Mt. Kreutzer is a mountain that earns little respect! First of all, hardly anyone hikes this "13er" located on the Continental Divide. The guestbook at the summit showed we were the first to sign in for the entire month of September. Secondly, the mountain is difficult to spell: It is Mt Kreutzer, not Mt. Kruetzer. (The "e" and "u" together has vexed myself and the few others whom I've communicated with about this peak.)

We began our hike shortly after sunrise at Cottonwood Pass and trekked on portions of the Continental Divide Trail that existed. The construction of this trail is a work in progress, but every year more and more trail is created. In the future, a trail will completely link Cottonwood Pass to Tincup Pass as part of the grand vision of a north-south Continental Divide Trail through the entire Rocky Mountains from Montana to New Mexico.

Our hike distance was approximately 5-6 miles one way to Mt. Kreutzer. When there was no trail, we stayed on the divide ridge and trudged our way over and past a number of peaks in the 12,500 to 12,800 foot range. The day before, Derrick and Aaron drove and parked a truck near Chaffee County Road 344 in Mineral Basin, located in the upper reaches of South Cottonwood Canyon. We finished our one-way journey after scrambling down the divide (north of Mt. Kreutzer) and reaching our vehicle.

Special thanks to Derrick and Aaron for being part of the adventure. I think we had a good time out there! As usual, my National Geographic topographical map (left) of the region was quite necessary and handy at times.

Right Photo: Standing on the Continental Divide, the view of Mt. Kreutzer (center) with Emma Burr Mountain far back to the right.

-Steve
Personal myspace: www.myspace.com/stevelonghair

	Early in our hike, the easterly view of the sunrise colors. Turner Peak is the pointed peak on the left and Mt. Princeton sits far back right of center.
	We journeyed past this unnamed point (~12,800 feet) at the top. I once hiked to this peak in July 2007 and I looked forward to reaching unchartered land when we passed it. Notice the red shades on the ground!
	One more time: Special thanks to Derrick and Aaron for being such beguiling hiking partners. :)
	Patches of snow! Interestingly, there are still a few remaining patches of snow from last winter that never entirely melted during our summer. Snow all year round ... I know my friends in places in Arizona and Georgia will find this amusing! :) So far, the mountains have already received a few snowstorms with the first happening in mid-August. You can see more of my snow photos here: Steve's Snow Photos.
	Photos as we continued south along the divide. The second (bottom) photo was taken looking back near the pointed peak in the top one.
	The sun finally rose up to give us a bright view of Taylor Park.
	If you know your small lakes in this region, you might recognize these as Lost Lake (left) and Spout Lake (right) respectively. Both small bodies of water are located east of the divide and are part of the Middle Cottonwood Creek watershed.
	Looking north at some striking cliff formations.
	We continued south. We walked along a large slope (on the left in the immediate foreground) near the summit of "Chalk Rock Mountain." That is the unofficial name according to Summitpost's page which can be read here.
	I really like this picture because of the bright red foliage, yellow grass, touch of green and blue sky. Looking north on the divide, Chalk Rock Mountain is the highest point on the left. 14er Mt. Yale's lofty summit can be seen way out there on the right.
	Two photos as we approached Mt. Kreutzer with Emma Burr Mountain behind on the right.
	At The Summit of Mt. Kreutzer The westerly view of Gunnison County from the summit.
	Ahhhhh ... a nice picture of myself, Aaron and Derrick.
	Two photos of Emma Burr Mountain's beautiful north face. I thoroughly enjoyed summiting this mountain last month.
	Two more views, including the easterly view of Mt. Princeton in the bottom photo. My other pages from this area: Drive To Mineral Basin Four Wheeling To Ptarmigan Lake Poplar Gulch Trail Ron and Steve at Cottonwood Pass Turner Peak Hike To Ptarmigan Lake Bike To Cottonwood Pass Town of Tincup, CO Cottonwood Pass Sunset
	Yes folks, I am a proud Arkansas Razorbacks fan! With the Arkansas football team hosting Alabama today, I thought I would show some team spirit by holding the Arkansas state flag. I go hog wild over the Razorbacks! Sadly, Alabama beat Arkansas 49-14 today. :(

Video Clip - Hike To Mt. Kreutzer, CO Footage of us hiking along the Continental Divide to Mt. Kreutzer. At the summit, I show some of the beautiful views and my friends hold out the Arkansas state flag. :)

Autumn Colors The autumn colors are at their peak in the altitude range of 12,000 feet. Adjacent are a few photos.
Bright red!
As we were driving down Chaffee County Road 344 toward Cottonwood Lake.