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The
11,682-foot peak that doesn't have a name but should
By Ed
Quillen
Special to the Denver Post
Nov. 21 - SALIDA - We have
plenty of mountains around here, many of them famous because
they exceed 14,000 feet. But there's one in the multitude
that holds a rare distinction, even though it's only 11,682
feet high.
It sits in the Cochetopa Hills southwest of Salida, about
4 miles south of the crest of Marshall Pass in Saguache
County. It's visible from the pass, but barely noticeable
amid higher peaks like Antora (13,269) and Windy (11,885).
It's not in pristine wilderness - there are logging roads
all around it, and for that matter, it's just off the
Colorado Trail.
And it's so obscure that it doesn't have a name. So why
pay attention to it? Its drainages make it distinctive. It's
on a triple divide, and that's rare.
Any mountain on the Continental Divide is on a "double
divide," with its runoff flowing into two river systems.
For instance, 14,270-foot Grays Peak near Georgetown is
the highest point on the Continental Divide in the United
States. A raindrop hitting the peak might roll eastward down
Stephens Gulch to Clear Creek, the South Platte River, the
Platte River, the Missouri River, the Mississippi River, and
the Atlantic Ocean. Or it could roll west down Ruby Gulch to
Peru Creek, the Snake River (and then assuming it avoids
getting diverted to the South Platte with Dillon Reservoir
and the Roberts Tunnel), the Blue River, the Colorado River
and the Pacific Ocean.
But peaks which split water three ways are rare. One in
Colorado is 13,852-foot McNamee Peak near Leadville, which
divides its runoff among the South Platte, Arkansas and
Colorado drainages.
However, the South Platte and Arkansas meet in the
Mississippi before reaching the ocean. There are a few
triple di vides where the waters don't meet again before
they reach the sea.
Dale Sanderson of Denver, a cartographer for US West,
ponders these matters in his spare time. He's found only
five triple divides in the U.S.
One's near Hibbing, Minn., and another near Gold, Pa. The
other three are in the Rockies: Triple Divide Peak in
Montana, Three Waters Mountain in Wyoming, and in Colorado,
the 11,682-foot peak without a name.
Like many of us, Sanderson figured there had to be such a
place, given that the Arkansas, Gunnison and Rio Grande all
seem to emerge from the same area. Unlike many of us, he
pursued the matter. He studied his maps, found the spot, and
hiked to it a couple of years ago.
George Sibley of Gunnison (an occasional contributor to
these pages) happened upon the spot earlier - in 1995, by
the same process as Sanderson.
Now, every fall he leads a hike from Marshall Pass to the
summit. Sanderson was there this year, and on Oct. 2, I
wheezed and staggered along on this year's "naming quest."
The summit of this triple divide is down in the timber, and
there's no distinct apex. The top is merely a rolling couple
of acres of grass, rocks and trees. The views of the
drainages from the top are quite distinct, though. To the
northeast, Silver Creek to Poncha Creek to the South
Arkansas River to the Arkansas River to the Mississippi
River and the Atlantic Ocean. To the west, Millswitch Creek
to Marshall Creek to Tomichi Creek to the Gunnison River to
the Colorado River and the Pacific Ocean.
To the southeast, Middle Creek to Saguache Creek to San
Luis Creek to - well, there's a problem. That's the Closed
Basin, and the natural flow ends at San Luis Lake near the
Great Sand Dunes.
For a real big-time triple divide, it should go into the
Rio Grande. Thanks to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, it now
does. As Sibley points out, the Bureau has often attempted
to rectify what God didn't do properly in plumbing the
West.
At any rate, this little mountain with the triple divide
certainly deserves a name. Sibley and Sanderson and I have
batted this around. We considered Spanish names like Cerro
del Tres Rios. I consulted a Ute acquaintance, who was
astonished that we White Eyes hadn't named every prominence
in the Rockies. He also said the authorities wouldn't like
the Ute term for "Place where a man can urinate into three
basins."
We've reached a consensus on a name: "Headwaters Hill."
Much politicking, from Saguache County to Washington, D.C.,
remains to get that on maps, but we may get some help from
volunteers among Sibley's students. Sanderson's got a web
site (http://www.geocities.
comapitolHillobby/3162) packed with information about
Headwaters Hill.
And I, for one, will be glad when it's official, because
I'm getting tired of writing "11,682-peak near Marshall Pass
that doesn't have a name but should."
Ed Quillen of
Salida (cozine@chaffee.net)
is a former newspaper editor whose column appears Tuesdays
and Sundays.
Copyright 1999 The Denver Post. All
rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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