"Gudy Peak" (13,566) & "C.T. Peak" (13,312) by Brian Schultz  Wednesday August 22, 2018

Roundtrip mileage: 8 miles from Cooper Creek trailhead (elev 10,600')
Elevation gain: 3,635'
Start to finish: 6 hours 50 minutes
Participants: Tim Briese, Brian Schultz

Tim and I met in Lake City last night and had dinner in town before driving the Lake San Cristobal road and then up the Cinnamon Pass road. We parked at a pull-out on the left side of the road, across from the Cooper Creek trailhead, and set up our respective vehicles for truckcamping.

It rained all night and with the weather forecast calling for 70% showers/storms today, we put on rain gear right from the outset. We began at 6:30 AM and headed across the road to the grassy field with an information sign posted. We hiked north through the field, parallel to the trees on the west side of the creek, and caught up with the old road/trail shortly.

We were now officially on the Cooper Creek trail and followed it all the way to Cooper Lake. It faded a bit before we reached the lake and we took a break upon arrival there at 8:55.

Ten minutes later we started up the steep grassy slope to the ridge. This wasn't difficult and once on the ridge it was an easy stroll to the top (photo 1, photo 2). We arrived at 9:50, only 45 minutes from the lake. We were concerned with the weather as we descended from the summit at 10:00. Our plan was to assess the weather at the Gudy/C.T. saddle and decide whether to go for C.T. Peak. Regardless, our descent back to Cooper Creek would be from the saddle down the grassy slopes.

We reached the saddle at 10:30 and Tim decided he'd head down to the creek and wait for me while I climbed C.T. The weather looked like it would hold long enough, and it was only 0.21 miles from the saddle as the crow flies, so up I went.

It was fun class 2+ climbing to the summit and I arrived on top at 11:05. After a quick ten minute stay, I descended and was soon back at the saddle. I met up with Tim at 12:00 noon on the lower slopes, where he'd stopped to wait for me.

The descent from the Gudy/C.T. saddle down to the creek made for a great alternative instead of reclimbing Gudy and circling back to the creek. Although steep, the terrain was mostly grassy and made for a fast descent. We made it back to the truck at 1:20 and just like that, the skies started clearing. Fun climbing on these peaks!