Badito Cone (8,942 ft.)
UN 7091

5 October, 2010: I headed south for New Mexico before dawn with the intention of bagging a couple of southern Colorado peaks early in the morning. Just before sunrise, I left Colorado Hwy. 69 near Farisita and took (Huerfano) CR620 until it becomes FR 438, heading north and east into the southern tip of the Greenhorn Mountain Wilderness. The dirt road is easy to negotiate, and I had no trouble getting a passenger car to within half a mile of the NF boundary. I could actually have gotten farther, but I erred on the side of caution.
From the boundary, the road/trail continues east and up toward the summit. Eventually, it links to a whole maze of old 4WD roads. My original plan had been to take some of these roads onto the south side of the peak and then strike north. However, the main road offered an easy path onto the western slopes, so I followed it as far as possible, and then struck out east and up for the final push.
The views were great, as this relatively low peak has over 1,000 feet of prominence. I could see the Cone's early morning shadow on the valley below me as I climbed. The upper slopes are mostly a pile of dinner plate talus. It's steep, but mostly quite solid, so I made fairly rapid progress. I'd call it no worse than a 2+. I believe this is my 150th ranked peak.
At the top, I found a Bob Martin register with seven entries since early 2008--three summer seasons--so I became number eight.
A few miles back down Hwy.69, I took CR 520 south to roughly 37.7096°N at approximately 6,760 ft. elevation, and headed east toward UN 7091. This is one of just two ranked peaks on the Black Hills quad. I followed a disused 4WD road under power lines over one ridge and into an open valley before turning left (north) toward the summit. In less than an hour and a half I was back at the car.
No pictures yet, as I can't find my camera's cable to download them.
Long life and many peaks!