September 1, 2022

By Tim Briese

1.7 miles, 300’ elevation gain, 0:45 roundtrip time

Before heading for home today I climbed one more easy peak with Brian right outside Durango. From Hwy. 160 we drove up paved CR 210 a couple of miles to the vicinity of Lake Nighthorse, a large lake just southwest of town that I did not know even existed. From there we turned right onto CR 212, a good gravel road that climbs up and becomes an access road for the towers on the summit of Smelter Mountain. We came to a gate and a sign, and although the gate was open this morning we weren’t sure if public vehicle access was allowed so we just parked there and hiked 0.8 miles up the road to the summit.

we parked here and walked up the road

view of lake nighthorse from the road

It took a mere 20 minutes to walk up to the top. The summit provides commanding views of the Animas River Valley and downtown Durango.

brian on the highest spot

view of the animas river valley and durango, with highway 160 below

downtown durango

a colorful shrub on the summit

In short order we walked back down and drove into town and I headed for home. This completed a wonderful four days of climbing numerous peaks and exploring new areas in the beautiful San Juans with Brian.