Red Peak in the Gore Range

This week was supposed to have two hikes with three 13ers. A lot of rain early in the week held me back although I won’t complain about getting some rain. We really need rain, like, a few years of it. Thursday was forecast to be a great day so I decided to do Red Peak in the Gore Range. This is a 13er on the southern edge of the range providing great views.

The hike is just under 13 miles using the route I took, with about 4500′ elevation change. It’s a good training route for future 14ers, and tougher than some of the easy 14ers (IMO).

Getting there

My plan had me leaving from the Buffalo Cabin/Buffalo Mountain trailhead in Silverthorne. There is another route from the Meadow Creek trailhead of I-70. The route I took is a little shorter (about 1.5 miles) and has a little less elevation change (about 500′ less). The longer route and more elevation change didn’t bother me, I just wanted to try starting from Silverthorne!

I woke up earlier than I’d expected and was at the trailhead by 6:10AM. The temps were in the 40’s. I put on my daypack, laced up my boots, and headed out.

Initial trail for Red Peak – Gore Range

The trail starts out pretty easy and passes through a burn area at the beginning. After about 1.5 miles, the trail crosses a boulder field and drops fairly steeply towards South Willow Creek. As I was going down it, I thought about how much fun that’d be going up on the way back. Just shy of 2 miles, the trail crosses the creek. There are lots of social trails and attempts to guide people on a main trail. I’d say those attempts aren’t that successful…but I did make it across and linked up with the Gore Range Trail, just like I did on my last hike. There were some camp spots on the trail before the Gore Range intersection although I couldn’t tell if people were trying to discourage it with log placement or not.

The Gore Range trail goes about .8 miles where these is a side trail to a waterfall. I made a note of it and planned on checking it out on the way back, and passed on by. There were a few camp locations past the waterfall and up the small hill. It’d be a good spot by the stream. There were, again, several logs blocking social trails so it’s hard to say what is going on there since I’ve also seen logs used to frame these camps. Anyway, I wasn’t backpacking so I continued on.

Fellow Hikers

At about 1 mile on the Gore Range trail, I met some backpackers going the other way. There wasn’t much conversation, it was still pretty early in the morning (I guess). They looked determined so I stepped aside and continued on.

When I was approaching 4 miles or so, I saw a deer up ahead on the trail. I took a picture but it was out of focus. Getting clear shots at the maximum zoom can sometimes be a little tricky. As I snapped a second shot, a buck appeared with the doe. I really wanted to get that picture when a fellow hiker walked by me. I mentioned the deer but he didn’t seem to care and continued past me making a shot impossible. Hmmm, I must have been putting off a bad vibe.

Meadows above the tree line

I continued on, mumbling to myself about the deer shot, and then forgot about it as I came into open meadows above tree line. The green grass everywhere was beautiful, and the views were amazing. The day was getting better! I continued up the trail to a small lake where I was to take a right. From here, I could see where my journey was taking me.

The real climb starts

It doesn’t take long to get to Red Buffalo Pass from the lake. This is where I leave the trail and head up to Red Peak. There is a nice, steep introduction to the climb right at the pass. It’s always good to get reminder that it’s a trek, not a stroll.

I followed the ridge line and took my time, telling myself it’s a marathon, not a sprint. It seemed to work for the most part. Looking up ahead, I saw the coolest thing, an entire herd of mountain goats. I realized I was on their trail, and they didn’t care that a puny human was in the way. The spot I was in didn’t really allow me to get off the trail. I pushed up against a rock behind me and waited for them to arrive. It made for a great video. After they passed, I took a shot back the way I’d come and a shot forward to the peak.

Mountain goats take over the trail

The grind to the top

By this point, I was definitely feeling the 7-mile run I’d done the day before. Maybe that wasn’t such a great idea after all. The haul to the top included scrambling over boulder fields and making my way to the false summit. Then there is a small saddle and the final scramble to the top. While there were some doubts that crept into my mind, I pushed them aside and was rewarded with amazing views at the top. Taking advice from Tanya, I enjoyed the moment!!

Heading back

I spent about 30 minutes at the top, including laying on my back and looking at the clouds. The temps were perfect and there was no wind. Not the typical summit experience. I ate several snacks and wished I brought more! Eventually I headed back down. When I passed by the false summit, I noticed a marker on it. Does a false summit need a marker? A couple of crows were hanging out on the ridge. Maybe they were expecting me to take a fall and get a nice meal? Didn’t work out for them. There were some nice pictures on the way back. The waterfall also made for some nice video.

The climb back up from South Willow Creek met all my expectations. It was exciting to be out of breath and tired during the last section. Eventually I made it back to the car around 2:00. It was a really fun hike and a good time!!