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Other climbers: Emily Sharpe — not yet · Shawn D Keil — not yet

"Lake Fork Pk" — 13,333' (Sawatch)

At a glance — recommended day

11.1 mi · 4,313 ft gain · Class 2 · 1 peak · ~3.75 h drive

Researched: 2026-07-22

NOAA weather link: Lake Fork Pk Weather

CalTopo research map: https://caltopo.com/m/EFA1LAT

Status in DB: unclimbed. A ranked (CO #367), Class 2 Sawatch 13er above the South Fork of Lake Creek, southeast of Twin Lakes. Split out of the Grizzly E / Jenkins group — it sits 5.6 mi north of that trio with no trail between them, so it's its own outing from the Sayres Gulch side.

Overview map

Note: the recommended route was distilled from 8 recorded GPS tracks of real trips (14ers.com · ListsofJohn · Kyle's recordings) — all layered on the interactive CalTopo research map.

The peak

A Class 2 walk-up on the Continental Divide crest above Sayres Gulch. The recommended line is the South Fork Lake Creek / Sayres Gulch loop — the standard approach — which also crosses two more ranked 13ers on the ridge circuit (a bonus, both already on Kyle's climbed list). No move harder than Class 2 tundra and talus.

"Lake Fork Pk"
Elevation 13,333'
Lat / Lon 38.9986, −106.5539
Route Sayres Gulch → E/NE ridge (loop)
Class 2
CO rank #367
listsofjohn.com 466
peakbagger.com 15841

The composed line follows a recorded loop that summits and starts at the trailhead — ~11.1 mi · ~4,310 ft, Class 2.

Route sequence

  1. From the South Fork Lake Creek / Sayres Gulch TH (~10,970', FR 391), hike up into Sayres Gulch, climbing tundra benches toward the Divide crest.
  2. Gain the ridge and follow it over the circuit — the loop tops PT 13,232 B and PT 13,305 (two bonus ranked 13ers) on the way to and from Lake Fork Pk.
  3. Class 2 grass and talus throughout; return to close the loop. Reverse for an out-and-back if you'd rather skip the bonus summits.

Getting there — South Fork Lake Creek / Sayres Gulch TH
Drive from Boulder ~3h 45m via Google Maps — via Leadville and CO-82 toward Twin Lakes, then South Fork Lake Creek Rd (FR 391) south.
Trailhead South Fork Lake Creek / Sayres Gulch TH, ~39.0210, −106.5349, ~10,970'. FR 391 is a rough, high-clearance / 4WD shelf road; park where your vehicle tops out.
Land San Isabel NF — no permits/fees; not designated wilderness.

Gear & season

  • Best window: July–September — high Sawatch crest; FR 391 and the north-facing gullies hold snow into early summer.
  • Terrain: Class 2 tundra/talus, no technical sections.
  • Storms: an exposed ridge circuit — start early and be off the crest by early afternoon.
  • Cell: unreliable in the South Fork drainage; carry an InReach / satellite messenger.

Other considerations

  • Shorter high-4WD start: a recorded ~7.3-mi line begins ~900' higher up FR 391 (~11,290'). If the road is dry and your vehicle can make it, that trims the day considerably — but the standard, vehicle-agnostic start is the ~10,970' parking the recommended loop uses.
  • Out-and-back vs loop: the recommended loop bags PT 13,232 B and PT 13,305 as bonuses; a direct out-and-back to Lake Fork alone is shorter if you've already done those (Kyle has).
  • Formerly grouped with the Grizzly E trio: it was once listed as an optional 4th there, but the 5.6-mi gap with no connecting trail made it a separate outing — hence this standalone report.

Trip reports & GPX (all three sources swept)

Sources confirmed logged in: 14ers.com ("Basin"), listsofjohn.com ("letsgocu"), peakbagger.com ("Kyle Knutson"). 5 useful tracks — 1 from the 14ers.com library, 4 from listsofjohn trip reports; peakbagger's ascent track was a duplicate of a LoJ trip. All layered on the research map; recommended route magenta.

listsofjohn.com — the recommended line is an ~11-mi Sayres Gulch loop (8199); other tracks range 8.5–15 mi depending on how many neighbors are linked.

14ers.com — a ~7.3-mi line from a higher FR 391 start (the shorter 4WD option).

peakbagger.com — one ascent track, a duplicate of the LoJ loops.

Sources checked: 14ers.com · listsofjohn.com · peakbagger.com · climb13ers.com