March 28, 1999. By Gary Swing
Distance: I'd be guessing Time: 3 to 4 hours, including breaks Elevation Gain: At least 1,200 feet
It was a beautiful Sunday morning, one week following the Vernal Equinox which marked the official start of spring. A stiff cold breeze blew out of a cloudless sky. From my campsite atop a rocky knoll studded with pinon trees and scattered cactus plants, I could look down upon the Buena Vista Correctional Facility (prison). Just to the north of that was the town of Buena Vista. Across the Arkansas River Valley to the west, stood the three majestic snow-capped summits of Mount Princeton, framed against a clear blue sky. The high peaks of the Sawatch Range stretched across the horizon from Mount Ouray to the south, beyond Yale to the north. I was camped not more than fifty feet from a dirt road, probably an old railroad grade, in the Midland section of BLM land. I had arrived at this spot largely by chance the night before.
The previous day, I made a lame attempt to climb 13,783 foot Rinker Peak from the Willis Gulch Trailhead west of Twin Lakes, Colorado. It was a northeast ridge route with 4,700 feet of elevation gain in an 8 mile round trip hike. Unfortunately, the conditions had been poor. It was cloudy and snowing that day. The temperature was hovering around the freezing mark. The lower part of the ridge was a steep grunt. A thin, weak crust of ice coated a waist deep layer of soft, unstable snow. I found myself postholing with every step, getting little help from my snowshoes. I gave up on Rinker without ever breaking treeline.
I still wanted to spend the weekend in the mountains, but the only destinations I had planned for were high thirteener summits. Now I wanted to pick out something lower, where I wouldn't have to battle the snow. I hiked a short ways toward Willis Gulch, then went down to Twin Lakes and walked on the Colorado Trail for about two hours. From there, I headed to Buena Vista to see if I could look at some hiking guidebooks in the local library. I figured that I could spend Sunday hiking around Browns Canyon, but I didn't know how to get there. However, the library closed about an hour before I arrived.
From Buena Vista, I drove northeast on U.S. 285 toward Fairplay. Just uphill a short way from Johnson's Corner, there was a sign for a "scenic overlook" pointing to the left. I turned there onto a dirt road. After 0.1 mile, there was a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) sign at an intersection with another dirt road, just before the overlook. I turned right at the sign, and drove 1.4 miles further to the Overlook Trailhead for the Midland Mountain Bike Trail. Here, I took the road the the left marked "dead end." After another 0.3 miles, I parked at a small pull-off on the right side, below the rocky knoll where I would set up my tent, at an elevation of about 8,400 feet.
To the northeast of the knoll, some anonymous desert mountain rose up about 1,000 feet. The feature of this particular mountain that caught my attention was its rocky, jumbled southeast ridge. It looked like it would be a fun, short scramble from my campsite, so I decided to check it out the following morning.
I packed lightly for my hike. I took a 1.5 liter bottle of water (not enough!), some fruit, and a sandwich, along with layered winter clothing. It was very cold when I started out, but by the time I finished, I regretted not packing my shorts. I wore my sneakers, but should have chosen better footwear. I bushwhacked northeast across the desert from my campsite, aiming for the lower end of the peak's southeast ridge. Along the way, I followed some deer trails and dry washes until the going became steeper and the way was blocked with boulders. I worked my way up the boulders and dead timber to reach the ridge.
From here, the route was pretty much a matter of personal preference. It's essentially a playground of big rocks with just about any level of difficulty available to suit your tastes. I didn't take the easiest or the hardest way. I'm sure you could find a third class route all the way up this ridge by looking to the left or right and avoiding the more difficult obstacles. On the other hand, there are also some enjoyable lower to mid fifth class spots. However, the rock is sharp and so are the plants (cactus and thorny brush). Everything is sharp out here. (If you're planning ahead, you might consider bringing some appropriate gloves to protect your hands.) I scrambled over, under, and around rocks of various shapes and sizes. As I approached a prominent point fairly low on the ridge, I climbed partway up an enclosed chimney, but backed down when I felt it was too exposed. Instead, I skirted the ridge point to the right, and came back to visit it from the north side. As I gained elevation the ridge generally became easier and there were more pedestrian options available. When I rounded a false summit, I encountered someone else's footprints.
Finally, as I approached the top, I saw that there was a cairn and summit register, and even a well made trail to the top! Obviously, my approach was not the standard route. A small sign indicated that this was called Midland Hill. According to the register, the summit's elevation is 9,556 feet. The cairn was originally constructed of 100 stones and built in honor of Becky Firestone, a local teacher who reached the summit for her 100th time on December 22, 1996. Each hiker is invited to add one more stone, so I did. Leafing through the summit register, it appears that Becky is well on her way toward climbing the mountain 200 times.
I had lunch on the summit, took a few pictures, and decided to hike down the trail. I didn't know where the trail went, but I figured it had to intersect the BLM road I was camped on. The trail headed west toward Buena Vista, leading away to the north of my campsite. After 40 minutes of fast hiking, I did intersect the BLM road. The trail crosses this road at an unmarked junction and continues down the hill in the direction of Buena Vista. At this point, I encountered a mountain biker coming up the trail from the other side of the road. He said the trail goes another 3/4 of a mile down to the Arkansas River. Instead of following the trail down to its start, I turned left on the dirt road and followed it back to my car, which was probably no more than two miles away. I was cold when I started the hike and hot by the time I finished. The sun and the wind were battling for climate control. The whole route was dry. For an arbitrary destination, I thought it was pretty good. The standard route is quite tame, but it makes for an easy descent after an enjoyable scramble up the ridge.
If you decide to try this hike the way I did it and you're headed southwest on U.S. 285 from Fairplay toward Buena Vista, the turnoff is marked by a sign for Chaffee County 304, 11.3 miles southwest of Trout Creek Pass.
Comments, suggestions, gripes, complaints, and other correspondence can be emailed to Gary Swing.