Seigal Mountain (13,281) & Round Top Mountain (7,336) by Brian Schultz Wednesday August 30, 2023

Seigal Mountain:
Roundtrip mileage: 2.0 miles
Elevation gain: 1,200'
Start to finish: 2 hours 30 minutes
Participants: Tim Briese, Brian Schultz

With a terrific forecast of sunny skies all day, there was no need for an early start. We enjoyed breakfast at the hotel in Ouray before driving down to Silverton and when we got there, I parked in town and rode with Tim up County Road 2. Neither of us has been on this road in years and it's deteriorated badly since. We drove past the townsite of Animas Forks toward Engineer Pass and parked near an old cabin on the left side of the road, southwest of Seigal Mountain.

We started at 9:20 AM and headed to the saddle north of Seigal. It was an easy ascent up grassy slopes all the way and when we reached the saddle it was a short jaunt to the summit. We arrived at 10:40 and stayed for nearly a half hour enjoying the views (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4). Seigal is definitely one of the easiest thirteeners out there.

The descent was fast and we were back at the truck at 11:50. The drive back on CR 2 was slow, as the Animas Forks townsite, Engineer Pass, and Cinnamon Pass are all popular draws with lots of ATV traffic and tourists, but we still made it back to Silverton in time for lunch at Handlebars.

Round Top Mountain:
Roundtrip mileage: 1.45 miles
Elevation gain: 600'
Start to finish: 1 hour 15 minutes

We drove to Durango after hiking Seigal Mountain and checked into our hotel. It was early enough to get another climb in but Tim stayed back while I ventured out south of Durango. It was 20 miles from Durango to a parking spot off a road, just southwest of Round Top Mountain, with no private property issues to contend with.

I began at 4:40 PM under hot sunny skies. This was a total bushwhack as I weaved my way through the trees, staying to the right of a drainage. Once above it, I angled left through open terrain, careful to not step on the plentiful cacti, and arrived on the summit at 5:15. A large cairn was on top but the highest point was in the bushes next to the cairn.

A register was placed by Mark Ott in 2015 but either hikers don't sign in or this peak isn't climbed very often. After five minutes, I headed down and arrived back to my truck at 5:55. This was a fun peak and the second named Round Top Mountain I did on this trip.