1964 Map of Storm King Peak

About this map

The Beartown (site) settlement remains a quiet focal point in the high country of the San Juan National Forest, where the Rio Grande National Forest boundary meets the Continental Divide. This 1960s survey documents a landscape of extreme verticality defined by the Grenadier Range and the Needle Mountains. Steep ridges like Wham Ridge and high summits including Vestal Peak and Jagged Mountain dominate the terrain, separated by high-altitude basins holding Eldorado Lake and Lake Silex. The map illustrates the region's mining legacy through numerous Mines and Prospects scattered near Hunchback Pass and Kite Lake. These sites, connected by a network of Pack Trails, reflect the difficult logistical reality of extraction in the high San Juans before more modern infrastructure reached the interior forks of Vallecito Creek.