South Boulder Peak via Shadow Canyon

Trail Length: 6.7 miles RT
Elevation: 5,645- 8,549 ft
Elevation Gain: 3,039 ft
Critters: Mountain Blue Birds


Climbing South Boulder Peak is a great way to get in shape for summer hiking. The elevation gain is as substantial as many 14ers’ without the altitude. On this particular trip, the trail up Shadow Canyon was still covered with intermittent snow and ice, which made the journey slower than normal. The saddle and peak itself were completely covered in snow and a storm was raging in the mountains that sent periodic blasts down the canyon. One minute it was relatively warm and sunny and the next it was spitting snow. The schizophrenic weather was a good reminder as to why we carry so many layers even on the most benignly appearing days.

The ascent of South Boulder begins at the Eldorado Canyon/Mesa Trail trailhead. The hiker can ascend the Homestead, Towee, or Mesa Trails. This trip we chose the Homestead trail because it was a bit steeper and dogs are allowed on it off leash. This time of year, the terrain is subdued and drab but the sound of birds hinted at the coming Spring.

The Homestead Trail briefly intersects the Towee trail before it runs into the fire road, near the ruins of the Debacker cabin that leads Shadow Canyon. The road switch backs upwards and in its final curve to the north, dead-ends at the base of the canyon itself near the ruins of the Stockton Cabin with its large section of water pipe. This is where the trail gets interesting.
From this point on, it ascends upwards 1,620ft in one roughly one mile. The trail is dark with pine, encrusted with boulders and scree, and poorly defined. As I mentioned earlier, this time of year the trail can be covered in a mix of snow and black ice. We had taken off our yak tracks at the base of the canyon and should have put them back on again once we started to encounter more ice. With so much rock, however, we were hesitant to have them ripped apart on the ascent. Had we put them on, it would have saved a lot of slipping and sliding. I am not a trail runner comfortable with bolting down the trail in one long controlled fall, so at times I was practically clawing my way upward. There are no views per say in the canyon itself except for glimpse of the Devil’s thumb along the right wall about a third of the way up, and of valley below from the switch backs that start about two thirds of the way up. The saddle itself is flat and covered in more Ponderosa and Lodgepole pine. There was at least a foot of snow on the ground when we reached the saddle.

From the saddle, you can go to the east and ascend and additional 281 ft in 0.3 miles to Bear Peak or head to the west and ascend an additional 369 ft in 0.2 miles to South Boulder Peak. On this day, the trail to South Boulder Peak was covered in one foot of snow. It had been tracked before but the steepness of trail and the slushiness of the snow created an added challenge. When we had arrived at the saddle, the storm in the mountains was blasting us, but by the time we finished lunch and headed up to the peak, the skies were blue again. The summit is a small scree field with lots of nooks and crannies. The views from the peak are expansive and we could tell by the dark storm clouds to the north that our time on the top was going to be short. I stopped counting the number of times I have reached the top of a peak only to be chased off by weather. Metaphorically, I try to remind myself that life is a journey and not a destination but that his hard to do when, as in life, the journey is hard and the destination is sweet.