Greenhorn Mountain (12,353) & St Charles Peak (11,789) by Brian Schultz Monday August 25, 2025

Greenhorn Mountain:
Roundtrip mileage: 4.85 miles
Elevation gain: 1,135'
Start to finish: 2 hours 55 minutes
Participants: Mark Silas, Brian Schultz

We drove to Westcliffe after finishing up the peaks yesterday and stopped there to get a bite to eat. We then drove Highway 69 south and turned left on Centennial Ranch Road (Road 305), and followed roads per GPS to the Greenhorn Mountain trailhead, good roads but slow. We pulled in to the trailhead after 7:00 PM and set up for sleeping in the trucks. It began raining almost immediately. With the poor weather forecast again calling for showers/storms, we planned on an early start.

We headed out on the Bartlett Trail at 6:05 AM, an excellent trail that goes to the top of the peak. Overhead skies were cloudy but cleared after a while and by the time we reached the summit at 7:35, the sun was shining. That was unexpected but welcomed. The views from the summit were outstanding! We met two hunters scoping out the areas for upcoming hunts, one for bow and arrow, the other for rifle.

Since there was a good trail descending from the summit's northwest ridge, we decided to take it when we departed. This trail was excellent and we followed it for just over a mile before departing it on easy terrain back to the Bartlett trail. This was a nice easy loop route and we were back to the trailhead at 9:00.

St Charles Peak:
Roundtrip mileage: 4.1 miles
Elevation gain: 640'
Start to finish: 2 hours
Participants: Mark Silas, Brian Schultz

After our Greenhorn Mountain climb, we hoped the weather would hold off long enough to climb St Charles Peak. The approach is from FR 369, north of Greenhorn Mountain, and we parked at the gate on Beaver Creek Road. We could've opened it and driven further but were content to park there and hike the road. We began at 10:20 AM under threatening skies and followed the road as it went east, then north, and then south. We departed the road when we were due west of the summit and bushwhacked through the trees.

We happened upon the trail that runs north/south on the west side of the summit and followed it for only a few minutes, as the summit was just a short distance ahead. The summit is a vast area and we walked around covering the potential highpoints. A cairn appeared to mark the highpoint. We left quickly as rain looked imminent and hiked the trail south before bushwhacking to the road below. This saved some time bushwhacking through the trees and once on the road we stepped up the pace.

Light rain began falling minutes before reaching our trucks at 12:20. Mark immediately headed home while I stayed in my truck for a while. Then the heavens unleashed a furious storm with lightning striking the road 100 yards away. Flash bang! Thunder was immediate and loud. I stayed for a while longer but the rain didn't let up. I could barely see the road when I started driving as the rain poured in sheets. Very glad when it finally let up.