Point 13795 - Just Hiking

Statistics

Date - 09/10/2026
Elevation - 13,795'
Route - Northwest Ridge
Miles - 7.2
Elevation Gain - 3,376'
ACME Mapper - Link
CalTopo - Link
Partners - Not Applicable

Description

On my final day of hiking in the San Juan Mountains I selected a solo Colorado Bi-Centennial Peak east of Handies Peak. I hadn't been on this trail to Handies Peak since 2005 or 21 years ago! I was up early and started hiking at 3:35 am. When I reached 12,000', instead of continuing west towards Handies Peak, I turned left or southeast to an unnamed lake at 12,323'. It was still dark when I got to my turnoff, but I was lucky to pick up a strong climber's trail which kept me moving well.

I took a short break at the lake waiting for the sun to rise but grew impatient and continued around the east side of the lake and lost any sign of a use trail. At this point of the hike, things slowed pretty significantly for me as the terrain became loose and steep. I struggled during the twilight to choose a good path up the scree and rubble, and traversing the loose rocks was annoying and felt dangerous. Nevertheless, I finally reached easier ground at 13,000' and got my first glimpse of Point 13795.

Progress improved and I reached the summit of Point 13795 at 7:35 am after 4 hours of hiking and scrambling. I didn't stay long and reversed my route back to the Grizzly Gulch Trailhead. The descent down to the unnamed lake from 13,000' wasn't as bad as going up as I was able to pick a better line and reduce the rock fall I created significantly. My car-to-car time was 6 hours and 40 minutes. The map/LIDAR elevations for Point 13795 are 13,795'/13,801' which kept it at #109 when considering all other elevation changes.

Photos