Mineral County Highpoint Trip Report
"Phoenix Peak" (13,895 ft)
Date: July 2, 2005
Author: Layne Bracy
ascent via East Willow Creek Falls; descent via the south slopes
John Kirk and I met at the East Willow Creek TH north of Creede. We started
hiking around 5:40 am along the trail that bypasses some of the 4WD road.
Before long, the trail meets the road again and we followed it to Phoenix Park.
Neither of us really knew why we missed the cutoff to the Center Stock Driveway.
Perhaps we both did a little less homework knowing the other was here.
At one point, I noticed a 4WD trail far across the creek but it didn't sink in that we
had to go there. As my photo taken on the return shows, there is a cairned
metal post labeled 787 where we should have cut across the grass and then across
the creek.
We continued along the road until we were pretty sure we had gone too far.
At this point, we left the road, turning east along a decent trail to a nice waterfall.
A wooden cross at the base of the falls indicates the death of a
teenager here. The falls are clearly marked on the topo. At the base of the
falls we turned left and scrambled up a gully. The last 10 feet were steep and
loose and a fall could have meant a 30-foot slide. I tried to ascend the left side,
giving up after plucking several holds out of the slope. I then followed
John's lead, going up the right side on a sketchy ledge.
Safely through the crux, we followed the valley upwards. I enjoyed the valley
quite a bit -- it seemed peaceful and remote. We walked up grassy slopes,
generally heading towards Pt 13628, an unranked summit at a southern bend in the
Continental Divide. At around 12,500 feet, the grass stopped and we endured a
steep talus slope. My pace slowed and John was patient enough to wait for me.
Eventually, we veered right to hit the saddle of Pt 13628 and "Phoenix",
then walked southwest up to the summit at about 9:25 am.
After a break, we started our return via the standard south slopes route,
heading southwest then south to the conglomerate ridge. Its rocky hoodoos are
almost worth the trip themselves. A large elk herd to the east filled the
valley with their cries. We found the Center Stock Driveway south of the creek
and followed it back west. Beavers have done incredible work here, felling many
large trees and creating lovely terraces. We saw where we should have turned
off the 4WD road and were not too surprised we had missed it. The hike back
felt long, and we returned about 12:20 pm.
While our loop hike was not planned, it did make a very scenic "Tour de Phoenix".
Climb statistics: Approximately 11 miles with 4,200 feet of elevation gain.