Gibbs Peak/ De Anza Peak Trip Report by Mike Downey

Route: North Greenleaf Drainage to northeast ridge of Gibbs Peak. From Gibbs Peak, along ridge to Sangre de Cristo Crest to De Anza Peak. From De Anza Peak down the South Brush Creek Drainage to the South Brush Creek Trail.

Pre-climb: I began this trip at around 4 a.m. with the intention of climbing Gibbs Peak (13,575). I packed four 20 ounce bottles of water, a poncho, two sweatshirts, and plenty of snacks. I also took a pedometer to measure the route distance.

I went with two people that I had been climbing with previously, Angela Lankford and Dewayne Myers. The plan was to meet at Angela's place by around 6am, as she lives at the foot of Gibbs Peak. We began the hike from her house at around 6:45 am.

The Climb: One of the dilemas facing other potential climbers is the lack of public access. Since Angela lives in a subdivision that borders the National Forest, we had a free pass.

After a mile and a half of following subdivision roads we reached the Rainbow Trail in the National Forest. From here we went straight across into the thick aspen forests at the base of Gibbs Peak. This is an old trail that heads through the forest, but it is very hard to follow in places as there is downed timber and plants growing up everywhere. Luckily, someone had gone through and placed pink flags on some of the rocks and trees to mark the route.

The trail follows the North Greenleaf Creek Drainage for awhile. After a few miles, the trail passes by North Greenleaf Creek which is where we made our first stop. This was around 8 am. From this point its straight up all the way to the summit of Gibbs Peak. We headed straight north to the top of the northeast ridge of Gibbs Peak. Angela appropriately named this the "never-ending hill," which is exactly what it was like. After what seems like forever, we finally see some blue through the trees and we were on top. At this point we are also at timberline. We stopped here with an impressive view of the Wet Mountain Valley, at around 9 a.m. Here I put on some sunscreen and ate an apple before we took off. I gazed anxiously at the summit of Gibbs Peak which seemed so deceptively close.

We continued up the northeast ridge of Gibbs Peak which was rocky and steep. At one point we stopped and looked out to the north across the South Brush Creek Drainage and saw a herd of about 20 elk playing in a snowbank.

The ridge keeps going up and up. It gets increasingly steeper and narrower as we approach the top. Near the top it was too steep to hike as normal, we had to use our hands and climb up the rocks to reach the top. The top is a large grassy area that gently slopes up to the summit. We made are way up to the summit and reached it at around 11 am. The views were spectacular. Kit Carson Mountain (14,165) and Crestones stood out to the south. Rito Alto Peak (13,794) and Horn Peak (13,450) also stood out with their jagged appearance. The town of Westcliffe was visible far below with Greenhorn Mountain (12,347) beyond. To the north I could see Mount Princeton (14,204) with its chalk cliffs and Ouray Peak (13,971) to the northwest. Straight north I could see a mass of mountains which must have been Quandary, Bross, and Lincoln. The Sangres to the north were De Anza Peak (13,380), Electric Peak (13,621), Cottonwood Peak (13,588) and Lakes Peak (13,375).

There was a cairn on the summit with a small pickle bottle on top of it. Inside the bottle was a notebook which said, "Gibbs Peak 13,553" and had served as a summit register for the past couple weeks. I signed the book and changed the height that is written on the book to 13,575, which is the official USGS measurement.

Since we had made such great time and didn't see very many clouds we decided to do De Anza Peak as well. We climbed down the ridge to the Sangre de Cristo Crest towards De Anza. The ridge drops down to an elevation of about 12,700 which greatly increased our elevation gain on the day. The climb up De Anza wasn't easy. It was just as straight up as Gibbs. One of the most interesting things about De Anza was a cirque where you could find large pieces of Quartz Crystals some two hundred feet below the summit. Dewayne picked a few of them up and gave some to me and Angela.

At the summit of De Anza we met the only other person we would see the whole day. This was around 1 pm. The clouds were now starting to make some headway and we saw some lightning in the Ouray Peak area. We headed down with the intention of making it to the trees by the time the storm arrived.

