W0C/FR-073
Redskin Mountain
2677 m / 8783 ft
Nov 9, 2014

by KX0R

Thanks to N0BN for his first activation and for posting the location of the trailhead!

Redskin Mountain is a pleasant, relatively easy SOTA peak located several miles south of Bailey, in the Pike National Forest. Climbing Redskin requires good navigation to the trailhead, as well as good route-finding on the mountain. Be sure you have a detailed forest road-map and a topo map of area before you start the trip. The area around the mountain is popular with mountain bikers and horse-riders, but the summit is not a popular destination. There is no marked trail to the top.

Drive west from Denver on Highway 285, go down Crow Hill to Bailey, and at the very bottom of the big hill, turn south on road 68. Follow 68 toward Wellington Lake for several miles, and turn left on Road 70 just past the top of a big hill. Follow 70 southeast to a junction with Forest Road 553, and turn north on 553. Go about ¼ mile, turn right on road 554, drive a short distance, and turn right into a large parking area. This is the Miller Gulch Trail-head.  Road 554 is gated – it is not a through road – so this is as far as you can drive. The route to the trailhead is unpaved about 2 miles past Bailey, and it’s bumpy and wash-boarded in spots; but most cars can drive to the trailhead, unless there is snow.

N0BN says:

“The best access seems to be from the north from the Miller Gulch Trailhead on Forest Road 553 where there is camping and parking. The NAD83 coordinates for the parking area are latitude N39 21 53.0 and longitude W105 22 42.8, elevation approximately 8311 feet.”

Start the hike at the southeast corner of the large parking area, and follow an old closed logging road south toward Redskin Mountain. Redskin Mountain is really one of two twin summits with a valley between them – Redskin is the eastern peak. Follow the old road north of the western sub-peak, past the rusted remains of an old truck, to the end of the road. Continue on a faint path that leads up toward Redskin. Where the path steepens, there is a split – take the right fork south, and head toward the saddle between the two mountains. Stay on the faint path and continue southeast to the saddle; soon after the apex of the saddle, head left, northeast, and up a rocky gully toward the apparent summit of Redskin. It is not necessary to do any scrambling or rock-climbing to go up the gully – there are signs of a path as you go – but there is no established trail. A good route leads up through the rocks, with only a few minor hassles. Follow the slope through open forest to the summit ridge, and continue southeast along the ridge to the obvious rocky summit with a large cairn on top.

Redskin has nice trees for shelter and antennas, as well as convenient open space for setting up and operating. There is a fine view into the South Platte Valley to the south. This is a good HF site; other mountains may reduce VHF/UHF coverage in some directions.

Few people visit this pleasant peak. This is a pleasant hike in the fall, and there are deer and elk in this area – so beware of hunters. Avoid the steep slopes on the south side of the summit ridge. It helps to use GPS and a map to make sure that you’re heading where you intend to go, and to return to the trailhead correctly. This hike is just over a mile each way, and it’s only about 600 vertical feet up from the trailhead. Nevertheless, it’s not a good place to try to learn basic navigation. Visibility through the forest is very limited, and there are several places to go wrong.  Conversely, with a little preparation, this is a nice SOTA peak!

73

George Carey Fuller
KX0R

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!! WARNING !! There are old mountaineers, and bold mountaineers... there are no old-bold mountaineers. Hiking and mountain climbing are potentially hazardous activities particularly in Colorado with its extreme elevations. I am not accepting responsibility for any death or injury resulting from activations based on my trip reports. Proper training, experience, and personal capability assessment is required - enjoy!