OverviewUN 9380 is another of the peaks that is the backdrop of the El Paso County Front Range. It can be accessed from the Air Force Academy from the east, or from Pike National Forest and Rampart Reservoir from the west. The trail from the AFA is a nice hike in Stanley Canyon up to Stanley Reservoir, from which point you take an old service road (still in occasional use) up to the saddle area, then a short bushwack (.2 miles) SW over to the nicely rocky summit. This is one of El Paso County's ranked summits, with 320' of prominence (per interpolation of topo lines).
There is a microwave relay tower (hence the informal name used by AFA personnel) and several other outbuildings on the northern sub summits. I recommend avoiding them, and certainly do not trespass within them. This tower can be easily seen against the skyline while driving along I-25 and while on the AFA.
Getting ThereOn the Air Force Academy, take the north gate entrance west, then follow it as it goes south, then eventually turns east - your first right is Pine Dr. Go about .25 miles, take your first right (unmarked dirt road), then continue on, taking your next right (straight), which dead ends into the parking lot/TH.
Follow Stanley Canyon Trail FS #707 west until you get to Stanley Reservoir, take the south branch of the road heading SSW, follow the road up, up, up (gentle grade) until you get to the tower areas, which is surrounded by bumps of similar height. The HP (9380) is SW of the shared saddle, and takes a bit of traversing, but never harder than 2+ if you don't mind bushwacking instead of scrambling. Return same. 8.5 miles RT, 2300' gain, about 2-2.5 hours if you are hustling along.
As I mentioned, you can also hike there from Rampart Reservoir, but I have not done that access.Red TapeAccess to the AFA requires a US issued ID. No other red tape that I'm aware of.
Do not trespass in/around the buildings. I don't know why you would want to go close to the relay tower, but I recommend avoiding that area entirely.
CampingLots of camping is available in the Rampart Range area very close to the peak from the west side. There is no camping allowed on the AFA. Links below for camping areas.
External LinksUN 9380 on LOJ.com
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