Hike London Mountain, Mosquito Peak, Mount Tweto, Mount Buckskin Loop Pike National Forest, CO

Aug 11, 2023 — This part of the Mosquito Range has lots of ATV roads and mining operations, but the sweeping tundra and easy access to the base of the peaks is nice, plus despite not being the most exciting area I'll never say "no" to a nearly-circular loop around a basin that snags multiple 13ers. This loop includes London Mountain, Mosquito Peak, Mount Tweto, and Mount Buckskin. I decided to hike it clockwise so I could possibly tack on Mount Arkansas if the weather looked good, and to descend via the super-steep slope from Mount Buckskin rather than ascend. Any car can make it to within a quarter mile of where I parked, but a large puddle stopped me from going the additional few hundred feet to the standard road junction. If you were planning to just hike London Mountain and not theis loop, a 4WD vehicle could likely make it another mile or so to the peak's western saddle. For me it would be a morning road walk. I passed the North London Mine, an old gold mine from the 1800s. A few trucks and ATVs passed me on their way to Mosquito Pass farther west.

I reached the saddle separating London Mountain from Kuss Peak, taking a well-defined social trail heading east toward London Mountain. Despite the rockiness along the crest of the peak, there was a pretty significant trail nearly to the summit. There were a couple of light Class 2 sections, but the trail managed to stick to the crest when possible and drop just below it when it became rockier. The peak protrudes away from the main ridge crest, so it's a fun 360 degree perspective toward the basins below and peaks to come along my traverse. I backtracked to the saddle and started up on a faint social trail toward Kuss Peak (aka Repeater Peak). The trail was short-lived, so I soon found myself mostly talus-hopping to this unranked 13er's summit, where the views were mostly obscured by its wide tundra-top.

Continuing north, I used a social trail down to an ATV road at the base of Mosquito Peak. Leaving the road almost immediately, I continued to Mosquito Peak's summit on mostly a steep tundra hike since there was no defined trail. It was more of the same pleasant ridge hiking to Treasurevault Mountain, with one steeper section of scree/talus coming down from Mosquito Peak.

I really enjoyed the sweeping views and pleasant terrain along the wide ridge from Treasurevault Mountain to Mount Tweto. More talus-hopping led me up to Mount Tweto's summit, where I noted some clouds accumulating around Mount Arkansas and since it required significant effort to drop from Tweto, head to Arkansas, and return to Tweto I decided not to risk the storms and instead head toward Mount Buckskin. At least I had a bail point if the weather turned on my way there, whereas I'd be in trouble on Arkansas.

I started down from Mount Tweto on immediately worse terrain, the talus becoming more rugged and loose. The ridge crest has a bunch of little rock outcroppings that I could avoid on the right, and the descent didn't exceed Class 2. Nearing the saddle the ridge became more jagged. I pulled a Class 3 move here and there, though these could be avoided by keeping to looser terrain on the right. I passed a bail point along the way, noting that it seemed to be Class 2/3 in case storms chased me off Mount Buckskin. My friend Yossi descended this way and said it worked, so I included his bail track on my attached map (purple). This could also serve as a decent bail point to return to after reaching Mount Buckskin if you prefer.

As I started up to Mount Buckskin, rather than stick to the scary-looking main crest, which included a significant cliff band, I stayed lower. Doing so meant I had to reascend on loose, steep Class 2 talus to regain the ridge crest. You might want to try to stick to the crest, though it might venture into Class 4 territory. Ahead I could see the summit block of Mount Buckskin. The crest was steep and exposed, so I trended to the right, traversing toward lighter-colored rock. I located a steep Class 2+ gully that led to some fun Class 2/3 scrambling on solid rock to the summit. I could make out the famous DeCaLiBron loop clearly from here, as well as down toward the standard route for reaching Mount Buckskin. The ridge was fun enough to recommend doing it opposed to the standard steep slope walk.

Rather than backtrack to the previously mentioned bail point, I continued along the ridge to Loveland Mountain with the hope I could find a way down later. Fortunately, I earlier had the foresight to look at the slopes and knew I could not safely descend at any point between Mount Buckskin and Loveland Mountain since the slope was riddled with cliffs. I hiked over a false summit of Mount Buckskin, its southeast peak, and then followed a social trail along the lovely ridgeline all the way to Loveland Mountain, an unranked 13er. Some Class 2 off the trail led to its high point.

Now was the time to consider ym descent options. Although steep, I knew I could get down directly from the summit. Rather than continue south along the crest in search of a tamer option, I stupidly decided to just descend directly using a steep, loose mess of Class 2/2+ scree/talus. 1500' of descent on this horrible terrain had me laughing at myself and shaking my head. The last few hundred feet introduced little cliffs that offered some solid rock to assist in scrambling rather than sliding, but it ventured into Class 3 terrain and due to the steepness, felt a little exposed. I do not recommend going this way. It was a good way to really make the hike a lot less fun. I recommend continuing south along the crest from Loveland Mountain and descending via a much more tame-looking grassy slope. I drew in a pink line on my attached map, though realize this is just an estimate since I didn't actually go that way. When you park at the trailhead before starting this loop, look up and note the best-looking one to you.

After my dumb descent from Loveland Mountain, I continued through pretty tundra, passed an old hidden mine, and met up with an old mining road, taking it back to my car.