Mount Logan

Mountain lake on route to Mount Logan

 Overview

Mount Logan is a mountain in the Front Range of Colorado. In the past I have climbed the nearby peaks—Pegmatite Points, Pegmatite Points Round Two, Rosalie Peak, Pegmatite Points, though this will be my first ascent of Mount Logan. I don’t think this is a popular summit, so if your looking for a good bushwhack and some solitude this summit may be for you. This area is accessible in all seasons, but this would be a tough climb in the winter months, I would suggest doing it in the dry season. The climb to the summit will offer great forest, and alpine views with possible mountain goat sightings.  I hope you enjoy this trip report and find it helpful in planning your next adventure in the hills.

Directions/Trailhead Information

The forest

The Deer Creek Trailhead is located at—latitude 39.510571°, longitude -105.567551°. There is a small parking area that will accommodate about 30 vehicles at the end of the road. There are no restrooms at the trailhead. From the Denver area make your way to the intersection of CO-470 W and US Hwy 285 S. Follow US Hwy 285 S for approximately 43 miles to CO Rd 43A. Turn right (north) and follow CO Rd 43A as it merges into Deer Creek Rd (CO Rd 43). Follow Deer Creek Rd for approximately 8.8 miles to the end of the road. There will be a slight jog to the left on CO Rd 43, this will eventually turn to a dirt road and you will pass Deer Creek Campground. The road gets a little rough past the campground to the trailhead, but I see low clearance vehicles in the lot often so I would say this trailhead is accessible to all vehicles.

The Climb

For years I have thought of climbing Mount Logan, but like most other climbers, there are bigger fish to fry so to say, so I end up climbing another peak. There isn’t a lot of trip reports that I could find for this climb, so that lets me know not too many people make the trek up to the summit. The route I chose approached from the east from the Deer Creek Trailhead, a place I’m very familiar with. About a year earlier Cole and I made an attempt in the winter and turned back due to the maze of downfall. With this attempt in the summer I increased my odds of making it to the summit.

View though the clouds

From the trailhead there is a single trail that eventually splits off to a few others within the Mount Evans Wilderness area. Rosalie Trail starts from the trailhead, and after about 100 meters the trail splits with Rosalie Trail going to the left and Tanglewood Trail going to the right, stay on the Rosalie Trail. The trail is more of a road at this point. After another 400 meters or so there will be an old road splitting off to the left up a draw, follow this. I’m not sure on the mileage of when this road “ends” or kind of peters out, but on my GPS Track below where the track splits that is the end of the old road. If you follow the southern track that is on an old trail of sorts I found on my descent, where the norther track was cross country version from my ascent.

From here to tree line it’s a bit of bushwhack. There are remnants of trails here and there, but you will spend a lot of time navigating over downfall and around some marsh type areas. Make your way to the shoulder to the south of the couloir, which will be pretty evident as you climb. After gaining tree line the mountain opens up, and near the summit it seems like a flat area that could host many football fields.

Mount Logan summit

My feet were killing me, I had bought some new boots and was giving them a trial run and they clearly weren’t working out. With sore feet, I wanted to get off the mountain so I could ditch the boots for my sandals. I took a few minutes on the summit before descending my route of ascent. I noticed a large group of mountain goats on a far-off ridge to the north as I started down the mountain. They were too far away to get a good picture with my phone, but it was nice to know I wasn’t totally alone out there.

I stayed pretty true to my ascent route going down, other than finding a trail that loops to the south of the old road I hiked up early in the climb. My boots were rubbing on my ankles, so each step was awful pain. I just decided to cowboy up and get out of there. After a bit of torture, I made it back to the car and the boots made it back into the box ready for a return to REI.

Parting Notes

Because of my boot situation this climb wasn’t too enjoyable. Taking that out of the equation this is still a taxing route with all of the bushwhacking that was involved. I had thought about ascending from the north, and if I choose to come back to this peak again that will probably be the plan. Until next time, cheers!

GPS Track

Date: July 15, 2018

Trailhead Elevation: 9,285 feet

Mount Logan: 12,867 feet

Total Elevation Gain: 3,583 feet

Class: 2

Distance: 9.3 miles

Moving Time: 6 hr 6 min

Stopped Time: 0 hr 40 min

Climbing Partner: Solo

GAIA GPS Link: Mount Logan (2018-07-15)