Rinker Peak (13,783') by Brian Schultz Monday July 27, 2009
Roundtrip mileage: ~10.5 miles from Willis Gulch trailhead
Elevation gain: 4,500'
Participants: Art Boller, Mark Valen, Brian Schultz
We left Leadville under clear skies, a pleasant change from the early morning rain yesterday. The forecast was only marginally better for today though, with a 40% chance of thunderstorms, but the clear skies held promise for good weather, at least in the morning. We pulled into the well marked Willis Gulch trailhead off Highway 82 and began at 5:30 AM by headlamp. After crossing the bridge over Lake Creek we took the very first left turn, which to my consternation led to a campsite. After fumbling about in the dark trying to reach our trail that my GPS showed to be on the other side of a marshy area, we just returned to the bridge and started anew.
Back on track, we followed the excellent trail as it headed southeast around the lower ridge of Twin Peaks. All junctions were well marked as we approached Willis Gulch, our means to gain the southeast slopes of Rinker Peak, and right turns were taken at each junction. At 6:45 we reached the Big Willis trail leading up into Willis Gulch. A warm sunny morning was unfolding with only a whisper of clouds as we stopped on a talus field for a break. Had we known tall willows lay ahead we wouldn't have applied sunscreen yet because the wet branches effectively washed our arms clean as we brushed through.
At 11,540 feet we exited the trail and began a contour up the slopes, actually we turned up just before the open area that Garratt & Martin describe, shortcutting slightly to reach it. Mark began lagging, the altitude taking its toll on him, and despite efforts to continue, he decided to turn around and wait for us near a shack below until we returned. The time was 9:30.
Art and I continued, following a good climber's trail until it faded out about half-way up the grassy slopes. I angled to the left on rock, scree, and grass while Art stayed on the grass. His line turned out to be easier than mine as I ended up doing some class 3 scrambling while inching ever closer to a cliff edge. I rejoined him on the grass below the Rinker/Twin Peaks saddle, where we skirted a large snowbank before turning left up the easy ridge to the summit. Our arrival time on top was 11:20, just in time to watch billowing but non-threatening clouds fill the sky while we ate lunch and enjoyed the scenery. We stayed until 11:45.
The descent was straightforward and we met up with Mark at 12:35 for the long hike back to the trailhead. A family riding horseback to Willis Lake passed us on their return and we plodded along on tired feet until finally reaching the trailhead at 4:00. Storms never materialized so it was nice to return dry, but with a long backpack coming up and sore feet needing a rest, I decided to forego a climb tomorrow before meeting Tim in Creede.
Trailhead to summit- 5 hours 50 minutes
Summit to trailhead- 4 hours 15 minutes
Start to finish- 10 hours 30 minutes