UN 12580, Wander Ridge (12,792), UN 12581, & Turner Peak (13,233) by Brian Schultz Monday July 29, 2013
UN 12580 & Wander Ridge:
Roundtrip mileage: ~ 4 miles from Cottonwood Pass
Elevation gain: 970'
Start to finish: 2 hours 15 minutes
Participants: Tim Briese, Brian Schultz
Tim and I drove up to Cottonwood Pass this morning from Gunnison and started on the trail at 8:45 AM. Just like yesterday, skies were cloudy and it was cold, but at least it wasn't raining. The first peak was a short hike on an excellent trail and only a half mile to the top. At 9:03 we claimed UN 12580's summit and parted company as Tim had to head home. I continued on the trail to Wander Ridge while a low cloud cover began fogging in the entire area. It was so thick I couldn't even see the north ridge of Wander Ridge so I just stayed on the trail until I was straight below the summit (my GPS came in very handy here). It was an easy hike up grassy slopes and I arrived on top at 10:03.
I stayed for a few minutes and reversed my route. Once I got back on the trail I came across an older fellow and when I stopped to say hi, he didn't respond. As I stood there for a moment, I realized he was totally winded and when he finally began talking he said he was following the trail to a lake ahead. On the return to 12580, a group of six teens were huddling at the top trying to keep warm and one of them asked me to take their picture. I obliged. Lots of tourists were hiking up the trail on my descent and when I reached my truck at 11:00, I took a short break before heading to the other side of Cottonwood Pass for the next two peaks.
UN 12581 & Turner Peak:
Roundtrip mileage: 4.25 miles from Cottonwood Pass
Elevation gain: 2,025'
Start to finish: 3 hours 35 minutes
Skies were clearing as I left the parking lot at 11:20 for UN 12581. I reached the summit at 11:55 and five minutes later descended 12581's east ridge to the saddle (elev 12,100'), then headed up the ridge to the unnamed point northwest of Turner Peak. A gnarly tower was easily bypassed on its right side and I sidehilled to the small saddle between the Point and Turner Peak rather than climb over the Point. I reached Turner's summit at 1:05, stayed for twenty minutes enjoying the views and made it back to the parking lot at 2:55.
These four peaks were all easy and it was nice to finish early. And it was just a short drive from Cottonwood Pass to the Collegiate Peaks campground where I'd be meeting up with friends to climb Mt Yale in the morning.
