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2095 Hits
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79.78% Score
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11 Votes
Page Type:
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Mountain/Rock |
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Lat/Lon:
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37.95495°N / 107.51545°W |
County:
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Hinsdale |
Activities:
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Hiking, Mountaineering, Scrambling |
Season:
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Spring, Summer, Fall |
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Elevation:
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13427 ft / 4093 m |
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Overview
Unnamed 13427 is a ranked 13er located in San Juan Mountain Range. The mountain combines well with other 13ers along the ridge. I chose a combination with Unnamed 13540 A, "C.T.Peak" and "Gudy Peak" since I had already done all other peaks in the area. Another great combination would be to include peaks along Cinnamon Pass: Wood Mountain, Unnamed 13708 and "Animas Forks Mountain", or even to continue onto Unnamed 13688 and Gravel Mountain A. 
UN 13427
Colorado has many 13ers (=mountains over 13,000 feet or 3962 meters), so many of these peaks remain Unnamed. Ranked Peak means that there is more than 300 feet above the saddle that connects the peak to its closest neighbor. Colorado has 637 thirteeners!
Colorado Rank: 303
Parent Lineage: UN 13540A
Class: 2
Nearby Mountains:
- Unnamed 13540 A 1.18 miles
- Unnamed 13688 1.34 miles
- Wood Mountain A 1.34 miles
- Gravel Mountain A 1.45 miles
- Unnamed 13708 2.00 miles
- Whitecross Mountain 2.07 miles
- "Animas Forks Mountain" 2.31 miles
- Cinnamon Mountain A 2.41 miles
- "C.T. Peak" 2.58 miles
- Seigal Mountain 2.64 miles
- Unnamed 13535 2.73 miles
- Sunshine Mountain A 2.83 miles
- "Gudy Peak" 3.28 miles
Getting There
Cinnamon PassCinnamon Pass - is part the scenic alpine loop connecting Silverton and Lake City. This road is a rough 4WD road and very popular with ATVs. The top of the pass is at 12,640 feet (or 3853 meters). It provides access to many 13ers.
Cooper Creek Trail - signed trailhead below Cinnamon Pass. You do need 4 WD high clearance vehicles for accessing either trailhead. You can either start in Lake City or Silverton. If starting in Lake City, travel south on highway 149, turn onto County Road 30 - signed for Cinnamon Pass and Lake San Cristobal. It is well signed (see also below directions for Cooper Creek Trailhead).
The road is also well marked from Silverton, drive to Eureka, towards Animas Forks (lovely ghost town) and past Animas Forks the road splits to the right for Cinnamon Pass and to the left for Engineer Pass.
How to reach Cooper Creek Trailhead: From Lake City, drive south on 149 and take the turnoff the right for Lake Cristobal. Continue south along the lake and follow the scenic alpine road past the Williams Creek and Mill Creek campgrounds to the intersection for Sherman (winter closure past this area). Take the right fork on start an ascent towards Cinnamon Pass. This section of the road is exposed shelf road. After about 3 miles you pass popular trailhead for the Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch (access for 14ers: Handies, Redcloud and Sunshine). Continue one more mile to a small parking lot and trailhead sign for Cooper Creek.
Route
UN 13427 with Wood Mountain in the background
UN 13540A from the descent of UN 13427I started just a little bit below Cinnamon Pass (on its west side) where I camped the night before. I chose to bypass below Wood's Mountain's ridge (I have summited this mountain already 2x) and cross on some steep scree to reach the west ridge of Unnamed 13427. The walking was pretty easy. The summit had a small cairn and a register filled with water. I tried to dry it out as well as I could.
I continued onto Unnamed 13540 A descending east ridge of Unnamed 13427, the last part was a little bit steeper, but nothing technical.
Red Tape
There is no red tape. Driving the Colorado Scenic Highway, parking and hiking are free.When to Climb
Summer is obviously the easiest time to climb with a nice access and safety. Winter adds at least 4 more miles each way to approach Cooper Creek TH and danger of avalanches if coming from Lake City area. If coming from Silverton area the approach is even longer and involves a climb towards Cinnamon Pass while crossing snow loaded "Animas Forks Mountain" - high avalanche danger.Always check avalanche conditions prior venturing out during the winter. Late spring and early fall may offer good opportunity for exploring this peak.
Camping
There are designated campgrounds at Williams Creek and Mill Creek campgrounds if coming from Lake City area. You can find free primitive camping at the trailhead for Cooper Creek and also at the trailhead at Grizzly Gulch. I have also slept in the car at the top of Cinnamon Pass, and camped below Cinnamon Pass. There is camping in Silverton area, just as you pass the town towards Cinnamon Pass and several primitive campsites along the road up to Animas Forks.External Links