Lackawanna Peak (13,823 feet) by Brian Schultz June 29, 2005
There are two pull-outs along Highway 82 for the Upper Lake Creek trailhead, both on the south side of the road. One is opposite an open meadow and the other is east of the meadow across from the woods. My odometer reading was between the two and I parked opposite the woods but I believe the Roaches' description begins from the meadow. Regardless, the objective for the South Slopes route is the high ridge with the outcrop, which can be seen from the road.
I began at 5:35 AM by immediately entering the woods, with nothing indicating a trailhead. No sign, no footpath, no anything. I set a GPS waypoint to make sure I'd find my way out on the return and then pulled out my compass. The Roaches' directions say to hike northeast and I wasn't taking any chances getting lost. The route wasted no time gaining elevation in the dense woods, an incredibly steep and unrelenting bushwhack over downed trees and around rock walls. I forged up to 11,200 feet, still deep in trees, and stopped because the route description said treeline was at 11,000. I angled to my left and when I cleared the trees I saw the large rock outcrop above. This was very gratifying but I would've reached it from the other side had I continued.
The skies were sunny above treeline but high winds made for chilly hiking as I worked up the steep slope to the ridge. At 7:15 I reached 12,600 feet on the ridge where a dusting of snow remained from last night's storm. My ascent slowed considerably on the slippery talus but steady progress finally yielded the summit ridge where only a short jaunt remained to the summit. I reached Lackawanna's highest point at 8:20 and sat down for my first real break since leaving the car. Lots of snow remained on the Sawatch peaks and the sight of Casco and French made me nervous. Large snowbanks blanketed the slopes and upper ridges and I'd be climbing those peaks tomorrow.
Despite completely clear skies I started back down after fifteen minutes, this time with an eye to the drainage. It looked to be a much easier descent so I cut over to it and found it to be quite manageable and speedy. Staying in it would've deposited me in the meadow near the road, or so it appeared, but eventually the terrain turned too rough for my comfort and I bailed. I took a short food break, crossed the drainage to the left side, and headed back into the trees on a faint trail. It quickly disappeared but a bushwhack down the densely wooded slope using my GPS delivered me exactly to where my car was parked and the time was only 10:38.
I considered driving to Fairplay and climbing Mt Silverheels but decided a restful afternoon would be better suited for my French and Casco climb tomorrow. This was a beautiful day for climbing, especially with the bushwhack, and much easier than I expected.
Trailhead to summit- 2 hours 45 minutes
Summit to trailhead- 2 hours 3 minutes
Total time including breaks- 5 hours 3 minutes