On Walkabout On: The Traverse to Punta Serpiente

Basic Information

• Name: Punta Serpiente
• Range: Sangre de Cristo Mountains
• Where: San Luis, Colorado
• Max Elevation: 13,436 feet
• Distance:  2 miles one-way
• Elevation Gain: -611 feet from Culebra Peak
• Time: 1 hour one-way
• Difficulty: Easy – Moderate – Hard – Difficult
• More Information: 13ers.com

Route Down to Punta Serpiente

Narrative

After finishing the traverse from the 13,908 foot Red Mountain back over to the 14,047 foot Culebra Peak I decided to go ahead and hike up to another peak since the weather was so good.  The peak I decided to check out is the point at the end of the long serpent like tail of a ridgeline that leads to Culebra Peak that is called Punta Serpiente.  In the picture below Punta Serpiente can be seen below the false summit of Culebra Peak on the bottom right:

The descent down from Culebra Peak was an easy hike where I enjoyed the views looking down into the beautiful Coneros Basin:

Here is the view looking back at the summit of Culebra Peak from the saddle between it and the false summit:

Here is the view looking up at the false summit that I had to hike up:

From the false summit here is the view looking down the rocky ridgeline that was actually fun to traverse:

Here is a wide angle view of Punta Serpiente on the far left and the false summit on the right:

Here is a panorama providing a closer look at the Coneros Basin:

Here is a panorama image showing the rest of the rocky snake like ridgeline leading to Punta Serpiente:

As I descended this section of the traverse I enjoyed taking in views of the southern section of the Culebra Range that included the 13,723 foot Vermejo Peak and the 13,676 foot Purgatoire Peak:

To the West I could see the foothills that lead to the vast San Luis Valley:

Once I reached the saddle between the false summit and the ridge leading to Punta Serpiente, I then had to ascend up through these rocks towards the giant cairn visible in the center of the below picture:

Here is a wide angle view from the saddle with Punta Serpiente visible in the distance on the left and Culebra Peak on the right:

As I worked my way through the rocks I could see the cairn ahead of me:

Here is a view from the cairn looking back at the false summit of Culebra Peak:

At the cairn I found myself on the main ridgeline leading to Punta Serpiente:

From this ridgeline I had fantastic views looking back towards the false summit of Culebra Peak:

From the ridge it was a short walk up to Punta Serpiente where the summit of it was composed of rocks and green grass:

From the summit I had a nice view of the basin down below:

I climbed down a little from the summit to get a closer look at Corneros Lake.  It felt like I could dive 2,000 feet down into the lake which is right below Punta Serpiente:

Seeing the lake it made me wonder if this is one of the prized fishing spots that the Cieolo Vista Ranch offers fishing tours for?  Besides the views of the beautiful basin down below I also had views of both the true and false summits of Culebra Peak:

Here is the view looking towards the northern section of the Culebra Range:

Also to the North I could see the 14,345 foot Blanca Peak:

I spent about 15 minutes on the summit before deciding to hike back down the mountain’s western slope back to the trailhead.  In the below picture the upper trailhead is where the treeline begins and the Four Way trailhead is one mile down the dirt road that is visible within the trees:

It was a pretty easy hike down the hillside since it was mostly alpine grass with scattered wildflowers that I was walking on:

Here is a panorama picture I took of the grassy slopes below Punta Serpiente:

I eventually came to the source of Culebra Creek near treeline:

From there I followed the creek back to the upper trailhead where I saw two vehicles still parked there:

Here is the view looking back up the grassy slopes below Culebra Peak from the upper trailhead:

Here is a panorama picture of this view:

From the upper trailhead I then jogged the mile down the dirt road back to Four Way:

When I got back to Four Way there were still a few vehicles parked there as well:

Here is the view from Four Way looking back towards Culebra Peak:

Here is the view looking towards the Southern section of the Culebra Range:

From Four Way I began the drive back down the dirt road to the ranch’s headquarters:

The road is very steep and I kept my Ford Escape in low gear the entire way down.  This section through the aspen trees was about as rough as the road got:

As this meadow I pulled over to take a picture of the northern section of the Culebra Range and Punta Serpiente was visible just above the dirt road on the right:

I could also see Blanca Peak out in the distance as well:

It ended up taking me about 20 minutes to descend the dirt road with no issues.  I parked at the ranch headquarters and signed out with the ranch personnel to verify that I had left the mountain:

Across from the ranch headquarters is this home that I believe is used to house people that pay to stay at the ranch which I am sure is not cheap:

After saying my goodbyes to the ranch personnel and receiving the code for the gate, I drove down the dirt road and opened the gate:

Here is the view from the gate looking back at Culebra Peak looming over head with Punta Serpiente on the left:

From the gate I proceeded to drive back towards San Luis where I would occasionally stop to take in the views of the Culebra Range:

Here is a view of the Culebra Range from just outside of San Luis:

Conclusion

Overall my hike up Culebra Peak, Red Mountain, and Punta Serpiente was one of my favorite 14er hikes.  It was not a grueling all day outing like some 14er hikes can be, but the hike was still challenging and the rock scrambling was actually fun.  Plus the views were quite scenic and the experience on Culebra Peak is very different from any other 14er I have been on due to its private ownership.  Overall during the day I hiked 9.6 miles and ascended 4,236 feet in elevation in 6 hours and 49 minutes.  For those that do not want to spend much time on the summits talking to other people like I did, this hike to all three summits can be done in less than 6 hours.  For those only hiking Culebra Peak and are starting from the upper trailhead, this hike can be done 4-5 hours for people in reasonable shape.  However, people decide to experience Culebra Peak I am confident they will have a great time hiking up this jewel of the southern Colorado Rockies.