San Juan Range · Colorado 13er · No. 165 of the 13ers
North Ridge via Grizzly Gulch
McCauley Peak, 13,555'
Class 3 and steep terrain
The tundra wedge below the Grizzly-Jupiter saddle is very steep Class 3, the gully to that saddle has a chockstone step, and the summit ridge has Class 3 scrambling. Snow often fills the gullies early in summer. This page is an outline, not a move-by-move guide.
DifficultyClass 3
Round trip30.2 mi
Elevation gain10,625'
TrailheadHunchback Pass
Trailhead elevation11,550'
Less traffic, less margin
This describes the route on a dry summer day. Most 13ers see few people, so there may be no one along behind you. Check recent conditions the week you go, carry a map, tell someone your plan, and turn around when the day tells you to.
McCauley Peak is a rugged Weminuche summit that no trailhead reaches easily. Every way in takes a multi-day backpack; besides the Hunchback Pass route, Chicago Basin and Vallecito Reservoir also work. The camp is about 11 miles from the trailhead. You cross Hunchback Pass, walk down the Vallecito Trail past Nebo Creek, Trinity Creek and Rock Creek (a long wade), then ford Vallecito Creek below its meeting with Sunlight Creek. That ford can be knee to thigh deep and swift, and is dangerous before runoff drops in mid-July. On the far side, wade to the north side of Sunlight Creek and, within about five minutes, turn left onto the cairned Sunlight trail; the main path goes on toward Leviathan Creek. This unmaintained trail climbs about 2,500 hard feet, crosses the creek again near 10,800 feet, and is easy to lose. The last sheltering trees, at about 11,550 feet, make the base camp; Sunlight Lake is about 0.6 mile beyond.
From Sunlight Lake you climb south to the saddle west of Point 13,229, drop steeply into Grizzly Gulch, climb a very steep tundra wedge and gully to the Grizzly-Jupiter saddle, descend toward Hazel Lake, and climb the north ridge from the Grizzly-McCauley saddle. Most of it is rugged Class 2+, with Class 3 in several places. Good routefinding is a must.
From camp it is about 8 miles round trip with 4,400 feet of gain, with a lot of up and down. The approach alone is about 22.2 miles round trip with 6,225 feet of gain. The total from the trailhead is about 30.2 miles with 10,625 feet.
Plan of the day
Start by
By 5:30 a.m. from camp
Turnaround
Be at the Grizzly-McCauley saddle by 11 a.m.
Crux
The steep wedge and gully up to the Grizzly-Jupiter saddle.
Route-finding
Hard. Several gullies look alike near the Grizzly-Jupiter saddle.
Water
Sunlight Creek at camp and streams in the basin. Filter it.
This week on the summit
Conditions on the summit
LoadingFetching the forecast for 13,555'…
—Summit temp now
—Sustained wind
—Gusting to
—Freezing level
Today
—
Tomorrow
—
Day three
—
Afternoon storm risk is the line that matters. Everything else is comfort. In summer, plan to be off the ridge before the build-up starts, not as it starts. Forecast for the summit point, adjusted for its elevation · data from Open-Meteo.
This trailhead needs a high-clearance 4WD, and plan on as much as 2.5 hours of driving from Silverton. From the northeast end of Silverton, take County Road 2 up the Animas about 4.2 miles to Howardsville. Turn right up Cunningham Gulch, then take the left fork onto the Stony Pass road. It climbs steeply over the pass and down the far side. You will ford Pole Creek, then turn right at a fork and ford the Rio Grande. Both fords are harder early in the summer. Then follow the Beartown road about 4 slow, rough miles past the old Beartown site and up a rocky, rutted stretch. The Hunchback Pass trailhead is about half a mile below Kite Lake, at roughly 11,800 feet, with limited parking.
You can also reach this area from Creede or Lake City by driving to Rio Grande Reservoir, but the road west of the reservoir has very rough sections. There is some camping near the trailhead and near the old Beartown site.
This is the start of a multi-day backpack. Park so you don't block the road; space is tight.
RidgeTundraTalus and screeScramblingExposed to lightning
The line is elevation, the band underneath is the ground, and the numbered dots match the steps below. Mileage and elevations are approximate.
1
Sunlight Creek camp 11,550' · 0 mi
Hike up the trail to Sunlight Lake, a great spot to photograph Jagged Mountain to the north.
2
Saddle west of Point 13,229 13,050' · 2 mi
Cross the outlet east of the lake. About a quarter mile east, climb a broad ridge on a cairned path toward the upper lake. Pass the 12,620-foot knoll on its east side about 200 feet below the top, drop south on steep tundra to the waterfall below the upper lake, then walk south over tundra and broken rock to the saddle. Snowfields are likely before mid-July.
3
Grizzly Gulch 12,300' · 2.5 mi
Descend south-southwest down a wide couloir toward two small lakes. The first 200 feet are very steep; it eases below. If snow is too steep, a descending bench on the west side midway down helps, and lower down you may glissade.
Watch for: Very steep at the top; often snowy.
4
Tundra wedge 12,900' · 3 mi
Head toward the Grizzly-Jupiter saddle at 13,260 feet. Climb about 200 feet of steepening talus to a triangular wedge of tundra and rock split by a cleft, then go up the wedge for about 400 feet. It is steep enough to feel exposed.
Watch for: Class 3 on steep tundra.
5
Grizzly-Jupiter saddle 13,260' · 3.3 mi
Higher up, two and then three gullies appear. The third one led through, with a chockstone and a short Class 3 to 4 move near the top.
Watch for: Chockstone step near the top.
6
Grizzly-McCauley saddle 12,900' · 3.7 mi
Descend a short way, contour east to a climbers' path, and follow it down a steep, narrow, chimney-like cleft. At its base, turn west down a clear ramp to easier tundra. Drop south to within 200 to 300 feet of Hazel Lake, then go southeast over mostly easy tundra to the saddle.
7
McCauley Peak 13,555' · 4 mi
Follow the ridge. The final quarter mile is rock scrambling up to Class 3 and boulder hopping, ending in a short, steeper couloir that leads to the jumbled summit rocks.
Watch for: Class 3 scrambling.
Getting down
Going back the way you came is probably easiest.
Another option: from the Grizzly-McCauley saddle, descend northeast on steep but stable tundra, working left toward a gully under one of Grizzly's cliffs, about 300 feet below the saddle. Cross it with great care on very loose sand and rock, keep descending steep tundra to a game trail near 11,700 feet, and follow it northwest on tundra benches back up into upper Grizzly Gulch, about 200 feet above the lake at 12,235 feet. Then rejoin your morning route. This saves no gain but avoids the steep downclimb from the Grizzly-Jupiter saddle.
If things go wrong
Before the Grizzly-Jupiter saddle, Grizzly Gulch leads back to the couloir and the saddle west of Point 13,229.
3D flyover
No 3D flyover for this peak
Above Sunlight Lake the route is entirely off-trail, through two basins and over two saddles. A flyover only works when there is a set trail to trace. Without one, the line would be a guess, and a guess could send you the wrong way on the mountain. Use the step-by-step route with a good map and GPS track instead.
See the trail on video
No video yet
We haven’t found a good video of this route that matches the way we describe it. The route strip, junctions and 3D flyover show the way in the meantime.
Other routes
Every way up McCauley Peak we list, with its class.