6/8/03 – Horn Peak – Horn Peak Trail

8.8 miles, 4655 feet


Erin and I wanted to continue our run of 13ers in the Sangre de Cristos, and with all the warm weather we had been having, it was time to attempt an approach from the Wet Mountain Valley. Horn Peak sounded like an easy peak to climb, since a trail would take us all the way to treeline, and we knew the views of the nearby Crestones would be excellent.

We drove to Westcliffe early in the morning and then headed south on SH-69. After ~3 miles, we turned right on Schoolfield Road, proceeded a mile west, and then turned left on CR-129, taking this road south for 2 miles. We turned right on Horn Road and headed west for ~3.5 miles to Horn Creek Ranch. At the ranch, we turned right at a signed junction, reaching the Horn Creek TH after .25 miles. Some of the roads to the ranch and the TH are paved, and the dirt roads are in great condition – very accessible with 2WD. It's said that the Horn Road is plowed in the winter all the way to the ranch.

We hit the trail sort of late and had a hard time finding the correct trail from the trailhead. To avoid losing time like we did, hike past the outhouse and seek out the trail with the sign that reads "Rainbow Trail - 0.25 miles". We didn't hike long before we reached a 4-way junction with another trail. Despite the lack of signage, don't go straight like we did. Instead turn right, and you'll be on the Horn Creek Spur Trail, which will take you the rest of the way to the Rainbow Trail. Since we didn't know this, we opted to continue straight. This trail also took us to the Rainbow Trail, but we were a half-mile south of the Rainbow Trail's junction with the Horn Creek Spur Trail. This is however the way you'd want to go if you're headed for the Horn Creek Trail or the Macey Lakes Trail.

We hiked on the Rainbow Trail, quickly covering the extra half-mile we had given ourselves by making the wrong turn. Soon after reaching the Rainbow Trail-Horn Creek Spur Trail junction, we passed the Dry Creek Trail, with Dry Creek following shortly after. Another .75 miles and we were upon the junction with the Horn Peak Trail, which featured a wilderness register. We hiked steeply uphill, gaining 1000' quickly. We were glad to catch a single preview of Horn Peak through the trees to our right, before making a brief descent and then a crossing of the minor Hennequin Creek.

We kept following the trail as it switchbacked its way to 10,700' on the crest of the middle of Horn's three northeasterly ridges. From there, the trail continued more or less on the crest of this ridge before petering out at treeline. Note the point where you leave the forest. We didn't and ended up on a more adventurous and environmentally unfriendly descent. From treeline, it was a simple class 2 talus climb to reach UR 12,665 (a labeled point on the Horn Peak quad) and then a final, stiff 800' to reach Horn's accomodating summit.

The all-encompassing summit views were pure spectacle – Rito Alto Peak, Kit Carson Mountain, Mount Adams, Fluted Peak, the Crestones, and Little Horn Peak – and I think we spent nearly an hour on the summit. We didn't have a lot of energy for the 1.6-mile traverse to Fluted Peak. With the clouds starting to look suspect, we decided to call it a day, but it would be a lot of fun to return and combine Horn with Fluted, Little Horn, and a descent via the Dry Creek Trail.

We descended our ascent route to near treeline, but somewhere we got off track, ending up in on a steep loose trail down a gully that appears to have been the old route up Horn Peak. We realized our error too late, though, and continued down the dilapidated, old trail. The lower part of the gully showed evidence of some Forest Service restoration work, so we felt doubly bad for being where we were. This old trail eventually intersected with the correct trail near the crossing of Hennequin Creek, and we were back on track. Nothing else eventful happened during the rest of the descent, and we were back at the trailhead in good time.

From some of the dirt roads leading back to Westcliffe, I had Erin stop for my typical Sangre valley shots, including some nice ones of Humboldt Peak and Colony Baldy, Horn and Little Horn, and Spread Eagle Peak with Rito Alto and Gibbs Peak. Along our drive out through the Wet Mountains, we got one last treat. As SH-96 descends along North Hardscrabble Creek, we saw a bunch of people pulled over on the shoulder. We were curious, so we went to have a look. There was a group of bighorns on the slabby rocks above us, and some of the males were headbutting! This was a great day to get into the Sangres again, and we were thrilled to have gazed at the Crestone 14ers once more. From what I understand, you can make a winter trip out of Horn Peak, as well. Could be something for the coming years...