While the plan to climb Putrid Pete’s Peak started with a desire to finish off Peakery’s I-90 Shuffle Challenge, it quickly turned into a push to climb a circuit of three peaks: Putrid Pete’s Peak, Web Mountain, and Mount Defiance. The climber’s trail from the Ira Spring trailhead makes for a perfect linkup involving a bit of off-trail travel, minor scrambling, and a quick run back to the car park.
Setting off from the trailhead, I jogged on and off to warm up my legs on the relatively flat trail. I quickly reached the Ira Spring Connector Trail, which heads toward Dirty Harry’s Peak. I followed the connector and reached the turnoff for the Putrid Pete’s Peak climber’s trail within about 20 minutes of leaving the car.
Before starting, I had expected this off-trail route to look much like other climber’s trails in the area, such as the Mailbox Peak Old Trail. I was pleasantly surprised to find what looked like a well-manicured trail heading up the peak. And, at least for the first half, it would continue that way.
About halfway up Putrid Pete’s Peak, the manicured switchbacks gave way to more of what I expected. A smattering of small climber’s trails crisscrossed each other, all seemingly headed in the same general direction. Though I thought I was on the right track, I wandered off at least twice and checked my Gaia map to see how to get back on the ascent route. Overall, the route-finding was minor, and I kept up a rapid pace heading toward the ridge.
The toughest spot came about 200 feet below the summit of Putrid Pete’s Peak. Through the woods, it looked as though I was about to crest the ridge and reach my first summit of the day. Once I crested that section and left the woods, I was a bit deflated to see how much of the ridge I still had to climb. But after a few deep breaths and a moment to admire the view, I made the final push, finishing off the climb with a simple Class 2 scramble to the top.
I made it from the car to the summit of Putrid Pete’s Peak in just over two hours. From there, I could see the rest of the route I had planned for the day.
From Putrid Pete’s Peak, the ridge over to Web Mountain is fully laid out. After taking a few minutes to decide how I wanted to tackle the traverse, I set off. At first, I tried to stay high on the ridge, but after hitting a few spots with a bit more technical climbing than I’d planned for the day, especially in trail runners, I dropped lower on the south side of the ridge and found a climber’s trail.
From there, it was a short and sweet hike to the summit block of Web Mountain. The last push up was a minor scramble with maybe one Class 3 move. Once I crested the other side, I saw what looked like a way to skirt the summit block and make it a simple hike to the top. Adventurer’s choice, I suppose.
Because I was aiming for a swift run back to the vehicle, I hadn’t dressed for extended exposure. With the wind picking up and beginning to sting my bare legs, I decided to move on from the summit of Web Mountain.
With two peaks down for the day, I worked my way back toward Putrid Pete’s Peak, traversed below the summit block, and picked up the climber’s trail that leads to the Mount Defiance Trail. This section was much better defined than the traverse to Web Mountain, and within 30 minutes of leaving Web’s summit, I was back on maintained trail.
The final push for the day was to Mount Defiance, and for the first time that day, I had a fully maintained trail leading to the top. I made quick work of the climb, passed a small smattering of snow, and reached the summit. I soaked in the views for just a couple of minutes. My legs were starting to go numb and were begging for a jog to warm them up.
From here, I made the quick run back to the car park. I contemplated making the push up Bandera, but I’d already summited it, so I chose to save my legs and beat the weather. For other intrepid climbers, though, it could make for a solid four-summit day. I found no official name for this loop during my route research, so I chose to christen it Putrid Pete’s Circuit, since it starts with an ascent up its namesake’s climber’s trail. Hopefully it sticks.
