Highest Point: 12,300 feet

Trailhead Elevation: 9,200 feet (Gibson Creek Trailhead)

Elevation Gain: 3,100 feet

Round-trip Length: 10 miles

Difficulty: Class 2 (Click here for discussion of Class System)

Pre-Climb: This was right after I had just made it back to Colorado from my home in California. The day I arrived, there was a snow storm over the Sangre de Cristos which was surprising for late June.

I had been planning to go up on a trip with the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Council to the Spread Eagle Peaks. We werent sure whether we would be able to make the trip because Southern Colorado had been experiencing afternoon storms on a regular basis during June and May when it is supposed to clear. The monsoon season doesnt begin until about the first or second week of July.

The group made it up to Westcliffe Town Park where we waited and carpooled to the Gibson Creek Trailhead.

The Climb: We didn't get started for awhile because we had the wait up for a bunch of stragglers, which is the only downside to traveling with a big group.

The trail route is very easy to follow as it is well-marked with signs and mileage indicators. The first 1/2 mile winds around the western slope of the lower Spread Eagle summit throguh thick aspen forests and some open parks.

The junction is just a short stroll away and we were there before long. At the junction for the Swift Creek cutoff, there is a sign that says, "Lakes of the Clouds 2.75 miles" but through a discussion we had along the trip our group came to the consensus that this was the mileage to the Lakes of the Clouds Trail and NOT the lakes themselves. The mileage to the lakes is closer to four.

After about an hour we reached the beaver dams, which are just a short off-trail bushwhack but worth checking out. Unnamed Peak 13,521(which is often referred to as Silver Peak) had a fresh coat of snow from the day before and was quite a sight from the beaver dams. We still couldnt see the Spread Eagle Peaks from here as the trees to the south obstruct the view.

The first creek crossing of Swift Creek is just a short ways further. The creek was running pretty high with all the snow melting up above timberline. Normally I just walk right through a creek with my water-proof boots, but this time I actually had to cross a tree trunk and grab hold of the bushes that line the stream.

After a few short switchbacks we joined the Lakes of the Clouds Trail. At this point, we began to see snow in the shadows. The further we went, the more snow we saw. The trail was pretty much a hard, ice slate that had been packed down with heavy use. There is an interesting rock outcropping on the right (north) side of the trail shortly after the junction, where the water was dripping off the rocks like a small waterfall. The group stopped here and cooled off in the water.

I really didnt know many of the group members , but I got to meet a few avid climbers. Two climbers, Dewayne Myers and Angela Lankford would go with me when I did Gibbs Peak (13,575) and De Anza Peak (13,380) two weeks later. We were already throwing out some ideas for the climb and exchanged some phone numbers for later.

The first lake is just a mile and a half further. This lake was surprisingly large for an alpine lake, especially when you consider that there are three good-sized lakes in the drainage. Obviously these are some of the bigger ones in the Sangres. I believe we reached this point at around 10:45 or so and we stopped to wait up for the other group members.

After whipping out the topographical maps and studying them for like 15 minutes, while whuffing down some Reeses Peanut Butter Cups and Pringles, we decided to go on to the upper two lakes which are just a short stroll away. I would say about 1/2 mile or so.

The other two lakes are just as beautiful as the first. The upper one was especially gorgeous all nestled at the base of Silver Peak which had a fresh coat of snow on it. The five of us that reached the last lake first, decided to go up and try to do the Spread Eagle Peaks, but leave one person behind to tell the rest of the group.

From the upper lake there is a faintly distinguisable trail that continues up to the peaks. Timberline ends abrutly here and all of a sudden we are in tundra with large snow banks and roaring creeks. There was a waterfall just a few hundred feet above the upper lake. After trudging through the snow and getting up to a narrow "bench" we stopped while staring up at the Spread Eagle Peaks to the south, Silver Peak and Gibbs Peak to the north. It was getting to be around 1 pm at this point and we were on a tight schedule to make it make by around 3:30 p.m. so we had to turn back. It was frustrating because it was totally clear in the sky and we were just a few hundred feet below the saddle between the two peaks.

The view of the lakes below was impressive. I would go again just for that. Although I failed to reach the summit I was still happy to make it up passed the lakes. I plan on going back up in the summer of 2004.

The descent was fun. We took out our jackets and slid down the slope part of the way and made it down pretty quick and were back at Westcliffe Park in no time.

Lakes of the Clouds Thumbnails:

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:

Trip Reports

Mount Whitney August, 1997 Music Pass July, 2001 Mount Elbert July, 2002 Rito Alto Peak July, 2002 Humphreys Peak June, 2003 Lakes of the Clouds June, 2003 Gibbs & De Anza July, 2003

Mount Antero July, 2003 Comanche & Venable Aug, 2003 Horn Peak Aug, 2003 Santiago Peak Feb, 2004 Agua Tibia Mountain Mar, 2004 Mount Adams July, 2004 Shavano/Tabeguache Aug, 2004

Mt Princeton July, 2006 Engineer Pass Aug, 2006 Schofield Pass Aug, 2006 Trail Ridge Road RMNP Sep, 2006 Torrey Pines SR Dec, 2006 Mt San Jacinto May, 2007

Fill free to email me at [email protected] for questions, comments, suggestions or whatever else you can think of.

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