#55 / 13,988' Stewart Peak
Range ›
San Juan Range
Quadrangle ›
Stewart Peak
Summit Location ›
N 38° 01' 28.65", W 106° 50' 28.55"
(Not Field Checked)
N 38° 01' 28.65", W 106° 50' 28.55"
(Not Field Checked)
Neighboring Peaks ›
Baldy Alto
Organ Mountain
San Luis Peak
Baldy Alto
Organ Mountain
San Luis Peak
Peak Summary
Stewart Peak is a Class 1 - 2 hike with a fairly long mileage approach from the Stewart Creek TH. To reach the trailhead, you'll need to do nearly 30 miles of graded, dirt road driving into a remote section of the San Juans. While some passenger vehicles can make this drive in, we recommend a minimum of a cross-over style vehicle with a little better clearance and gravel/dirt road capability. Stewart is located near the 14er, San Luis Peak, and two other high ranked 13ers, Organ and Baldy Alto. To climb all these summits, we recommend a brief backpack trip into the area to clean out all of them.
Stewart Peak SW Ridge Route
Class 2
Backpack + Medium Day
Climbed with
Baldy Alto
RT From
Stewart Creek
:
15.8mi / 4,460'
RT From
South Fork of Stewart Creek
with
Baldy Alto:
5.8 mi / 2,810'
From Baldy Alto:
1.90 mi / 950' (One-Way)
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Stewart Creek TH
The Stewart Creek Trailhead is accessible by driving on many miles of Forest Service maintained gravel roads. As such, any number of basic, passenger type vehicles may be able to access this trailhead, but sometimes road damage from rains, ruts and runoff can create a hazard for lower clearance vehicles, therefore we recommend that this trailhead is best accessed by crossover style vehicles that have a little more clearance.
The most straightforward access to Stewart Creek TH is from State Highway 114, which turns south from US 50, 7.5 miles east of Gunnison. SH114 connects to the town of Saguache in the San Luis Valley by way of what is now called "North Pass." If coming from US 50, drive 20 miles south on SH114 and turn right onto NN14, aka: BLM 3083. If coming from Saguache and North Pass, the intersection is about 7.5 miles down from the pass. Once onto NN14, drive seven more miles on a well-maintained gravel road to the southernmost end of the two Dome Lakes and make a right turn at the end of the lake. Measure mileage from here. This will be CR2166, (aka: BLM 3086 or 15Gg). The gravel road circles the end of the lake, turns back north and goes one mile on the west side of the lake where you'll make a left turn to continue on CR2166. At about 4.2 miles, stay right. The road designation technically becomes 14Dd, but is still CR2166. Between miles 6 & 7, enter Forest Service land. The road designation becomes FS794 and the road condition deteriorates some. Remain on FS794 all the way to the Stewart Creek TH. Total mileage is just under 21.
In some older source books, one access to Stewart Creek took you to the Old Agency station utilizing FS788 & 790. The route described above goes faster with less confusion. If you need more detail for access to this area, consult either of Roach's book on the 14ers or the high 13ers.
Camping
There is limited camping at the trailhead or continue east down the road to the next sharp corner to the right where there is a larger camp area.
Campsite Locations
Eddiesville and CD trailhead › N 38° 01' 33.00", W 106° 50' 08.37"Elevation 10,345 ft.
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From Stewart Creek TH via South Fork of Stewart Creek & Baldy Alto:
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Baldy Alto ESE Ridge Class 2 / 1.1 mi / 1,660’ One-Way
Click thumbnail to view full-size photo + caption
Open This Route in a New WindowFrom our suggested base camp, walk back north to the main creek drainage, get back on the San Luis peak trail and head back down trail (east) a little until past an intermittent stream that comes down to the SE from near the summit of Baldy Alto. Head up Baldy Alto on the east side of this stream and gain the ESE ridge. There will be a few willows to work through initially, but if you stay near the stream course, you'll be out of them soon enough. The angle of ascent is moderate and mostly grassy tundra for much of the way. We hiked in the direction of one of those large rock cairns built we assume by shepherds, that was located near where the ridge took a more westerly turn. From here, as you gain more altitude, the tundra gives way to more smaller rock, but it's never an inconvenience. The ESE ridge will intersect another ridge that runs more east-west. Follow the rockier ridge west to the summit. Baldy Alto is connected to San Luis Peak by an easy 1.7 mile-long ridge. The most difficult aspect of this traverse is the initial, steeper descent SW from Baldy Alto. The hike tends to be laced with sheep trails.
We have sequenced Baldy Alto with Stewart Peak. See the directions for Stewart for more information.
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Route Description
Year Climbed: 1992Stewart Peak is sequenced with Baldy Alto. One-way mileage and elevation gain are measured from the summit of Baldy Alto. Round-trip mileage and elevation gain assume completion of the sequence.
From the summit of Baldy Alto, walk down the easy ridge NW, then north to a saddle at 13,100 ft. Continue NNW along the ridge line, heading up a steeper section to stay on the ridge crest. Though it may be tempting to contour below the ridge crest on the east side, over to the saddle SW of the Stewart summit, it's best to stay on the ridge and avoid an area of extensive boulders below. You can however, contour below the Pt. 13,795 about 250 lower to reach that saddle. From the saddle, walk NE, gaining the final 450 feet in elevation to the summit of Stewart. The final ascent is mostly tundra & embedded rock. From the summit of Stewart Peak, enjoy the sweeping view of the vast, mostly tundra-covered high country. Congratulations, you have now climbed the second highest 13er in Colorado.
To return to the suggested base camp, retrace your route back to the 13,100 foot saddle north of Baldy Alto. From the saddle, contour east to intersect a well-defined ENE ridge coming off the summit of Baldy Alto at a minor saddle at 13,260 ft. From this saddle, head down to the south and intersect the ascent route used on the ESE ridge. Follow it back to Stewart Creek and base camp.
Additional BETA
Links to other information, routes & trip reports for this peak that may be helpful. -
“Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.” ― David McCullough Jr.
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