Square Top Mountain (13,794) & Argentine Peak (13,738)  by Brian Schultz  Tuesday  August 21, 2007

Only two vehicles were parked at the Guanella Pass parking area when I pulled in and both groups were heading to Bierstadt to do the Sawtooth. I had the excellent trail for Square Top to myself and began at 6:05 AM under sunny and clear skies. After an initial descent, the winding trail led to Square Top's slopes but I somehow managed to miss the cairn marking the exit point to the slopes. This was not a major problem. When the trail began its descent to the upper lake, I just headed left up the steep slopes and upon reaching the wide ridge, followed it all the way to the summit. I arrived on top at 8:05.

Square Top has a long summit and takes a few minutes to walk from one end to the other. The route to Argentine Peak begins from the other end and by 8:15 I was beginning the descent to the connecting saddle. The weather was holding nicely on the easy ridge walk and when I reached the electrical tower below Argentine's summit, I passed between the loudly buzzing wires and the tower, maybe not such a smart move in hindsight. I avoided this area on the return by going way around the staked wires.

I reached the Argentine summit at 9:20 and before I had a chance to sit down, a helicopter approached and hovered for a few moments to scrutinize me. A search and rescue may have been underway as the chopper criss-crossed all the valleys below before heading to the other side of Gray's Peak  Meanwhile, I settled in for a half hour break, and though strong winds were blowing, the clear skies made it a fine day to be on the peak.

I departed Argentine at 9:50, made it back to Squaretop at 10:55, and chatted briefly with an older couple who'd just arrived on top as I was about to descend. At 11:00 I began hiking down the steep slopes and once back on the trail, I passed by many tourists hiking to the upper lake. I also saw one other climber heading up the slopes from the exit cairn, and made it back to the parking lot at 12:40 with plenty of time to drive to Gunnison and meet Tim in the late afternoon for our long awaited climb of Coxcomb Peak.

The two peaks cover about 10 miles roundtrip and are easily manageable in a day, weather permitting.

Trailhead to Square Top- 2 hours

Square Top to Argentine- 1 hour 5 minutes

Argentine to Square Top- 1 hour 5 minutes

Square Top to trailhead- 1 hour 40 minutes

Start to finish- 6 hours 35 minutes

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