On Walkabout From: Tabeguache Peak to Mt. Shavano

Narrative

After reaching the summit of the 14,155 foot Tabeguache Peak in Colorado’s Sawatch Range; I was able to complete the traverse back to the 14,229 foot Mt. Shavano in about an hour.   This put me at the summit of the mountain at 12:00.  Along the way to Mt. Shavano the brutal wind had decreased a bit which meant that many more people were now attempting the traverse which was good to see. Here is a picture looking back across the start of the traverse towards the 14,269 foot Mt. Antero:

I was happy that since the wind had decreased I could actually spend some time on the summit of Shavano to take pictures unlike earlier in the day. To the North past Mt Antero I could see the high peaks of the Mosquito Range:

The Mosquito Range has a collection of five 14ers which I have all hiked.  You can read about all of my prior hikes up these mountains at the below link:

• On Walkabout On: Mt. Sherman
• On Walkabout On. Mt. Democrat
• On Walkabout On: Mt. Cameron
• On Walkabout On: Mt. Lincoln
• On Walkabout On: Mt. Bross

Even further out in the distance past the Mosquito Range I was surprised that I could see the twin 14-thousand foot summits of Grays and Torreys Peaks as well:

You can read more about my prior hike up these two beautiful peaks at the below links:

• On Walkabout On: Grays Peak, Colorado
• On Walkabout On: Torreys Peak, Colorado

Here is the view looking to the Northeast where the Arkansas River Valley could be seen:

Here is the view looking to the East with the Arkansas River Valley right below Mt. Shavano with small town of Salida visible in the distance:

Here is a closer look at Salida which is Spanish for exit because this is where the Arkansas River exits from the high mountains towards the Great Plains:

To the Southeast I could see the high peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Range:

Even further out in the distance to the Southeast I could see the Blanca Peak cluster despite all the dust in the air blowing through the San Luis Valley:

Here is the view looking South towards the Southern most peaks of the Sawatch Range:

Here is a panorama I took centered towards the East of the view from Mt. Shavano:

Off in the distance to the Southwest I could make out the stunning 14,309 foot Uncompahgre Peak rising up above the rest of the San Juan Range:

I climbed Uncompahgre Peak last year and no matter how far away I see this mountain I am always impressed by it.  You can read more about my hike up Uncompahgre Peak at the below link:

• On Walkabout On: Uncompahgre Peak via the Nelly Creek Trailhead

Here is the view looking West back at Tabeguache Peak:

Finally here is a panorama from the summit of Mt. Shavano looking West with Tabeguache Peak visible on the right:

After spending about 20 minutes on the summit of Mt. Shavano I began my descent back down towards the saddle below:

Here is a panorama photo I took of the saddle during my descent:

Here is a view looking back up the rocks towards the summit of Mt. Shavano:

Here is a view from the base of the rocky summit approach to Mt. Shavano:

With no more rocks to act as a windbreak, the wind at the saddle was pretty bad, but no where near as bad as it was earlier in the day.  Here is the view from the saddle looking back up towards the summit of Mt. Shavano:

From the saddle I began the descent back down towards the forest below:

Along the way I took time to appreciate the various wildflowers that were beginning to bloom along the trail:

Something else I made sure to appreciate was the Angel of Shavano snow formation below me:

The trail literally bisects the wings of the Angel:

After passing by the Angel of Shavano I then came to treeline:

I was very happy to be entering treeline because it meant no more wind for the day:

However, as I entered treeline it presented a new nuisance, postholing in the snow:

Fortunately most of the snow had a packed down path going through it, but I was still forced to posthole in some areas due to the warmer day time temperatures compared to earlier in the day:

Soon enough I found myself out of the snow and passing through the dense forest below Mt. Shavano:

The creek that flows from the Angel of Shavano is really beautiful:

The water was amazingly clear and I wondered since the water comes from an Angel, does this make this “holy water” flowing down the mountain?:

Something that was bothering me on my hike back to the trailhead was how the trail was mostly composed of rocks:

Walking on rocks all day was causing my right knee to become quite sore.  When I came to the intersection with the Colorado Trail I was quite relieved because it meant I would be walking on a dirt trail for the rest of the way back to the trailhead:

The walk back to the trailhead was absolutely stunning because of all the aspen trees and wildflowers that could be seen:

It was dark out when I began my hike up Mt. Shavano so I did not get a chance to see this stunning scenery:

It was amazing the number of dandelions growing around the trail:

Near the trailhead I came to the cattleguard that in the dark could be a trail hazard for those not watching out for it:

After the cattle guard I came to the final stretch of trail that led to the trailhead:

A short distance later, I then saw a sign directing me off of the Colorado Trail and back to the trailhead:

When I began the hike I counted four vehicles in the parking lot and when I got back the parking lot was completely full with cars parked down the road:

So obviously this is a pretty popular summertime trailhead.  Considering how beautiful the forest is hikers do not even have to climb Mt. Shavano to get in a quality hike from this trailhead.  After packing up my gear, I began the bumpy ride back down the dirt road to the highway.  I was hoping to get a good picture of the Angel of Shavano on the way home, but unfortunately a storm was rolling in.  This was the last picture I took of Mt. Shavano before the clouds rolled in and concealed the mountain:

Conclusion

The angle I was at when I took the above picture does not show the Angel which was a bit disappointing for what was overall a great day.  I was quite satisfied with myself that I had completed two 14ers in one day despite the horrible wind I had to deal with.  I was also feeling pretty good about my fitness level.  Besides my sore knee caused by walking on the rocks I felt overall pretty good after completing the hike.  I was already looking forward to hiking my next 14er; I just hope the next one is not as windy as this day turned out to be.