Mount Sneffels, CO

Hiked: 8/19/2025
Distance: 6.1 miles round trip on dirt road, trail, and cross country
Summit Elevation: 14155'
Prominence: 3067'
Elevation Gain: 3071'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 2.4
Round trip time: 6 hours
Recommended water: 100 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Yankee Boy Basin Road
Difficulty: Strenuous

I flew to Denver and drove south to prepare for Mount Sneffels, a Colorado 14er I'd been stalking since last year. I had the same trip booked last year, but cancelled it last minute due to weather. Colorado weather is notoriously unpredictable and afternoon storms are common in the summer. Luck was on my side this time as the forecast for Sneffels was sunshine all day. I still wanted to start at daybreak to hedge my bets. I drove up Yankee Boy Basin in a rented Jeep 4x4, surprised that the Jeep really struggled up the last 1000' to the lower trailhead at 11274'. I had to disengage the 4x4 Hi to keep it from stalling out. The first couple of miles of the hike were on a dirt road ending at the Blue Lakes trailhead. A couple of other Jeeps were able to drive to the upper trailhead.

A single track departed from there and split into two trails, one to Blue Lakes and the other to Sneffels. The trail ended at a large cairn at the base of the south slopes, filled with talus and sand. I tried to stay on the rocks, offering more stability than the steep, packed dirt. Two parties ahead of me split off before the reaching the saddle for a ridge ascent, but it turned out they followed the party ahead of them who went off route. After reaching the saddle, the main route continued up the equally steep Lavender Col. The final mile gained 1800' without mercy.

Alpenglow on Mt. Gilpin

From the Blue Lakes trailhead

Climber following others up a non-standard route

Standard route up the Lavender Col

V-notch is near the top on the left

Looking back down the gully

V-notch, exposed on the left but not visible from this angle
The crux of the route was the V-notch. A class 3 wedge with some exposure on the left side. After the notch was 200' of class 2, leading to a small summit with several climbers taking in the views. Half had helmets, a good idea with lots of loose rock other climbers could knock down on you. I chatted briefly with a few of them and we took turns taking pictures of each other. The views were otherworldly and dramatic: big mountains, lakes, and rugged formations. All sides of the summit dropped off significantly. There was a register, but it was missing a pen and I didn't have one so I didn't sign in. No marks. I spent about 20 minutes on the summit. All parties agreed to stagger our descent to reduce the risk of rock fall. I was the last to leave. At the V-notch, a couple was trying to come up, but were apprehensive. They insisted I come down first, which I did facing the rock. After I got down, the couple made their way up tentatively. It was a very slow descent back to the trail. Hiking back on the road, I dodged many vehicles, including some off road vehicles. Sneffels was a fun scramble and nice test piece. I'd put it in my top ten all time. Shout out to 14ers.com, a really useful site for all the Colorado 13ers and 14ers.

Note the climber starting a ridge descent

Blue Lakes from above

Back down the south slopes

Sharing the road with Jeeps on the way back

Mount Sneffels was named following its first ascent in 1874 by members of the Hayden Geological Survey. The name Sneffels appears to be an Americanized form of the Old Norse Snæfell (“snow mountain”).

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North Onyx Point and Onyx Peak

Hiked: 8/12/2025
Distance: 6.1 miles round trip on dirt road
Summit Elevation: 9120'
Elevation Gain: 750'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 0.6
Round trip time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 40 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Pipes Canyon Road
Difficulty: Easy

From Highway 38, I turned onto Pipes Canyon Road and parked. There was plenty of parking available outside the locked gate. I suspect it is always locked due to private towers on Onyx Peak (HPS #29). The PCT also passes through here. I started up the smooth dirt road that makes a long U-shape to reach Onyx. I noticed more cedars than pines and the forest was sparse. At the turn, I left the road and headed for an unofficial peakbagger-only peak named North Onyx Point. It was a quarter mile from the road and I thought maybe unlocked some great views, but it didn't. I wandered around trying to find the high point before heading back to the road. I met one large jack rabbit, the kind I usually see at much lower elevations. It was the only wild life encounter of the day. The summit had several towers, some seismic equipment, and open boxes with communcation equipment. Pieces of an unassembled tower were laying on the ground. It looked like an active construction site, but no one was working that day. I found the benchmark and a reference mark, but no register. A small painted sign was propped up next to the benchmark. Views on the flat summit were hampered by trees. On the way back, I decided to take a shortcut down a drainage where the distance to the road below was at a minimum. Fortunately, the forest had plenty of open spaces to walk around the trees. 400' feet down, I crossed a trail. 500' down was the road. It was a surprisingly easy and useful shortcut, and could be used on the way up.

