Stewart Peak is the second-highest thirteener in Colorado, and it was once counted as a fourteener until better surveys pulled it under the line. It rises in the La Garita Mountains, a quiet sub-range of the San Juans inside the La Garita Wilderness, where broad tundra ridges roll toward San Luis Peak.
The East Ridge is the classic line: 8.25 miles round trip with about 3,000 feet of gain from the Nutras Creek trailhead. A faint path follows the creek, crosses a boulder field, and climbs through thin timber to the ridge near 12,300 feet, then Class 2 rock-hopping leads northwest to the top. Route-finding is the real test, and the long dirt-road drive calls for good clearance. The North Slopes from the Cebolla Trailhead is shorter, 7.6 miles and roughly 2,800 feet of Class 1 walking, but it leaves the trail after 1.2 miles, so bring a map or GPS for the open tundra. Backpackers often come up Stewart Creek instead, a valley of beaver ponds, willows, and wild iris that is prime moose habitat, and pair Stewart with Baldy Alto along a gentle ridge of grass and embedded rock.
The summit looks out over a huge sweep of tundra-covered high country, with San Luis Peak close by. The upper ridges are talus, so staying on the crest is easier than wandering into the boulders below it, and the exposed terrain offers little shelter when summer storms build.
