View attachment 853558
Photo is of Tortilla mountain. The highest point is Tortilla Peak.
Take a point in the photo at the exact center of the photo and follow it to the skyline where the mountain and sky meet (the center of the photo ). Those are the cliff's where Jesse Capen fell. For those who have been on Tortilla mountain, to the peak and the mountain to the south and west, you know you cannot get to where Jesse had his camp by following the route Jesse took. Jesse took a direct line from the top of Tortilla Peak to his camp below along the Peters trail.
From above it appears as if you can just follow the mountain down by going that way. But after a ways you begin to run into cliffs and have to begin threading your way down. Finally you come to the point where you realize getting down that way is impossible without ropes and climbing gear. You reach sheer cliffs you did not realize were there when you started out. There is a point where you have to turn to the east and skirt around a part of the mountain and you will come out on the Peters trail. It is longer but is the only way to get to where Jesse was going that day. Jesse went west and and ran into the cliffs.
The day Jesse died was most probably December 5th. He had been to the top of Tortilla peak and left his name and date on a piece of paper in a jar with other hikers who had made the climb. His body was found below the Peak and on line with his camp. The 5th was a rainy overcast day with storms in the area. Darkness falls fast that time of year especially with overcast skies.
I believe Jesse was at the Peak and it started to get dark and a storm was brewing. Jesse made a bee line toward his camp, not realizing the cliffs he would run into. There is no trail the route Jesse took, he was going cross country over some rough ground. He either realized his mistake too late and tried to force his way down the cliffs, or more probably, it got dark and Jesse simply walked off the cliff without ever seeing them coming. That is an easy thing to do in those mountains when darkness and dusk falls. You are watching the horizon and the horizon is not the ground you are currently walking over. More than one has gone over a cliff not realizing it was there.
Jesse was a capable hiker and camper, well prepared, but that one day he made a mistake and it cost him his life. He fell about 75-100 feet and came to rest on a ledge about 25-30 feet off the ground. His pack went all the way to the bottom and was found laying in the brush below him. No one will ever know the exact circumstances but this appears to be what happened in his last hours. Jesse was not lost, he probably could see his camp below for much of the time he was descending the mountain before he reached the cliffs.
Matthew
