Snow Mesa (12,393), UN 13510, UN 13162, Baldy Cinco (13,383), & "Baldy no es Cinco" (13,313) by Brian Schultz Wednesday August 23, 2017

Roundtrip mileage: ~16 miles from Spring Creek Pass (elevation 10,900')
Elevation gain: ~4,600'
Start to finish: 11 hours

I truckcamped at Spring Creek Pass (between Lake City and Creede) and settled in for a fitful night of sleep- which is typical when I come in from the flatlands of Minnesota and immediately stay overnight at a high elevation in Colorado.

I began at 6:20 AM and followed the CD Trail on the other side of the highway. The weather forecast called for 40% chance of showers/storms but the morning started out clear and sunny. I really hoped there wouldn't be any storm activity today with the long mileage of the route and being at high elevation for most of it.

The CD trail is a great trail if you don't mind rocks, scree, and tree roots but it does get better higher up and becomes a fine dirt trail (photo 1, photo 2) in the flat area called Snow Mesa. It took an hour to reach this area and I took a short break there. It's a vast area with a named hill off the trail called Snow Mesa (what else?) and I hiked over to claim the unranked point before continuing on. Most climbers start with Baldy no es Cinco but I chose to do the four ranked peaks in reverse order, primarily to claim the farthest peak first in case bad weather rolled in later. And if that happened, I could return to get whatever peaks remained on a shorter outing.

A backpacker passed by me in the Snow Mesa area, intending to catch a pre-arranged shuttle ride at Spring Creek Pass. Shortly afterward, I passed by another fellow emerging from his tent and I stopped to talk for a while. He too was going to catch the shuttle but told me he was sick and couldn't hold any food down. He'd been on the CD trail for nearly a month and wisely decided to seek medical help in Lake City.

I reached the 13162/13510 saddle at 9:35. The ridge to 13510 looked difficult so I continued on the trail through a talus slope and then cut up grassy slopes to the ridge. This worked well and I arrived on top at 10:45. Fifteen minutes later I departed and was back at the 13162/13510 saddle again at 11:45. The ridge to UN 13162 is also gnarly so I angled left across the grassy slopes where pretty easy hiking brought me to the summit at 12:35. I took a short break before heading down the ridge to the 13162/Baldy Cinco saddle. Baldy Cinco is only 1.3 miles as the crow flies but the curving route adds more mileage.

My energy was fading and I relied on the rest step to get to the summit. I'd sure be doing my body a favor if I quit doing multi peak outings with long mileage at the beginning of my climbing trips in Colorado, but I keep telling myself I can do it. Well, maybe next year.... I took a longer break when I arrived on top (photo 1, photo 2) at 1:55 before heading over to "Baldy no es Cinco".

The descent off Baldy Cinco was steep and by the time I reached the saddle I was totally worn out. Once again I used the rest step to get to Baldy no es Cinco and arrived on top at 2:50. There's a monstrous cairn on the summit and I took a 15 minute break (photo 1) before descending the slopes. It's a long trek over to Snow Mesa and I was advised by buddy Tim Briese to be mindful in this area and not descend the wrong drainage. Fortunately, I'd set a waypoint on the Snow Mesa trail this morning and made my way over to it, which seemed to take forever, but at 4:30 I finally began my descent to Spring Creek Pass. I made it back to the parking area at 5:20.

It was a relief to have no weather issues today. It was also great to shower up in Lake City and get a meal before driving up toward Engineer Pass for the night. Although feeling refreshed, I planned on a very easy day for tomorrow's peaks.