Navajo Peak (13,409 ft) by Brian Schultz Tuesday July 19, 2006
Having postponed Navajo Peak for several years while chasing the high 100 peaks, Tim and I made it a top priority this summer. Climbing in the Indian Peaks Wilderness would be a new experience for me and I was very much looking forward to it. I was a half hour late meeting Tim at the Long Lake trailhead because I missed a highway turn on the outskirts of Denver and decided to drive further on to Idaho Springs, then up to Ward. The Brainard Lake area is a designated fee area ($8) but I drove through the unmanned booth without paying since I was already late and hoped a freebie might be in order. All vehicles in the parking lots are checked though, and on our return from the climb, a threatening notice was attached to the windshield suggesting we either pay up when leaving or deal with the consequences. I had no quarrel with paying.
So, at the moderately late hour of 5:45 AM, we began under clear skies and set a pace up the excellent Pawnee Pass trail to Lake Isabelle, headlamps not needed since it was now first light. The 2.25 miles to Lake Isabelle went quickly with little elevation gained, but there were several large snow fields that we had to be careful on as we rounded the lake. It was neat to see our objective in plain sight as we continued along, and the elevation gain finally began as we ascended to a higher lake at 11,420 ft. We arrived there at 7:30 and took a brief rest, having hiked 3.25 miles from the trailhead in less than two hours.
Snow fields beyond the lake weren't a problem, which was good since we didn't bring crampons, but once past the snow, the trail disappeared and we had to choose a route to the basin above. Continuing straight ahead looked to be the obvious choice but we turned right to ascend easier grass and rock. It was longer but we both liked the route and at 8:20 we were in the basin with Airplane Gully in front of us and Navajo Peak looming in the upper right. The weather was beautiful as we approached the intimidating gully, a comfort given the recent monsoons dumping rain in the early mornings and how undesirable this gully would be in wet conditions.
The gully was steep and loose. At the bottom we began seeing debris from the airplane that crashed over 50 years ago, and as we picked our way up to the point where the gully splits, the amount of debris progressively increased. We turned to the right and passed by the crushed fuselage of the plane, still lodged in the gully after all these years, and reached the top of the gully (elevation 13,000 ft.) at 9:12. We hiked a little further to a flat area and took a fifteen minute break, feeling confident in making the summit with just 400 vertical feet remaining and the skies crystal clear.
We only had to hike 15 minutes on a hit and miss trail to reach the base of a chimney below the summit. There is an easier route that circles left to get to the summit but we were more interested in climbing the class 3 rated chimney described in Gerry Roaches' Indian Peaks book. We gazed up the steep and imposing crack for a few minutes and at 9:45 I began first. The holds were all solid but two hard reaches below the chockstone at the top made made for an interesting finish. I climbed out of the chimney to the left of the chockstone (a tight squeeze with the pack on) and walked a few feet to the summit. It reminded me of the chimney we climbed below Jagged's summit last summer, just as steep and perhaps as hard, and great fun. The time was 9:50 and Tim arrived two minutes later.
We spent a glorious hour on top and both of us agreed it's one of the most fun peaks we've ever climbed, especially the finish up the chimney. With hardly a cloud in the sky we enjoyed the small summit and its views before departing at 11:00. Climbing down was harder. We removed our packs because the first move into the chimney was so tight and exposed. Tim went first, I handed the packs to him, then I went. There was just enough room for me to get by and put on my pack, and then descend so I could get some pictures of him coming down the chimney. The next move down was also difficult but the rest was easy.
Going down Airplane Gully was also much easier than the ascent, and at 12:08 we took a short break at the bottom, relieved to be past the difficulties of the climb. From the high lake back to the trailhead, we passed lots of people hiking but none climbing. We took an extended break at Lake Isabelle, hiked out non-stop from there, and reached our cars at 2:30. This was a great introduction to the Indian Peaks Wilderness.
Trailhead to summit- 4 hours 5 minutes
Summit to trailhead- 3 hours 30 minutes
Start to finish- 8 hours 45 minutes (including all breaks)