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I decided to start from square one on the access issue. I just called theUte Mountain Tribal Park and spoke to a very nice woman. She did not really have any idea whether it would be OK to hike Ute Peak(also called Sleeping Ute Mountain?) with or without a guide, but asked me to call back tomorrow and talk to Veronica. If nothing else, at least she didn't know that it is forbidden, and she did sound like she wished me luck.

The website does state that people cannot enter tribal lands without a Ute guide, and there is mention of a special day tour on Ute trails for $60/person, minimum 4 people. (A real bargain compared to Culebra!)

So, while I doubt they'll let a group hike unguided for free, perhaps they will allow a guided fee hike. Yes, I'm ignoring the fact that if it was that simple Bob Martin would have already done this!

I plan to call again tomorrow and will post updates as I get them. To get ahead of myself, how would a Saturday in May work for people?

Spoke with Veronica this morning. She stated that the mountain is on tribal lands but is not part of the tribal park, and that generally only members of Ute tribe would be allowed there. She suggested I speak with George Wells.

I called Mr. Wells and asked whether I could arrange a guided hike of the mountain. He said that I would need to petition the tribal council for permission. He said he could not remember a case where permission for such a thing was granted. I asked how one would do the petition. He said I would need to talk to Dave Roberts, who could put in the petition with the council.

Dave Roberts' phone number is 970-564-5609. At this point I'm running out of energy on the project, partly because I'm not sure I'm the best one to plead the case, partly because this isn't as critical to me as Culebra was.

If someone does want to pick up the torch on this and call Dave, go ahead. Just keep the group informed to avoid multiple petitions.

Thanks for the effort, Layne. The Top 100 is a list I'm definitely planning on completing, so we'll see what we can do. I think if Bob Martin hasn't arrived this far before, we should get him involved.

John, let me know if you need any help with the petition. More than happy to help draft something or give Dave Roberts a call.