Long Trek Mountain, 12,866'; Montezuma Peak, 13,150'; The Unicorn, 13,030', South San Juan Wilderness

Essence: String together one, two, three (or more!) ranked summits on the spine of the North American Continent and then cruise back to the trailhead on the Continental Divide and Crater Lake trails. Both the Crater Lake and Treasure Creek trailheads provide access to the peaks. We prefer the Crater Lake Trailhead for its ease of vehicle access and immediate immersion into a wonderland of tundra that goes on forever. Difficulty does not exceed Class 2+ on this tour of strikingly different mountains. The peaks are on the Continental Divide, the boundary between the San Juan and Rio Grande national forests. The hike is in the South San Juan Wilderness. 

Travel: The Crater Lake Trailhead is located on FSR 380, a graded dirt road suitable for 2WD vehicles with sturdy tires. Park Creek Road (turns into FSR 380) is located off US 160 roughly midway between Wolf Creek Pass and the town of South Fork. At mile marker 178.8 turn south at the sign, "National Forest Access, Park Creek Road, Summitville." Cross the South Fork of the Rio Grande River on a bridge, and measure distance from there. There is ample dispersed camping between the highway and trailhead. FSR 330 to Summitville branches left at 14.5 miles. Stay straight (slightly right) to continue on FSR 380. The Elwood Cabin is down off the road on the left shortly before the Elwood Pass track comes in on the right at 17.8 miles. The Crater Lake Trailhead is at 18.5 miles. There are enough pullouts in the area to accommodate about ten vehicles. Our odometer tends to underestimate mileage.
Distance and Elevation Gain: 11.0 miles; 3,200 feet
Total Time: 6:00 to 9:00
Difficulty: Trail, off-trail; navigation moderate; Class 2+ on the east ridge of Montezuma; mild exposure on the north ridge of Long Trek.
Maps: Elwood Pass; Summit Peak, Colorado 7.5' USGS Quads 

Date Hiked: August 9, 2025
Quote: Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion. Anatoli Boukreev

Climb Long Trek Mountain, far right, Montezuma Peak, the tallest of the set, and "The Unicorn" (Peak 13,030'), the double summit. Conclude with a stroll on the tundra-clad bench back to the trailhead. Strong hikers could extend the hike to include Summit Peak, 13,300', the tallest point in the South San Juan Wilderness. This image was shot from the east ridge of Summit Peak. (Thomas Holt Ward, photo) 

Route: Hike west on the Crater Lake Trail and then southwest on the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). Divert west from the CDT to climb all three mountains off-trail. The route makes contact with the CDT between each mountain so turnaround whenever you wish, returning on the CDT and Crater Lake Trail. 

 

Crater Lake Trail #707 is an important corridor pathway into the backcountry in the South San Juan Mountains but trailhead signage is weak. Watch for the sign pictured on the west side of the road. 

 

The trailhead does not have a parking lot but rather, pullouts on either side of FSR 380. The Crater Lake Trail is fairly popular, and yet we saw only two parties on a Saturday.  

 

Beetle-kill has not been kind to this forest. Most of the mature trees are dead. Fortunately, trailhead elevation, 11,620 feet, is effectively timberline in Colorado. In contrast, the Treasure Creek Trail labors through a decimated forest for two miles before reaching tree limit.

Burst out into the Krummholz and wide and wondrous rolling topography.

 

End of season flowers sprayed colorful dots across the alpine. Cobalt-blue bottle gentians were blooming en masse. Pollinators were enjoying visitations with splashy amaranth queen's crown. (THW, photo) 

At 0.8 mile the CDT joins the Crater Lake Trail from the north. The 3,100-mile-long trail was surprisingly subtle, considerably fainter than our lateral trail. We paused to speak with a single backpacker. In contrast, the area was populated with deer herds and the ground littered with elk and cougar scat. The crushed rock trail flanks the south slopes of Peak 12,498', one of the more inviting ranked summits that could be added to the set of mountains discussed. There was a prominent and lingering view of Long Trek Mountain from the shared trails. 

