| South Ridge via Lakes of the Clouds Route |
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| South Ridge via Lakes of the Clouds   | 
| Page Type: Route Location: Colorado, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 38.12510°N / 105.6436°W Route Type: HIke/Scramble Time Required: Most of a day Difficulty: Class 2 with exposure near summit
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| Page By: csmcgranahan Created/Edited: Aug 10, 2005 / Aug 10, 2005 Object ID: 166210 Hits: 603 Loading... Page Score: 75.7% - 1 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Approach
The approach to this hike begins at the Gibson Creek Trailhead. See the Getting There Section of the main Spread Eagle Peak page for directions.
Head north from the trailhead on a connector trail which leads to the Rainbow Trail. Turn right (north) on the Rainbow Trail. After about a half mile you will come to a signed trail junction. Take a left on the Swift Creek Trail towards the Lakes of the Clouds. You will soon come to the Wilderness Boundary and the Forest Service sign-in book.
After a little over 3 miles from the trailhead you will come to another trail junction. Take a left towards the Lakes of the Clouds (right heads back down to the Rainbow Trail). The trail steepens with occasional switchbacks as it heads up into the basin containing the lakes.
The lower lake is about 4 miles from the trailhead, the middle lake is about 4.25 miles from the trailhead and the upper lake is about 4.5 miles from the trailhead. There are several excellent backcountry campsites around the upper lake. There is also good fishing at the upper lake.
This trail is described in detail in Falcon Guide's "Colorado's Sangre de Cristo Wilderness" book and is shown on the Trails Illustrated Map #138, "Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Route Description
The route finding for this summit is rather easy. From the upper lake, pick your way up grassy slopes well to the left of the small waterfall visible from near the upper lake, avoiding rock outcroppings and ledges towards the saddle south of Spread Eagle Peak. The only tricky part in this area is finding a good place to cross the creek which is well lined with vegetation. You may occasionally find a faint climbers trail that will ease some of your scramble to the saddle.
Once at the saddle at just over 13,000' head left up the south ridge. The ridge narrows to less than 10 feet with exposure on both sides. At a point where the ridge becomes a technical climb the loose trail (more of a worn out section of tundra) veers right below the ridge to the east. From here the trail climbs the last few hundred feet through a mix of grassy slopes and boulders with great exposure to the right. This is a fun non-technical finish that has just enough exposure to get your blood flowing!
Essential Gear
Without an overnight backpack at the Lakes of the Clouds, this is nearly a 12 mile round trip with almost 4,500' feet of vertical gain. It can be done as a day hike but the beauty of the Lakes of the Clouds warrants serious consideration of an overnight stay.
Typical above treeline gear is recommended along with good boots to help in the steep scramble portions of this route.
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Sangre de Cristo Mountains
