Houghton Mountain (13,052), Tuttle Mountain (13,203), Brown Mountain (13,339), Hanson Peak (13,454), & UN 13075 by Brian Schultz Friday July 26, 2013
Start to finish for all five peaks: 7 hours 50 minutes. 4x4 or high clearance vehicles recommended.
Houghton Mountain (13,052) & Tuttle Mountain (13,203):
Roundtrip mileage: ~3.8 miles from California Gulch.
Elevation gain: 1,755'
Start to finish: 3 hours 5 minutes
It was a long day's drive from North Platte, Nebraska to Silverton, and if not for my GPS, I wouldn't have gotten as far as I did in the dark. The roads north out of Silverton are good gravel roads but there are lots of them and it was confusing in the dark to find the ones I needed. I followed Roads #2, #9, and #19 to California Gulch and found a spot off the side of the road at 11,900' for truckcamping. This handy spot was conveniently located between Houghton and Tuttle peaks.
I began at 6:40 AM and headed up the grassy slopes between the two peaks. Houghton was only a mile away as the crow flies but I aimed for the Houghton/Tuttle saddle first, which would add a little extra. The slopes traveled quickly and so did the grassy ridge to the summit. I topped out at 7:35 and after a ten minute break, I reversed my route back to the saddle and started up Tuttle. Mostly grassy terrain to Tuttle's summit made for another easy ascent and I arrived at 9:00. I stayed 15 minutes and descended the SE grassy slopes back to the road, passing by an old mine with its tracks still laid out.
Brown Mountain (13,339):
Roundtrip mileage: 1 mile from road at ~12,950'
Elevation gain: 450'
Start to finish: 45 minutes
I hopped in the truck and drove the California Gulch road (#19) to Hurricane Pass and down the other side. This is a steep, very narrow road and I desperately hoped nobody would be coming from the other direction. There were lots of ATV's on the roads, which I didn't mind, but an oncoming truck would've made life difficult. I made it up and down the pass without an encounter and turned on a spur road leading to Brown's northeast ridge. I parked at a small pass (12,950' elev) and headed up the ridge at 10:45.
The ridge has a good trail. At the top of the ridge, I turned left, and arrived on the summit (photo 1, photo 2) at 11:05. I stayed for ten minutes admiring the views, especially toward the Red Mountains. The descent only took 15 minutes and on the drive back up to Hurricane Pass, my underpowered truck barely made it up to the Pass. Once again, I was relieved to get down the other side of the narrow road without a truck encounter.
Hanson Peak (13,454):
Roundtrip mileage: 1 mile from spur road off Placer Gulch road #9
Elevation gain: ~950'
Start to finish: 1 hour 5 minutes
I drove back to California Gulch and turned south onto the Placer Gulch road (#9). The road continues around a large mining area and then switchbacks up above it. I parked on an old spur road below Hanson and started up the road at 12:40. I left the road and hiked up the slopes, staying on as much grass as possible to the saddle, then finished on lots of loose small talus to the summit. I topped out at 1:15, stayed 10 minutes (photo 1, photo 2), and reached the truck twenty minutes later at 1:45.
UN 13075:
Roundtrip mileage: ~0.5 miles from Road #9
Elevation gain: 350'
Start to finish: 25 minutes
I continued on Road #9 toward UN 13075 and parked on the road northeast of the peak at 12,725' elev. I began at 2:05 up the easy slopes and then hiked up the short ridge to the summit. After all the easy walk-ups on the other peaks, this one had a bit of scrambling and it was fun. I reached the summit at 2:15 and stayed on top for a few minutes. I got back to the truck at 2:30 and headed down the Picayne Gulch road, a mostly good road but with a couple rough spots that I bottomed out on. I took Road #2 back to Silverton and stopped in town for ice cream before driving up to Ridgway to meet Tim Briese.
