Patrick Lilly completes Pueblo county

[Kevin Baker]

Congrats to Patrick Lilly who becomes the 3rd known person to complete the 9 ranked summits of Pueblo county on Greenhorn Mtn 6/23. So give us some stories on your journey, Patrick! It is quite the scrub bash!

[susanjoypaul]

Well it's about freaking time! I was beginning to think he was waiting for someone to build a road to the top of Greenhorn.

Way to go Patrick. You're number 3! You're number 3!

-Susan

[cftbq]

I would like to thank the Academy for the Continuing Bridesmaid Award.
Susan--I am not a number; I am a free man... I certainly was NOT waiting for a road to be built. As a matter of fact, there IS a road to within about a half mile of the summit of Greenhorn, but I deliberately chose the longer route up from the east.
Kevin--Stories...hmm...well...
Turtle Buttes was, in retrospect, the easiest of the bunch. It's a total poach, and I notice that some (no names...) did not duplicate my caution by staying away from the Hwy. 78 approach. Early morning seems to work well for most of these.
Weirdest: UN 6947. My TR kind of says it all. The shortest route that is entirely within San Isabel NF is many times longer than the quick poach route. As I was getting ready to leave my car along Siloam Road (not long before sunrise), a school bus pulled up and the driver asked me if I was all right! The summit is utterly unremarkable, and I might never have even found it without GPS.
Worst bushwhacking (and almost all of the low eight require some serious bushwhacking): UN 7635. I actually tried this once unsuccessfully and, due to the lack of trails and the total lack of visibility, ended up running out of time on a nameless ridge point somewhere to the south. I eventually hit it by going through the deserted grounds of the Red Mtn. Youth Camp. That was a shorter route, but still a god-awful bushwhack. My return route differed significantly from my ascent route.
Greatest exercise in self-abuse: Oak Ridge. Since few are as bold as me in posting TRs (hint, hint), I played it safe and put together a long route through the NF instead of doing the quick poach from the east. There's actually a trail most of the way, which was nice for a change, but it's a loooooooong route.
Most satisfying: UN 8176. I think I actually got it right on this one, and found the most efficient way to bag it, almost completely legally! A snow hike in warm spring weather found me wearing gaiters and nothing but a t-shirt above the waist. Unusually good views from the summit.
It's almost a cosmic accident that Pueblo County, which consists mostly of prairie and plains, has any ranked peaks, with the possible exception of Greenhorn--and even that has to be shared with Huerfano County! This has to be one of the weirdest things I've ever tried to do... Thanks for all the good wishes.

[lukePlumley]

Well done, Patrick! Sounds like a fine scrubby adventure.

A snow hike in warm spring weather found me wearing gaiters and nothing but a t-shirt above the waist.

Here is a tip though. When bushwhacking, always wear pants!

lp

[MikeRodenak]

Way to go Patrick! Sounds like this one is much tougher than the number of peaks would suggest, lots of bushwhacking and poaching adventures, thanks for sharing your stories!

So does that mean Elmo is the 4th known Pueblo County finisher?

[cftbq]

Way to go Patrick! Sounds like this one is much tougher than the number of peaks would suggest, lots of bushwhacking and poaching adventures, thanks for sharing your stories!

Yes; the numbers are misleading! What's really so weird is that only two of these peaks are actually outside the NF, yet many others have no reasonable access except across private land (emphasize reasonable...).

So does that mean Elmo is the 4th known Pueblo County finisher?

Depends on how one looks at it... Elmo is me, and I am Elmo, so each observer must decide for him/herself...
(Elmo loves you!)