back to day 7
June 19, 2026
Our plan for today was to ditch everything we didn't need at our camp at cache 2, load up the lightest daypacks we could pack, and bum rush it to the end (18 miles and 8 peaks) to finish the traverse. We would return the following day from an easier access point to pick up the climbing and camping gear we had left behind.
A 3:30am alarm had us up and cooking breakfast. At this point our only remaining food was some bland oatmeal and a handful of candy which I was pretty reluctant to eat. After breakfast, we grabbed our pre-packed daypacks from the day before and headed out by 4:30am, trudging up towards the junky notch just south of Cancer Spire.
Although the terrain on this initial ascent back to the notch was crappy, it only lasted 30 minutes and soon we were back on the Gore Crest hopping on more solid rock towards Red Peak. A bunch of straightforward talus hopping got us to Red Peak just after sunrise. A goat was present for the last 20 minutes, following closely behind.
The next 1.5 hours found us trudging along the ridge between Red and Deming, taking in views of beautiful green meadows on either sides of the ridge. The terrain was generally easy here, consisting mostly of rolling alpine tundra.
From Deming Mountain, the crest abruptly jogged west for the Deming Traverse, a section of class 3 ridge connecting Deming Mountain to West Deming, with a smaller peak (Deming Prime) in the middle. This traverse was decently enjoyable with good rock. There were a few towers to contend with but they were no more than class 3.
The remainder of the crest after West Deming was all easy grassy hills. For the next few hours we coasted along them, listening to the rustle of wind on grass and the squeaks of marmots which darted around.
We congratulated eachother upon reaching Sneva Peak, the southernmost peak on the Gore Crest. It was a slightly anticlimactic end to such a great rugged traverse on this easy rolling hill, but I was happy to be there nonetheless.
From there we had 6 miles of trails to get to civilization. This trail, simply called the Gore Range Trail, was easy and well maintained, descending just under 3,000 ft of elevation in its 6 mile distance. Along the way we passed by Lost Lake, and stopped briefly to jump into it to wash off.
It was strange hearing the sounds of vehicles on I-70 as we descended into the town of Copper Mountain. The trail unceremoniously spit us out at the top of a freeway off-ramp. We walked across a bridge and then up Frontage Rd to Ten Mile Creek Trailhead, where Mike would meet us a short moment later to shuttle us back to our car at the northern end.
back to Gore Crest Traverse
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