Tabeguache Peak and Mt Shavano

Tabeguache Peak & Mt Shavano

Date:	October 1, 2011
Elevation:	Tabeguache Peak - 14,155 ft Mt. Shavano - 14,229 ft Pt 13,712
Trail:	Unofficial Route - Northwest Ridge
Distance:	8 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:	3,954 ft
Difficulty:	Class 2
Time it took us:	8 hours

When we hiked Mt. Antero and Cronin Peak in July we kept looking at Tab & Shav to the south. There is a nice saddle between Tabeguache and Carbonate Mtn. that caught our eyes. It looked like we could take our ATV over the Antero/Cronin saddle and down into the valley and hike from there. We could cruise up the saddle between Tab/Carbonate, hike the ridge to Tab, then continue around to Shavano. The fall weather was still good, so we decided to give the route a try. We got some feedback from a few who have been over that way and next thing we knew we were taking the ATV over Antero and headed into the valley. We camped overnight in the trees, then started hiking with a little light in the sky so we could see to avoid the swamp. There wasn't a trail for most of the hike, but we were able to find a decent route around the swamp, then up and across the rocky ridge to Tabeguache. Tab to Mt Shavano wasn't very exciting so we decided to head back with a stop off at Pt 13,712. Pt 13,712 was another rocky peak, then it was a long slough off the mountains. We hardly saw anyone the entire day which was expected for this route. It was a long and kinda rough day, but we added 2 more 14ers to our list and hiked country that a lot of people never get to!