 

Long Trek Mountain, 12,866'  

At 1.5 miles the CDT and Crater Lake trails separate. Trail #707 does a deep, 1,140-foot dive westward to Crater Lake. 

This hike turns south with the CDT. Between the U.S. border with Chihuahua, Mexico and Alberta, Canada, the CDT traverses through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.

For the on-trail portions of this hike, the CDT doubles with National Scenic Trail #813. Where the trail is elusive, keep an eye out for these hand-carved posts seen from afar. 

From the trail, we scoped out a route up Long Trek Mountain utilizing green ramps to contact the north ridge. The ridge turned out to be the highlight of Long Trek so try to contact it on the right side of the low saddle seen in the image below. The trail was so handy we stayed on it until we hit the ramp, image-left. 

We left the CDT at 2.5 miles, 12,360 feet, and ascended northwest to the ridgeline. It was a superb route with excellent footing all the way. We were thrilled by the pica convention in the rock haven nearby.

We contacted the ridgecrest at 12,620 feet. The climb from here to the summit was simply delightful. 

The short series of stone knobs were Class 2 walkups. 

The ridgecrest traverse was just narrow enough to be interesting. The mountain slopes off steeply on the east and radically on the west. Some hikers may experience a sense of mild exposure. Others will think the airiness simply adds to their pleasure. (THW, photo)  

Arise on the roomy summit at 2.9 miles. LiDAR has elevated the mountain's height by 15 feet to 12,881'. With a rise of 588 feet, the vista overlooking the surrounding mountains should have been outrageous. Wildfires burning all over the American West rendered the visibility smoked-out and disappointing. 

There is a partial view of Crater Lake cradled in a cirque 2,000 feet below the summit. This image demonstrates the wretched air quality. 

Montezuma Peak, 13,150' 

Montezuma Peak is bulky, handsome, and the tallest of the three. On foot, the summit is 1.6 miles south of Long Trek. There is no way to avoid giving up almost 600 feet into the 12,300-foot saddle. Descend the gentle south slope of Long Trek through tundra and streams of rock, intercepting the CDT at 3.4 miles. Below, the CDT is on the far left. It dodges an impressive gash in the northeast ridge. The mountain has sloughed off so much of itself it formed a rock glacier drifting toward Crater Lake. To the left of Montezuma is the gnarly north face of Summit Peak. 

 

From the CDT we considered how to approach Montezuma. We discarded the steep northeast slope. It might have been the most direct but it looked unpleasant. Our decision to mount the east ridge turned out to be enchanting, the climax of our hike. If you enjoy scrambling, you will love this ridgeline ascent.

 

Leave the trail at 4.0 miles, 12,480 feet, and take aim on the east ridge. Big, beautiful, weathered boulders bulged from the hillside. 

We passed a lush field of yellow stonecrop, a sedum. (THW, photo)  

 

The ridge pitches up at 12,760 feet and transitions from white chipped rock to bigger volcanics at 12,900 feet. The ultra sweet ascent made me feel like I was climbing a mountain. 

 

The sustained, playful, Class 2+ climbing on solid rock is a scrambler's dream. (THW, photo)

 

The mountain is odd and disorderly with boulders jutting up at weird angles. I'm always curious about the peculiarities and personality of a mountain. How did it get this way over time? 

Approaching the top the effort mellows out with grass taking root between the rocks. Turns out, that's a false summit.  

 

The climb finishes with a stroll. Arrive on the generous summit at 4.5 miles. LiDAR has increased the height of the mountain by eight feet to 13,158' with a rise of 689 feet. Of the three, this is the only peak with a summit register, placed in 2022. 

All the peaks in the area are volcanic. Most of the rock seen on this hike was likely exploded out of the Summitville caldera. The rocks inhabiting the east ridge and summit of Montezuma are porphyritic, igneous rocks with coarse-grained crystals, including feldspar and quartz. 