Going back we took a different route, we went down the north face of De Anza to the Sangre Crest and into the South Brush Creek Drainage. We crossed a small snowbank but it wasnt a big deal. From the crest we had a commanding view of the Horsethief Basin which is where Cherry Creek flows through. Mount Owen (13,340) stands proudly over the basin.

We went down through the more grassier parts in the tundra in the South Brush Creek Basin. The basin was beautiful with snow and wildflowers everywhere. We slid down a large snowbank which was fun. At this point we were moving quickly to get into the trees. We followed South Brush Creek until we got the South Brush Creek Trail.

Soon we were back at timberline, but not too soon. The clouds rolled over quickly and it began to sprinkle lightly. We stopped in a small meadow to rest, but after 20 minutes it began to rain harder, so we picked up our bags, put on coats and raced down the hill. This was around 2:30 pm. I put on a poncho but didn't really need it. The rain stopped soon after.

The trail passes through some beautiful country. Through the openings in the forest you can see some small waterfalls along South Brush Creek and see some impressive views of De Anza and Gibbs. After awhile the trail crosses South Brush Creek at a point where the creek is pretty high. I just crossed the creek on the rocks since I had waterproof boots, but Angela and Dewayne took off their boots and waded through the creek.

From here the trail climbs up a small hill as it approaches the Rainbow Trail. The elevation is probably not much more than 200 feet, but after doing two peaks, it seemed like alot.

From the Rainbow Trail we followed an old 4-wheeler road which runs from a subdivision road to the Rainbow Trail. It was another mile and a half to Angela's place.

Gibbs/De Anza Thumbnails:

Some flowers I saw along our route

Climbing Gibbs' Northeast slope with De Anza Peak in the distance

The final accent up Gibbs

Looking North from Gibbs' summit through Texas Creek drainage towards the Arkansas River Gorge

View East across the North end of the Wet Mountain Valley with Deweese Reservoir and the Wet Mountains in the distance

View Southeast up the Wet Mountain Valley towards the town of Westcliffe and Greenhorn Mountain (12,347) in distance

Looking South towards the major Sangre de Cristos' peaks. In the foreground of the picture, the two connecting peaks there are the Spread Eagle Peaks whose summit on the right is the highest at 13,481. Rito Alto Peak (13,794) is in the foreground on the right. The rugged peaks in the distance include (from the left): Humboldt Peak (14,069), Crestone Needle (14,201), Crestone Peak (14,298) and Kit Carson Mountain (14,169).

Rito Alto Peak (13,794) on left and Mount Marcy (13,510) on right

Looking West towards Mount Owen (13,340)

Mount Owen (13,340) and De Anza Peak (13,382) to the West with the San Luis Valley beyond

De Anza Peak (13,382) to the left and Electric Peak (13,621) to the right

View of the Sangre de Cristos to the north including Electric Peak (13,621), Cottonwood Peak (13,588) and Eagle Peak (13,205)

View straight down Gibbs' steep north slope towards the South Brush Creek drainage

Texas Creek drainage to the south of Gibbs as seen from near the crest of the Sangre de Cristos

View of De Anza Peak (13,382) from the crest, there is a spot on the slope where you can find these quartz crystals

Beautiful South Brush Creek drainage-an elk haven in summer

Electric Peak (13,621) to the North with some thunder clouds moving our direction

Gibbs Peak to the South as seen from summit of De Anza Peak

About the Author

I am currently a student at University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), where I intend to get a degree in Political Science and Geography/Environmental Studies. When I'm not studying, you will find me in the mountains. I have been climbing since I was pretty little and have done climbs throughout California, Colorado and Arizona, including the highpoints of those states. I have done Mount Whitney and Mount Elbert, but I plan on doing some even higher mountains, maybe Aconcagua, Mount Mckinley or Kilimanjaro, Check back with me in about 10 years. Meanwhile you can check out some of the other trips reports:

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