The Mistakes of Pike's Expedition

Pike and his men thought they could climb the peak and return in a single day. Pike had expected the Grand Peak to be right next door, but it was here that he realized he was at least fifteen miles away. The summit of Mount Rosa is about at the eleven thousand five hundred foot mark. It was not long before snow and cold became an issue. On December 5th, 1806, the party reached the Royal Gorge, near what is now Canyon City, Colorado. Here the Arkansas breaks off into several streams, and Pike didn't know which was the main branch of the river. Also the trail left by the Spanish force they had been following had disappeared.