"The Unicorn," Peak 13,030' 

The Unicorn is the informal name of Peak 13,030'. How it came by that name is a mystery, especially given its double head. Unlike the first two mountains, there are signs of use on the east ridge which makes me wonder whether people are climbing the peak out of curiosity due to its beguiling name. (THW, photo)  

 

From Montezuma, The Unicorn is one mile southwest by way of Point 12,969' which I am informally calling "The Pivot." The drop on the southwest slope of Montezuma is annoying--steep with poor footing and sliding rock. It gets shallower and better below the white band. (THW, photo)  

Drop into the 12,580-foot saddle and pick up the CDT again. It appears that the standard (and easiest) route up The Unicorn is on the east ridge, our descent route. We wanted to traverse the ridge from The Pivot to The Unicorn so we started up the northeast ridge of Point 12,969'. The first push was ultra steep but the small rock was surprisingly stable. (THW, photo)  

 

We were intimidated by the crumbling summit block so we "side hilled" and then pitched up to the saddle. Side hilling on a steep slope is never pleasant but it got us to the ridge top. If I had it to do over again I would duke it out with The Pivot. 

 

From the ridge we climbed north the short distance to the top of Point 12,969' overlooking Montezuma Peak. 

(THW, photo)  

We turned south and crossed the incredibly sweet flat and broad ridge.   

All three summits have premier features and the summit block of The Unicorn from this approach was our favorite aspect of the third mountain. Just step right up. (THW, photo)  

Arrive on the third peak of this hike at 5.5 miles. The Unicorn is an unnumbered point on the Summit Peak quad. Using standard extrapolation it would measure at 13,020'. However, LiDAR has computed the height at 13,030' with a rise of 426 feet. Three ridges radiate from the constricted crest. The west ridge points generally toward Blackhead Peak, Nipple Mountain, and Sand Mountain on Quartz Ridge. At 12,500 feet, Blackhead is the highest point on the ridge but The Unicorn is considerably taller. 

Looking south, Summit Peak is the tallest point in Archuleta County and the South San Juan Wilderness at 13,300 feet with a whopping prominence of 2,737 feet. Strong hikers could tack it on to this hike. The standard route from the Treasure Creek Trailhead latches on to the CDT and wraps around the mountain to approach off-trail on the east ridge. If you are tempted by the direct approach on the challenging north face, please consult published trip reports. 

(THW, photo)  

 

Return to the Trailhead

We descended southeast to the CDT. You can see the trail from the summit so you can waltz down anyway you please. Unlike the previous two peaks, there were braided social trails on The Unicorn descent. (THW, photo)  

 

We contacted the CDT once again at 5.8 miles and cruised quickly back to the Crater Lake Trail. We weren't sure it was feasible to climb three peaks in one hike so the trip back was deeply satisfying. Beneath the ridge between The Unicorn and The Pivot there's a stretch where the trail was cleaved from stone by hand to create the trail platform. It was the finest piece of trail engineering we saw all day. 

The sign for the South San Juan Wilderness and Rio Grande National Forest had toppled from its post and was propped up by rocks.  

Native to the western United States, Mormon Crickets are large, flightless, shield-backed katydids. They had likely hatched this spring and the population we saw was low density. We were lucky that this guy held still just long enough to photograph its delicate and intricate physique. (THW, photo)  

Walking north on the CDT offers a new perspective on the topography including the climber's ridgeline on Montezuma Peak. 

At 8.5 miles we closed our loop at the launch for Long Trek. Judging from trip reports, swift distance hikers are just getting started with the three peaks featured in this post. Peaks 12,550', shown, and Peak 12,498' share a saddle (marked 12,132' on the Elwood Pass map) just north of the Crater Lake and Continental Divide trails. Peak 12,550' looks like a simple, pleasurable climb. 

 

 Peak 12,498' looks considerably more interesting.

 

"Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion." Anatoli Boukreev, a high-altitude Russian climber, had a reputation as an elite mountaineer for summiting K2 and Mount Everest via the North Ridge, and for his solo speed ascents on the world's highest mountains. He died on Christmas Day, 1997, in an avalanche on Annapurna at age 39. 

 

Over the years, I have hiked with people who have climbed all the peaks in Colorado over 12,000 feet and I have hiked with a botanist so enamored with wildflowers, he only made it a quarter mile out of the parking lot. No matter our motivation, we are all soulfully communing with Nature and immersing ourselves in planet Earth.