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Jul 31, 2023 — Mount Guyot is easily accessed along the graded dirt French Gulch Road just outside of Breckenridge CO by starting at the Sallie Barber Mine Trailhead. A shorter route exists from the east by parking at Georgia Pass, but that requires a lot more driving for a short hike. I parked at a the trailhead pullout and started along the road, passing a gate marked closed to motorized traffic. Unfortunately, the first mile or so of the hike is along this road, but at least Mout Guyot poked out in the distance to add a little view. I located the Little French Gulch Trail on the left, which is really just an old mining road converted into a trail, but it does lead through some pretty forest scenery complete with the sounds of the flowing Little French Gulch.
A short hike up Little French Gulch led to an easy-to-miss junction with a grassier side-road/trail on the right. Continuing straight doesn't lead anywhere, so keep your eyes peeled. This old road switchbacks once and then ascends gradually through the forest and out above tree line to the base of Mount Guyot, where its mass stood just ahead of me. Once I emerged into the sunlight, I left this mining road and ascended a steep, grassy slope to the right, making my way up to the ridgeline above. Following this ridgeline would serve as the route for the rest of the hike, and sure enough, when I got there I located a well-defined social trail. Curious as to where this trail manifested from, on my descent later I decided to follow it back. On my attached map you'll notice a purple line that follows the ridge crest farther north. That was my descent, but I don't really recommend it. While the ridgeline is nicer than the steep slope, the forest bushwhacking over deadfall to return to the Little French Gulch Trail was more tedious. I left this line on my map because I'm sure I'm not the only one who reached the ridgeline and was curious like I was about its origin.
I continued ascending south along the ridge crest, enjoying the social trail that wiggled up the pleasant slope. Soon I reached the first of two major steep talus slopes along the ridge. The first was a short spurt of talus, but the social trail continued through it and I didn't need to scramble at all. Past the first slope is an extended relatively flatter section of hiking leading to the base of the longer talus ascent above. There were numerous social trails carved into the talus, though none were easy to follow. Keeping at Class 2, the talus slope led me up to the west side of Mount Guyot, where I got incredible panoramic views of the surrounding mountains, Bald Mountain and Boreas Mountain the closest 13ers of note. A quick jaunt led me along the summit ridge to the high point. From here I could make out the route that comes up from Georgia Pass.
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