UN 11135 & UN 10565 by Brian Schultz Sunday August 28, 2022

UN 11135
Roundtrip mileage: 1.05 miles from Old Monarch Pass road
Elevation gain: 430'
Start to finish: 1 hour

These short and easy peaks were right on the way from Canon City to Montrose. They're located just off Old Monarch Pass road (FR 237), a fine road that can be driven by any two-wheel drive vehicle. I parked off the road northeast of 11135, by a camp area where somebody's trailer was parked. I didn't see anyone but dogs were barking when I started at 10:45 AM. I began a bushwhack up the slopes through lots of deadfall but it eased as I got higher. The bearing was easy to follow to the summit (photo 1, photo 2), where I arrived at 11:05. I stayed a few minutes before descending and was back at the truck at 11:45.

UN 10565
Roundtrip mileage: 2.0 miles from Old Monarch Pass road
Elevation gain: ~900'
Start to finish: 2 hours 20 minutes

I continued along Old Monarch Pass road a few miles further to a switchback and parked there, northeast of the summit. I began at 12:10 PM by crossing the road and descending into the woods. This would be another bushwhack and ended up being considerably steeper than I expected. I followed my GPS bearing and somehow managed to gain an extra two hundred feet of elevation before dropping down to the saddle east of the summit. The descent was very steep to the saddle and so was the initial ascent toward the summit.

I arrived on top at 1:30. The summit was pretty neat, comprised of some large boulders, and had a Mike Garratt register placed in 2006. After a ten minute stay I departed and found a much better route to the saddle and through the woods to the road. I made it back to my truck at 2:30.

On the way back to Hwy 50, I stopped at Old Monarch Pass and hiked up the hill above it on a great trail. This was only a quarter mile roundtrip with 150' of elevation gain but I hurried because of menacing storm clouds. There are great views from the top looking over to Monarch Ridge South. I was up and down in 13 minutes.