MT. ADAMS
13,931 ft.
August 24, 2001
By Tim Briese
I had climbed all of the 14ers in the Sangre de Cristo Range during previous years, but the lure of the Sangres called me back for more. I had read about Mt. Adams and was intrigued to climb it in order to see some more of the range’s beauty, and to observe the nearby 14ers that I had climbed from a new vantage point.
I left home at 4:40 a.m., after a very short night of sleep, and drove to the Horn Creek Trailhead near Westcliffe with my two labs. It promised to be a clear, beautiful day, and I was eager to get out on a hike on such a fine day. I was pleasantly surprised to reach the trailhead in just over two hours, on a fine road that was paved nearly all the way. I left the trailhead at 7 a.m. under a deep blue sky, and headed up the Horn Creek Trail. I soon began to encounter many rough, rocky sections on the trail which impeded my progress a bit as I headed upward through stands of aspens and towering fir trees. There were downed logs across the trail here and there, with sections of new trail that hikers had created around them. Parts of the trail were muddy from rains during previous days, but the blue sky held no threat of rain today. I did not see anyone all day, and tracks on the trail indicated that no one had been there for several days.
After about two hours I reached timberline and the upper reaches of the valley that holds the Horn Lakes. A coyote was barking and howling on a high slope above treeline somewhere across the valley, and continued doing so for the next couple of hours. At first it was a wild, attractive sound, but after a while it became annoying. I reached beautiful Horn Lake at 9:45, after hiking about five miles, and sat on the shore and rested for a while. I threw a few sticks in the water for the dogs to retrieve. I noticed two porcupine quills in Jorie’s muzzle that she had acquired in some private little skirmish along the trail, and I carefully pulled them out.
The hike to Horn Lake was similar in distance and elevation gain to the Willow Lake hike on the other side of the range, but this trail was somewhat rougher and rockier. As I sat and rested I admired the rugged cliffs in the basin around me. Mt. Adams towered above me to the west, and I studied the route up the steep grassy slope to its rough northeast ridge high above. The bushwhack to the summit looked like quite a challenge. At 10 a.m. I started the steep grind up from the lake. I gained elevation quickly, as I picked the best line of least resistance. Worn spots in the grass here and there indicated that others had gone this way before, although there was certainly no defined trail. I considered veering to the left and heading straight for the summit, but was dissuaded by some rough cliff bands. Instead I headed to the right past a cliff on Adams’ northeast ridge above, and reached the crest of the ridge at about 13,300 feet. A grand view of the Crestones off to the south was beginning to appear. To the north far below lay North Crestone Lake, while Horn Lake was below to the south.
I headed west along the rough ridge, dropping below its rocky crest on the north side, mostly following the excellent route selected by my two labs. After circling around a steep shoulder to the northeast of Adams, I began the steep climb to the summit. The terrain was rather rough, and although the difficulty of the climb did not exceed class two plus, it reminded me at times of the ridge on the approach to El Diente.
I scrambled up the last few feet of the summit block and arrived on top at 12:05. Conditions were perfect on top: warm, sunny, and pleasant. I was greeted by fabulous views all around. Especially impressive were the Crestones and Kit Carson off to the south. I could hardly take my eyes off of that view during the hour I was on the summit. This was an incredible vantage point from which to study those jagged peaks.
The summit of Adams was rather small, consisting of a narrow ridge about 50 feet long. Mt. Adams had all the flavor of a typical Sangre de Cristo or Elk Range peak.It was far rougher than the gentle giants of the Sawatch Range. It was more difficult to climb than many 14ers, certainly more so than any in the Sawatch, with its 13 mile round trip and rough 5000 feet of elevation gain.
There was no one else on the summit, and the summit log registered few visitors, perhaps ten per week or fewer, even though this was at the height of the climbing season. This place was off the beaten path, compared to the 14ers which see endless swarms of visitors in the summer. As I rested on the summit I gazed about and used my map to identify various summits, ridges, and drainages. It was nice to explore a new corner of our grand state. I looked at the slope across the valley to the southwest that I had climbed two years before from Willow Lake up to Challenger Point, and I couldn’t believe how steep it was. It looked straight up from here! My eyes kept turning back to the magnificent 14ers to the south. It is fun to climb a new mountain such as Adams to see other mountains I have climbed before from a different perspective.
At 1 p.m. I summoned the dogs, who were lying down resting in the shade of rocks, and began the descent, reluctant to leave this spectacular perch. I stayed on the south side of the ridge for a while, avoiding the circuitous route around the northeast shoulder I had taken on the ascent. I was tempted to head straight down the steep couloir to the south, but prudence reminded me of the cliffs below. When the ridge got rougher I switched across to its north side and returned to the point where I had first reached it on the ascent. It took about a half hour to descend the steep 1500 feet from the crest of the ridge back down to the lake, and my knees were glad to get there. My trekking poles were especially useful in coming down that steep slope. By 2:15 I was back on the Horn Creek Trail, and a mile later I stopped at a stream crossing for water and rest. I had four more miles to go on the rocky trail, and my legs needed a break.
After crossing the stream I entered the woods and headed down the trail in the warmth of the afternoon. At 5 p.m. I reached the trailhead, which was a most welcome sight. I visited with a man preparing for a backpack up to Dry Lake, and he congratulated me on my accomplishment of a dayhike to the summit of Mt. Adams. It had been a grueling, but wonderful outing. It was still sunny and calm, a perfect day for a visit to the Sangre de Cristos.
