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| Hiking | 4.45 Miles |
2,222 AEG |
| | Hiking | 4.45 Miles | 5 Hrs 20 Mns | | 1.09 mph |
| 2,222 ft AEG | 1 Hour 15 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This hike was to the summit of Turner Peak, which has an elevation 12,233 feet and prominence of 1,153 feet. Turner Peak is in the Sawatch Range, and is west of the town of Buena Vista.
I started and ended the hike at Cottonwood Pass, which is on a paved road. Cottonwood Pass is at an elevation of about 12,100 feet. In fact, the entirety of this hike is over 12,000 feet, so it would be a good idea to be acclimated to some higher elevations when doing this hike. The entire hike is above the treeline, so there are no trees obstructing your views. In fact, there is no vegetation higher than the top of your shoes. Wildflowers were plentiful on the hike, with almost all being no more than 1-2 inches high.
From the trailhead I crossed the paved road and began hiking on the CDT/CT (CDT=Continental Divide Trail; CT=Colorado Trail). I went about a mile on the trail until just past Peak 12581, and I had about 500 feet of elevation gain in that mile. However, I then had to descend 500 feet in 0.3 miles, losing all of the elevation that I had previously gained. The worst part was knowing that I'd have to climb back up 500 feet in 0.3 miles on the way back.
Now that I was back to my starting elevation, I had to angle up a steep slope to a saddle below Turner Peak. There was no trail, so the going was fairly slow for me. I plodded along and made it to the saddle. From the saddle it was a straightforward climb on a talus slope to the summit. There were great views at the summit, and actually great views throughout the hike. There were no trees blocking the views, and I was surrounded by snow-capped high elevation peaks, a number of which were over 14,000 feet.
I went back the same way that I came up. The descent from the summit on the talus might have been slower than the descent. I wasn't very enthusiastic about re-climbing the 500 feet on the way back, but I managed to make it.
Synopsis
If you like scenery and solitude this one will deliver. However, the elevation profile wasn't the best: the net elevation gain was about 1,200 feet, but the gross gain was 2,200 feet. |
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Wildflowers Observation Extreme
There are tons of small tundra-like flowers blooming throughout the entirety of the hike. |
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| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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