COTTONWOOD PEAK
(13,588')July 21, 2007
By Tim Briese
The best approach to Cottonwood Peak is the Hot Springs Canyon Trail, which starts at the base of the Sangre de Cristos on the west side of the range. As with many Sangre climbs, the trailhead is at a comparatively low elevation of 8600 feet, and the hike is long at 15 miles roundtrip, so I anticipated a rather long hiking day. In addition, it takes longer for me to drive around to the west side of the Sangres from my home compared to eastern approaches, so I wasn=t sure if this climb were feasible as a day outing. As it turned out, though, everything went faster and smoother than I expected.
I left home at 3 a.m. with my lab Allie and drove off into the darkness. When I reached the junction of Highways 285 and 17 in the north end of the San Luis Valley around sunrise a few hours later, I went east on County Road GG for six and a half miles, then right at a junction on Road 65 for one half mile to the marked trailhead. I was pleasantly surprised that it took only three hours to get there. There were two other cars parked at the trailhead. Low, broken clouds hovered over the Sangres, which I considered a sign of possible storms later in the day.
At 6:10 I struck off to the north on the trail and climbed gradually through dispersed stands of pinyon and scrub oak. After one third of a mile I came to a trail junction in a meadow marked by a large cairn and I was unsure of which way to go. I looked at my topo map and then studied the drainages and ridges to my right to try to determine which drainage was Hot Springs Canyon. I hesitatingly chose the fork to the right, which turned out to be the correct choice. I climbed upward to the northeast and presently entered the canyon. The terrain was dry and rugged at first but soon gave way to aspen groves and wildflower meadows. A tiny stream appeared as well, which Allie took advantage of to get a drink.
The trail up this wild and scenic canyon appeared to be rather lightly used. I passed two backpackers= tents near a stream crossing but saw no sign of the occupants. After about two miles I entered the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness. The canyon wound ever higher into the mountains, and the vegetation became more lush as I proceeded. I noted dozens of downed trees, apparently uprooted by a ferocious windstorm that had blown through the area the month before. After a while it became somewhat annoying climbing over or detouring around them.
The trail faded out when I neared timberline at around 11,400 feet. I reached a minor fork in the drainage and went to the right through the last of the trees and climbed a grassy slope to the northeast to a minor saddle on Cottonwood=s west ridge at 12,200 feet. I turned to the east and climbed up the ridge on easy grass to 13,000 feet. Shortly after I went over a false summit the terrain on the ridge abruptly turned to talus, which appeared to continue all the way to the summit. It quickly grew tiresome hopping across the blocky rocks, so at 13,200 feet I left the ridge and traversed to the right about 100 yards to get on pleasant runs of grass, which I followed nearly all the way up to the summit. While going up the grass I noticed two climbers coming down the ridge and I waved a greeting at them.
I stepped on top at 10:15, pleased with my four hour ascent. I always enjoy climbs in the Sangres, partly because of the fascinating views that are afforded. From this vantage point I could look down into the Arkansas River Valley to the northeast, at the broad San Luis Valley to the west, and down the spine of the range to the south all the way to the rugged peaks of the Crestones. Low, broken clouds were silently drifting among the peaks and ridges, which added an ethereal aspect to the scenery.
At 10:45 I left the summit and began my descent. I quickly scooted down the grass and retraced my steps back down to timberline. Clouds were now billowing up into the sky but were not threatening yet. After regaining the trail and hiking down the drainage a short distance I met two couples coming up, apparently the occupants of the tents below. They told me they were on their way to climb above timberline to see the views, so I pointed them toward the high ridge to the north.
As I descended back to lower elevations the temperature became unpleasantly hot, but soon a welcome cloud cover obscured the blazing sun and a refreshing shower of light rain fell which cooled me off. I returned to my truck at 2:20, completing the climb in just over eight hours. After chatting briefly with the two men I had seen earlier coming down the ridge, I pulled out of the parking area and headed for home.
