Cottonwood Pass Peak, Emma Burr Mountain

Cottonwood Pass Peak (Peak 12,598) - 3840M

104M Prominence

38.82432, -106.41588

July 24, 2024

On the Colorado Trail

Emma Burr Mountain - 4128M

378M Prominence

38.733563 -106.416706

July 24, 2024

Colorado Trail detour

Cottonwood pass peak was the first peak that was directly on the Colorado Trail. I got here early in the morning, and it was a bit of an unintentional peak bag but it is still a P100. The views around Cottonwood Pass are actually quite remarkable and there is a reason so many people stop at the pass and get out of their car to take a quick hike and stretch their legs. The summit was only a few switchbacks after crossing the highway, and was marked by some rock cairns. Later in the day I would take my second detour along the Colorado Trail to summit Emma Burr Mountain. I arrived a hundred meters or so below the pass in the early afternoon and some fairly grim looking clouds were already covering the area. I decided to camp out and wait out the thunder storm with another through hiker, after a few hours and my tent almost blowing away, I spotted a window in the cloud cover and went for it. The route was simple, I ditched my pack at the pass and quickly went up and down the East ridge. One short section of loose rock close to the summit provided a little bit of scrambling action, which I probably could have avoided if I wanted to. The summit provided good views of the Continental divide, and the trail below. This little side quest kept my trail motivation up, and was a fun little hour / hour and a half detour that was well worth it. 

Views nearing Cottonwood Pass

Views from Cottonwood Pass Peak summit

More sweet views of terrain ahead

Looking at Emma Burr's North face

The point at which I turned off the trail

Slight scree scramble to the summit

Emma Burr summit views, with a big crack in the mountain

Cottonwood Pass Peak route

Emma Burr Mountain route