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A shorter drive seemed like a good plan after all of the craziness finishing Colorado's county highpoints the previous weekend. I didn't have the easiest time getting to the TH on Peru Creek Rd, nevertheless. I parked at 11,000' due to a mining cable suspended across the road a little further up the 4x4 road that heads south, where I had to reverse back down. I hit the trail at 6:10, a little later than I hoped. The road is very easy to follow all the way to 12,000' where it ends and steep hiking to the west ridge of Revenue Mountain begins. I arrived at the Continental Divide at 12,600' in 55 minutes. There was a brisk wind that would later become fierce and would not let up for the rest of the day. I followed a faint trail to 12,800 on the south side of unranked Silver Mountain (photo on right), and began the descent to the 12,440' saddle below Santa Fe Peak.
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Revenue Mountain was very close from here, but my plan was to loop it and Decatur on the return and take Decatur's gentle west gully down. The sun first started showing signs of breaking through the clouds, lighting up Geneva Peak, Sullivan Mountain, and Santa Fe Peak. Santa Fe Peak's Northeast Ridge is featured in the photo on the left from the saddle. The wind wasn't very powerful as I ascended sheltered to some extent on the ridge, but a jacket and gloves were still necessary. The moderately steep slope soon gave way to the gentle ridge which now provided no reprieve from steady wind. I was surprised too see a very good road following the ridge, which I used to reach the summit ridge. It appeared that it might be easier to bag Santa Fe sans the 12ers I wanted from the west on Webster Pass road reached from Montezuma.
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Arriving on the summit at 8:00, I reversed the ridge quickly to get out of the cold and head for Silver, then Revenue Mountain. An interesting comment page was found in Silver Mountain's (and personally removed from) register - "This is an Ego Jar - you are littering!". Well, at least now there was less litter. The trip to Revenue Mountain went quickly; down to the saddle at 12,640' (photo below shows Revenue from the saddle). There was a short spot that I chose to traverse below on the ridge to Revenue's summit, but other than that, the ascent was swift and easy. The rest of the morning's route was in plain view with Decatur beckoning from Revenue's summit. At 9:10 I headed off to the gentle slope which deceivingly gains nearly 500' again. The surrounding peaks were pleasant to take in, and I headed down at 9:40 with the wind no longer at my back. The descent down the gully was fast, and I was back in the vehicle at 10:30.
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A look back at Revenue and Santa Fe Peak:
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