Oct 03, 2019 — This little loop traverses two Colorado 12ers, Vasquez Peak and Stanley Mountain, as well as a couple of unranked bumps. A sign at the Henderson Mine keeps National Forest traffic to the right and parallels the entrance of the mine private property until reaching the Jones Pass Trailhead. Any car can make it to the trailhead.
I started up the Continental Divide Trail and followed it to a junction. I decided to head to Vaquez Peak first, so I took the left fork. I'd be returning from the right later to complete the loop. A really pretty trail wraps around South Vasquez Peak and wanders north for a while. I left the trail to ascend Vasquez Peak's west slope, which was mostly just a grassy incline with some light Class 2 terrain and got to its rocky summit. From here, the traverse followed a grassy ridgeline over South Vasquez and up to an unnamed point before dropping down to a Vasquez Pass, the saddle just west of Stanley Mountain. I continued up Stanley Mountain's steep grassy west slope and got to the summit (light Class 2). Just below the summit I picked up the Continental Divide Trail again and followed it to complete the loop.
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