7/29/02 – Mount Sheridan & Mount Sherman – Northeast Slopes, West Slopes

6.6 miles, 3120'


You can't really go on in too much length about Mount Sherman. A few words about the Iowa Gulch trailhead, though, which I found to be a good alternative to the eastern approaches. The drive to Leadville, in my opinion, takes little to no more time than a drive to Fairplay. Since the dirt road to the TH is used by the active AARCO mine, it's of exceptional quality and an easy drive for a passenger car.

We got to Leadville at around 4:30 a.m. We parked just shy of a point on the road where power lines cross, where we supposed the so-called Lower Iowa Gulch trailhead is. After 20 minutes or so on the dirt road, we came to the second power line crossing, and there's a battered metal sign marking the trail, which descends into the basin to make a creek crossing. This is the Upper Iowa Gulch TH. From there, it's a well-defined and easy climb to the 13,140' saddle between Sheridan and Sherman. We wanted to go up Sheridan first, and I'm glad because it was the only place where we gained some solitude. I really enjoyed Sheridan's summit, and we got some views of the Sawatch that differed from Sherman. I love the way Holy Cross looks from this area! The plan is to climb Holy Cross on Monday or Tuesday of next week. Can't wait!

A very easy descent and climb, and we had Sherman, too. Erin noted that the register log had been replaced on Saturday morning by CMC, two days earlier, and still 110 people had bothered to sign in since then. Who knows how many had actually summitted since then!

I was very pleased with the brief hour it took us to return to the upper TH. Another 20 minutes and we were back at the car. Being at home at 2:00 p.m. with Siamese Plate To-Go in your lap and another fourteener under your belt is a pleasant experience :)

Number 24 and 22 for Erin and I respectively.