North Onyx Point -- not worth the side trip

Jack rabbit

High tech comms

Drainage shortcut

Heart Bar Peak

Hiked: 8/12/2025
Distance: 5.5 miles round trip on dirt road and use trail
Summit Elevation: 8330'
Elevation Gain: 1300'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 1.0
Round trip time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Recommended water: 28 oz.
Parking/Fees: Free on Forest Road 1N38
Difficulty: Easy

I drove up Highway 38, north of San Gorgonio and south of Big Bear, on the hunt for a couple of HPS peaks. Heart Bar (HPS #55) was first. I turned south onto Forest Road 1N38, aka Heart Bar Peak road. I parked in a turnout on the left a couple of hundred feet down the road. There was only room for one vehicle there. A quarter mile further was additional parking, but the road was pretty rough. The first mile of the road had large boulders, small logs, and deep ruts. If someone could drive the first mile, the road got considerably better all the way up to the use trail. I would not have tried it in my stock Tacoma. From my parking spot, the road started a series of long switchbacks. It was pleasant hiking amidst tall pines and cedars. The final ridge section was along a use trail. I lost it a few times, but picked it up again. There were two class 2 boulder piles that competed for the high point. The first one had fallen tree over it and a small cairn built where the Sierra Club HPS cans and registers were. I climbed up, signed in, and marked a waypoint. I continued down the ridge to the other boulder pile, climbed it, then marked another waypoint. By eyeball, it looked nearly the same height as the official one. Checking the waypoint later, the altitude was almost identical, well within the GPS margin of error. Views of the surrounding mountains were just OK. I didn't find any marks. I returned down the road and got ready for Onyx Peak.

Heart Bar is the rightmost bump on the ridge

Start of the use trail

Summit rocks

Lower summit rocks

San Gorgonio

Baden-Powell (x3) and Ross Mountain

HPS Star Emblem Peak
Hiked: 8/1/2025
Distance: 14.2 miles round trip on trail and use trail
Summit Elevation: 9390' (Baden-Powell), 7404' (Ross)
Elevation Gain: 5598'
Elevation Gain (in Empire State Buildings): 4.4
Round trip time: 9 hours
Recommended water: 136 oz.
Parking/Fees: $5 Day Hike Fee or Annual Pass
Difficulty: Strenuous

The easiest way to Ross Mountain (HPS #102) is going over Mt. Baden-Powell, then descending over 2000' down a ridge. It was a big training day. I parked at Vincent Gap and displayed my Forest Service annual pass. I was approached by an employee of Big Pines Recreation, who informed me that the forest service had auctioned off the parking lot and it was owned by his employer. He stated forest service passes will be honored until 1/1/2026, then Big Pines passes will be required. The current Big Pines day use fee was $5 and a machine that issued passes was already installed.

This was my third trip to Baden-Powell. I climbed the many switchbacks meeting a few parties on their way down. I noticed a couple of well defined use trails that shortcut the lower switchbacks that I didn't remember from my last visit. I reached the summit of Baden-Powell in about 2 hours, noting it was just a midpoint rest stop. I signed the formal register, then started down the south ridge.

I could see Ross Mountain at the end of two steep drops. Before taking a dozen steps, I was already thinking about the climb back out. I picked up a use trail immediately that went all the way ro Ross. The slopes were mostly open with scattered pines. Burned trees and charcoal littered some areas, replaced by young poodle dog sprouts. At the bottom of the first drop was a half-mile plateau covered with knee high manzanita. The second slope dropped even more steeply than the first. The use trail tried to work in short switchbacks in places, but often went directly down. From the bottom of the second drop, there was a little roller coaster section where the slope narrowed, then a 100' climb to Ross. At first, I walked by the register tucked behind a small tree. I found it shortly after. The register was in a Superman lunch box. The summit was long and flat. Views were great toward Mount San Antonio and friends, and there was a close up view of Iron Mountain's nightmarish north ridge. Copter Ridge ran parallel, with Hawkins Ridge the next one over. It had a very heart-of-the-Gabes feel. After some procrastination, I took on the crux: getting back to Baden-Powell. The first slope was the toughest, and I took frequent breaks. A cool breeze had been blowing all day, keeping the temps reasonable. I realized when I reached the plateau that I was a little short on calories, leading me to ration my food. It was a slow plod up the second slope but the worst was behind me. I didn't stop while passing over Baden-Powell the second time. Once I started down the north side of Baden-Powell, I began to relax and was on cruise control the rest of the way.

Note: The Sierra Club rates this hike very strenuous. I felt it was comparable with San Gorgonio via Vivian Creek trail, that they rate strenuous. Maybe the mental aspect of significant gain on the way back was a factor in their thinking.

Ross at the end of the ridge

Ross dead ahead. Iron Mountain left. Rattlesnake Mountain right.

Mount San Antonio

Copter Ridge, then Hawkins Ridge

The steep return to Baden-Powell

Ross from the Angeles Crest Highway