Sawmill Hill (11,780), UN 12780, Fitzpatrick Peak (13,112), & Quartz Benchmark (8,892) by Brian Schultz Monday August 19, 2019

Sawmill Hill, UN 12780, Fitzpatrick Peak:

Roundtrip mileage: 4.05 miles from just below Tincup Pass
Elevation gain: 1,525'
Start to finish: 3 hours 40 minutes
Participants: Tim Briese, Brian Schultz

We drove the Tincup Pass road from St Elmo, a very rough and slow 4x4 road, and stopped briefly along the way to claim Sawmill Hill. This peak isn't ranked but it's so close to the road that it's worth taking the few minutes to hike it. There was a vehicle and tent on the hill so we quietly hiked to the high spot and quickly left. We didn't drive much further along the road before coming to a gnarly section and since the pass was only a fifteen minute walk away, we parked there (elev ~12,000') and began at 9:05 AM. The drive from St Elmo to where we parked took one hour and fifteen minutes.

From Tincup Pass it's a short ridge hike to the summit of UN 12780 with some minor scrambling to add to the fun. We topped out at 10:05 and stayed just a few minutes. The descent to the 12780/Fitzpatrick saddle was fast and easy and so was the ascent up Fitzpatrick. The terrain was mostly grass with some snow patches to dodge and we arrived on Fitzpatrick's summit at 11:15.

We stayed on top for half an hour before descending back to the saddle. We knew there was a shortcut that would avoid reclimbing UN 12780 and found it easily enough. This handy trail traversed below the peak and down the slopes, and brought us right to where we parked on the road. Back at 12:45, we sat on the tailgate of Tim's truck watching many trucks and ATV's go by. One fellow in an ATV coming down from the pass stopped and asked us if we were lost. When we told him no and that we'd just climbed some peaks behind him, he turned around to look at them, looked back at us, and asked if mental illness ran in our families. We told him yes, that we were crazy. We made the slow drive back to St Elmo and before heading into Gunnison, Tim suggested climbing another peak on the way.

Quartz Benchmark:

Roundtrip mileage: 0.88 miles
Elevation gain: 325'
Start to finish: 30 minutes
Participants: Tim Briese, Brian Schultz

This peak is just past Parlin. From Hwy 50 we drove east on CR 76 and turned right on CR 44 for about a mile. A dirt road east of the peak goes for a half mile west to a gate and it's where we parked. We didn't see any private property signs which was a relief. The road goes straight to the top from the gate and it's steep. We began at 5:00 PM and reached the summit at 5:10, which was fast but it was a grunt. There is a cell tower on top and the views are great for such a low elevation peak. Five minutes later we headed down and were back at the truck at 5:30. This was a nice add-on to the other peaks today.