

I hadn't been to the Chief Mountain Trailhead in over 20 years. On February 6, 2004, Thomas Milinowicz (a colleague of mine) and I snowshoed to the summit of Chief Mountain on a blistery winter day. Unfortunately, Tom passed away on February 3, 2026, so this trip brought back a lot of memories of him. He was an outdoor enthusiast who hiked several 14ers and nearly all of the Colorado Trail.

This hike took me in the opposite direction of Chief Mountain and I hiked to Papoose Mountain and Squaw Mountain. Apparently Squaw Mountain has been renamed Mestaa'ehhehe Mountain. I started on a snow-packed trail to the saddle between Papoose and Chief, and then had to cross-country hike for a bit to reach my first summit. It was a cold and windy day, so I only stayed long enough to take a couple photos. I then dropped off the north slopes of Papoose and picked up and old fire road that would take me east.

After about a half mile on the old fire road, I intersected with the Fire Trail Tower Road and simply hiked that to the summit of Squaw Mountain. I had to scramble a short distance to reach the actual summit of Squaw Mountain. Once again I didn't stay long due to low temperatures and reversed my route back down the road. Instead of taking the old fire road and trail back to the trailhead, I simply hiked the road all the way down to Highway 103. This added a bit more vertical, but it was really easy and a different way to make somewhat of a loop out of the day.

Photos