Griffith

7/24/2011

Distance: ~7 miles

Elevation Gain: ~3020’

I left Fort Collins at 9 am, driving south on I-25, west on I-76 and west on I-70 to the Idaho Springs exit #240, where I continued south on CO-103 briefly, then west on Spring Gulch Road which I followed to a minor saddle on Ute Benchmark’s northeast ridge. I parked and made the uneventful walk to the summit, signed the register and returned to my vehicle.

I continued west on Spring Gulch Road to Saxon Mountain Road. I drove Saxon Mountain Road to near its terminus and made another quick walk to the summit and signed all three registers!

I descended back to the Spring Gulch Road and followed another road south to Highland Park and parked near the Griffith Mountain-Woodchuck Peak saddle. I walked the road briefly, then traveled cross-country to the summit of Griffith Mountain. There was no register here, but there was a bottle of water.

I continued south to the Griffith Mountain-Alpine Peak saddle, then up Alpine Peak’s north slopes, contouring to the east of the 11,300’ bump. Alpine Peak had the best views of the day including the view of the stop and go traffic on eastbound I-70. I returned to my vehicle via my ascent route.

I drove back out to CO-103 via the Spring Gulch Road, then followed the road south to the Hefferman Gulch Road, which I followed to its end. I located and followed the unmaintained trail that leads up to the Gray Wolf Mountain-11060 saddle. From the saddle, the terrain to the summit had a decent amount of deadfall, but was easy enough to negotiate.

All in all, this is a pretty easy way to get 5 11ers located close to Denver if you don’t mind bumping along 4WD roads.

Ute Benchmark Map

Saxon Mountain, Griffith Mountain & Alpine Peak Map

11060 Map