Delta County High Point Trip Report
Mount Lamborn
Date: November 3, 2001
Author: Dave Covill
I had been here before, in July 1997 I think. We had taken the long southern approach from Crawford.
George Vandersluis and others have taken a western approach, from Bell Creek Springs by Paonia, which is
a bit closer, but about 4,000 feet up, instead of 3,400. This time, we drove in from the north approach, on a
bad dirt road heading east from Paonia, then curving south past Lone Cabin Reservoir to the northern
trailhead for Inter-Ocean Pass.
The trail is shorter by quite a bit, perhaps 2.8 miles instead of roughly 5 for the southern approach and 4 for the
western approach. Well, take that with a grain of salt. The trail is faint and steep up to the Pass, where you
join the southern approach.
The western approach joins the others at the 10,627-foot saddle area. The drive in, from 9:00 to 10:30PM
the evening before, was rough, through high chaparral country, and the bushes were only trimmed to about
5-6 feet in width, more for a hunter's ATV than for an SUV. The last bit was over a talus slide area, but we
made it to the end, and slept in the Rodeo. The full moon made for nice driving, but it was hard to sleep with
the moon in your face all night.
We made it up in 4 hours, down in 2. Saw a golden eagle circle right over us for 3-4 minutes.
Beautiful day, probably 65 degrees with no wind on top. The summit outcrop is really neat, and we made it up with
minimal hassle, although there was remnant ice in spots by the register, which is a huge metal cylinder with
chained cap.
We stopped by Joe Cocker's Mad Dog Ranch Fountain Cafe in Crawford on the way home, but he was in
LA doing concerts, alas.