Backpacking to Boulder lakes and 13ers in Gore Range

Strenuous, includes hiking 1 or 2 13-ers.
Please only register if you enjoy off trail and class 2-3 hiking. Must have backpacking experience.
Meeting place/time for carpooling will be decided when we know where people are coming from. Otherwise, see the meeting place at the bottom of this page. Please check messages when the date approaches as weather may change our plans.

As parking at the Boulder Creek trailhead is not allowed (and it would be hard to get parking at Rock Creek TH on 7/4 without arriving extremely early), we will plan to drop off people and backpacks at the trailhead. Then, 1 or 2 people will drive back to the parking lot on Rd 9 about 2.2 miles away and hike back to meet the group. Will do this in reverse at the end of the trip.

Please see the link below.
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/map-june-15-2025-90e69a6

Day 1, red track: backpack 6-7 miles, starting on Boulder creek trailhead to the Upper Boulder Lake. It’s about 1,500’ gain. Past Lower Boulder Lake, it will be off trail hiking. This trail is snow‑free now with occasional downed trees. We will cross a creek a few times to avoid hiking in large boulder fields.

Day 2, purple track to Peak Z (13,227’) and blue is to Z prime (12,980’)- this one is optional, depends on the snow conditions. 6-6.5 miles and 2,300’ vertical. It is off trail, class 2-3 hiking, with trail finding (especially if there is snow there) and a lot of rock scrambling. Typically, there are no technical stretches but we might find snow there and microspikes might be needed.

Day 3, yellow track, but we would do either Keller Mountain or Z lake, not both. If we do Keller Mountain (13,075’), we would drop our backpacks to hike Keller. That would make about 12 miles and 3,500 vertical. It is off trail, class 2-3 hiking, a lot of rock scrambling.
If it’s too much, we could choose a much easier side trip to Z lake instead of Keller peak.

We will be camping at the Upper Boulder lake at about 11,000 ft elevation on both nights. Second day does not include any backpacking.

Everybody needs to bring their own backpacking and cooking gear, microspikes, wear multiple layers and have rain gear as weather can change a lot. A helmet is advised to protect against occasional rockfall over loose terrain.

By registering for this trip, you take a full responsibility for your safety.