LoJ: #256 (Pre-LiDAR #262) / 13,504' Mount Marcy

From timberline and/or a high camp, continue hiking up the South Brush Creek trail to the central ridge at the trail crosses just above 12,800 ft. the trail works through mostly tundra with some rock. Turn north and hike over Pt. 13,060 and drop north to a saddle at 12,820 ft. Continue hiking NW to the easy summit of Electric Peak which has a nice view looking down onto Banjo Lake, nestled in a bowl a thousand feet below. This final section is still mostly tundra, embedded rock and some rubble. Since this part of the range is less frequented by human visitors, you may have some wildlife viewing opportunities including elk, bighorn or mountain goats.

For the return, retrace your route back to your S. Brush Creek campsite or continue hiking the central ridge south to De Anza Peak.

From Electric Peak A, just head SE following the central ridge crest and always staying on the ridge. If there are any drop-offs to be concerned about, they will always be on the east side. The terrain is mostly tundra with embedded rock and some minor areas of boulder talus, scree, etc. For the most part it is very easy walking and mostly only Class 1 to low Class 2.

Alternate Route: From the suggested timberline campsite in the last trees, find a route across S. Brush Creek, then ascend the north flank of De Anza on mostly grassy slopes that will give way to more rock higher up. Once you gain the NE Ridge, walk SW to the summit on an easy tundra and rock mix.

For a return, go back as you came or continue on south along the central ridge to Gibbs Peak.

We climbed Gibbs as part of a day that included De Anza and Marcy, so we hiked to Gibbs from De Anza. The distance was about 1.5 miles on a typical Sangre de Cristo ridge connect - that is mostly easy tundra with embedded rock and a little rock rubble thrown in along the way. The summit block of Gibbs has some "blocky" rocks to hike/scramble over for the finish. The drop off on the east side of the ridge into Horseshoe Bend is rocky and fairly spectacular, but as long as you stay on the west side of the ridge crest, there's no danger or difficulty. You will lose over 600 feet in elevation and then have to regain about 800 to summit Gibbs. Once you enjoy the view from Gibbs, especially of the Wet Valley to the east, continue your march toward Mount Marcy.

If this is you last peak of the day, it is possible to exit out through Texas Creek. The San Isabel NF map does show a trail in that drainage that ends at some very small lakes/ponds/tarns in the upper north fork. Sketchy information about this trail and the brown shading used for it on the Trails Illustrated map would indicate this trail does not receive much use however. Attempt at your own risk and perhaps report what you find.

If you backpacked up S. Brush Creek as we did, then you can return to that timberline camp by walking WSW back along the summit ridge, heading NW back to the Gibbs-De Anza saddle and descending into the Horseshoe Bend drainage. From a little east of the Gibbs-De Anza saddle, head down an intermittent ramp of tundra and rock, cutting across three gullies before taking a more direct descent down into the drainage. To get back to our campsite, we contoured on the west side of the creek and headed for trees near Pt. 11,575. From there, game trails led us back to S. Brush Creek and the trail.