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Cinnamon Pass (out of Lake City past Lake San Cristobal)
My wife and I headed down for most likely the last camping weekend of the year. This trip was very much like our other camping adventures in that it snowed, rained and hailed. I kid my wife because it doesn't seem to matter when or where we go we have been snowed on, even in July on Hermit Pass. We do tend to camp higher like this time we were at 11, 400 feet. What can you expect especially past the middle of October.
We arrived late Saturday morning to a spot just a 100 yards up from the turn towards American Basin, set up the tent and unloaded our camping stuff. It was pretty nice out.
I headed up Cinnamon Pass Road to get in a couple of peaks while Brenda set up the rest of camp. It took about 15 minutes to make it to the top and it went from sunny to snowy in just that amount of time.
I headed slightly southwest to Cinnamon Mountain and on to Unnamed 13535 which is in the direction of Handies. There was some snow on the west slopes.
Cinnamon Mtn.
Slopes.
A short hike with a bit of a steep climb to the ridge.
Once on the ridge a quick lope to the summit.
The summit looking toward Wood Mtn.
Funny the quad said Weed...
Billie and I dropped down and followed the easy ridge to Unnamed 13535.
A little undulation along the way and then the summit.
The weather. It was snowing some but no wind to speak of and not really cold either.
It was a little less than 4 miles and around 1500 feet (slacking).
A note about the road. There was a sign near the bottom that said the pass was closed but it wasn't. Also the Hinsdale Road and Bridge Department was out there grading the road so it was in great condition, even up the road past American Basin.
It was back down the hill to camp for some snacks and some 1554. (that Hill Descent Assist on the Xterra really works nicely)
We slept in Sunday morning and headed back up Cinnamon Pass Road. I mean Billie Jean and myself, others were sleeping in.
Wood Mtn. (or Weed - I been warped by the rain, driven by the snow... And if you give me, weed, whites, and wine And you show me a sign I'll be willin', to be movin')
Point 13708 a "soft" ranked peak.
The slopes of Wood Mtn.
Cinnamon Mtn. and 13535.
The last stretch to Wood after a short hike of about 3/4 miles.
The register on Wood Mtn. which was the only one I saw on the 5 ranked peaks.
This is the ridge to Unnamed 13688 and Gravel Mtn. So many peaks...
The ridge to Point 13708 and Animas Forks Mtn., aka 13722.
The ridge to Animas Forks Mtn., and the best part of this report.
The ridge was like the top of a wall. This would be a Class 2+ I guess without snow with some pretty good exposure. The snow was good and no ice but you would not want to slip.
The final push up the ridge is fairly steep as can be seen looking back.
A look towards Seigal Mtn.
Another look at the ridge.
Views.
This picture was taken from the basin between Seigal and Animas Forks looking at the ridge between Point 13708 and Animas Forks.
Seigal Mtn.
More views and one laid back dog.
The route back went up and over Point 13708. I don't know but the unranked peak had the biggest cairn, looking west.
Another scene.
6.7 miles and 3200 feet for the four peaks.
The last vestiges of sunlight on Sunday afternoon.
The deer come out as the hunters leave.
It snowed, rained, hailed, rained, etc. for a while before letting up and we had a nice campfire before settling down to the Bronco game on the radio. It snowed overnight and this is what Monday morning looked like.
The wife's camping companion, fierce guardian and champion of rolling in elk manure or dead fish.
Unfortunately we had to pack up and go but the sun did come out after we had hiked up a ways along the Handies trail, not too far up. We left as the weather started to turn again and here is a parting shot of American Basin.
Note: The gpx was for the four peaks Sunday, Cinnamon Mtn. and Unnamed 13535 are straightforward. There are several ways to put these four together and peaks going north, south and west can be added on.
Personal Note: Cinnamon Mtn. was my 300th 13er so now I am 4 past that mark, but there are a lot of 13ers to go especially San Juan Peaks. This year was down for me on the number of 13ers, with the shoulder surgery which took a long time 6 months) to get the doctor's release and past the physical therapy. Looking ahead though...
My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload):
Kevin it looked narrow but was even more so when you got over towards Animas, 100 peaks not a big deal right, 200 seems like a bit, 300 peaks takes some effort, 400 oh boy
nkan yes that is looking towards American and those peaks, I had to stretch the old memory back to when I hiked those Centennials
bergsteigen I was using your route but you liked the ridge twice as much as I, thanks it takes a lot more recovery time at my age, I don't remember even getting hurt ten twenty, thirty years ago
Are those Jones (L) and Niagara (R) in image 12? Thanks for the report - it's not the first time I am going to use your helpful beta.
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