STATS

Date: 10/1/2020
Trailhead: Twin Lakes
Route: Cumberland Basin/Twin Lakes
Difficulty: Easy Class 3
Distance: 10 miles
Elevation: 4,363 feet
Duration: 7h 16m

OVERVIEW

Castleabra had been on my target list for several years, but it always got bumped. It was my last remaining peak above 13,800 feet and it bugged me that I had not hiked it. The south side approach always appealed to me and bringing my old truck out of retirement would finally make it happen in 2020.

I drove from the Texas Creek TH in Taylor Park after climbing Magdalene Mountain and camped at the Twin Lakes TH off Pearl Pass Road. The road to this point was easy 4WD, but definitely not suitable for AWD/Subarus. I only remember a spot or two where I had to be careful about tire placement. There was a couple in their jeep at the trailhead when I arrived, we exchanged pleasantries and after they departed I set up my tent. I did not see another soul until I passed a truck on the drive out down Pearl Pass Road the next day. It's always neat to have the whole place to yourself.

I forget what time I started, but it was not super early, after sunrise for sure. From the trailhead I hiked northeast parallel to Pearl Pass road before joining the road. You avoid two creek crossings this way, the one entering the trailhead and one just before you join the road. That left one creek crossing before leaving Pearl Pass road and hiking up Cumberland Basin. The crossing is shallow and rock-hoppable in the fall. I had no issue following the trail up Cumberland Basin, but I could see it being more difficult in the dark. Nothing too interesting in Cumberland Basin. There are some beaver ponds lower down, but not much else. The final part up to Castleabra is loose and a bit annoying, but it is over pretty fast and you are rewarded with excellent views of Castle Peak and its rugged south ridge that leads to Pearl Pass. The ridge proper from Castleabra to Unnamed 13500 goes at loose class 3 I believe, but in the interest of saving some time and avoiding difficult loose rock, I decided to drop down and do a lower traverse. I rejoined the ridgeline just past the saddle where the rock quality improves considerably. The scrambling up 13500 was enjoyable from here. The plan had been to get Unnamed 13162 as well, but after looking over the ridge and being behind schedule it was not in the cards and I decided to work my way down the south ridge of 13550 towards the saddle above Twin Lakes. I probably should have taken a closer look at the ridge when I was hiking up Cumberland Basin, but I figured worst case I could always re-ascend and descend around the difficulties. It's starts off gentle and then hits a ledgy-cliffy area. I was able to pick my way down through the ledges about halfway before having to traverse to the right back towards the ridge proper. Fortunately, I discovered a narrow loose gully that led directly into the a much larger gully that would deposit me where I needed to be. There was some serious scree surfing to be had if you are into that kind of thing. The difficulties and looseness relented once was I was on top of my crossover point on the ridge. From there down to the lakes it was nonstop picture taking. The lakes were much more stunning than I expected. If you are not into peak bagging, I recommend the hike up the Twin Lakes Trail to see these beauties. After taking a ton of photos, I descended the cruiser Twin Lakes Trail back to Twin Lakes trailhead and drove back to Boulder.

GPX download available below. I hope you enjoy the photos!

PHOTO TOUR