Subscribe to receive an emial notification when new content is added, Sawtooth Mountains Idaho Landscape Photography Canvas Prints, Seeking Lost Logo Shirt - Unisex Softstyle T-Shirt, Basin and Range Trail Planning Kit: Guidebook, GPX, Maps, Waypoints, Water Chart, Vanadinite Mineral Specimen (North Geronimo Mine, AZ), Wulfenite on Fluorite Mineral Specimen (Red Cloud Mine, AZ). There were tons of waterfalls everywhere, many more than our hike in the Maroon Bells last year. Generally considered a challenging route, it takes an average of 11 h 10 min to complete. Elk Park to Needleton Loop, plus side trips including:-Vestal Basin . This looks more like some of the pictures Id seen of the San Juans before our trip. Basin and Range Trail (2020) To reach this trail on foot, some hikers make a longer loop from the Molas Trail (about four miles). This is the "fourth bridge" of vallecito creek, north of the vallecito campground/Trailhead. we get old because we stop hiking" on the back. tnmule20 68 Posted February 10, 2022. tnmule20. Food takes longer to cook at high altitudes. Not long after, we watched the same goats cross the creek and head towards our general area. El mejor momento para visitar esta . The mountain goats I saw on the rocks earlier were in the same general spot on my way back. The trail can be access from either Molas Trail #665 or the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Rainroad Elk Park train stop. Thanks for sharing. Will b taking my 19 yr old son in early August this year for his first extended back country pack trip. Our lunch spot today was next to a waterfall. Actually, mid May. Getting down to the water and going through the process of purifying the water was a bit of a pain here, but I wanted to get it out of the way in case it started raining again. My knees were holding up very well so far this trip and I figured, why not? He mentioned a possible shortcut to get up here from the Colorado Trail, by going up the drainage. The only way to combat them is it cover up your skin with long sleeves, jacket hood, etc. FIND YOUR WAY OUTSIDE is a trademark of AllTrails, LLC. Any way to access this trail without riding the train? Other hikers trickled in to the area as time went on. Todays hike was all uphill, but it wasnt too strenuous. Happy trails! Im interesting in making this same trip this year, and was wondering if you knew when the optimal season is? The mountain scenery is spectacular the whole way, and you cross over several high passes along the way. Obviously I skipped this route on our way up here, opting to go the traditional way up the switchbacks to the CDT, but I was curious if it was doable. See the beauty of the San Juans on a guided tour. Without going closer, theres no way of knowing what the rest of it looked like. Recommended Posts. Never miss a new post! Seating is only guaranteed if you book a seat in advance. There were a lot of berries along the trail, although not all edible. When taking a train leaving from Durango, you need to be in your seat 30 minutes before departure. What a morale booster it was. My boots were the driest theyd been since day 1, and I really didnt want to get stuck in rain today. At the bridge over New York Creek, there was a waterfall right there along the trail.. Animas River, from the bridge at the Needleton train stop. Elk Park/Needleton Loop, Colorado. It was a dream and once in a lifetime trip! Ride the train to a day of ziplining on the longest course in the US. Your monthly pledge helps me bring you more quality hiking and outdoor adventure videos, trail guides and content. Generally considered a moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 20 h 6 min to complete. Swampy, muddy areas where your foot sinks ankle deep in mud are also likely, as well as multiple creek crossings. Given the popularity of Kite Lake, being right next to a 44 road just outside of the wilderness boundary, I pretty much had my mind set on Eldorado. Looking back up the way I just came down from Windom Peak. You ride the Durango/Silverton Steam Train and it drops you off. Although it was monsoon season during our trip, we were told that the coal cinders often start forest fires. We had been told by the forest service that we would encounter more avalanche debris fields in the basin. Also, because I sunburn easily, I brought UV protective shirts (the BALEAF womens UPF50 quick-dry shirt). They didnt seem afraid of humans at all. The trial follows the 44 road by Kite Lake. Literally just yards below the top of the pass, on the Chicago Basin side, the trail gets extremely steep and pretty sketchy. This trail is great for hiking, and it's unlikely you'll encounter many other people while exploring. Would that be too early in the season? One slice was probably between the size of a small and medium pizza at most places, but it was extremely thin. When we stopped for lunch, two deer wandered into our resting area. As we waited by the tracks, one of the hikers we were talking to in the shack was showing another guy his sleeping pad. The best times to visit this trail are May through September. Since we paid for parking at the railroad, we drove back there and parked while we set out on foot once gain. Weminuche Wilderness, CO Elk Park/Needleton Loop Hike. How bad was the narrow passage near Chicago Basin? I took it out of its stuff sack and unrolled it and the looks on their faces were just priceless. Elk Park Train Stop to Needleton is a 37 mile less popular intermediate route located near Silverton Colorado. Caltopo is pretty awesome if you havent used it already. There was an insane amount of biting flies and mosquitoes by the river here though, and I was regretting my decision to leave the bug spray and mosquito head net behind. This route climbs 8,523 ft with a max elevation of 12,843 ft then descends -9,174 ft. Local Trail Association This page has a map of the Weminuche Wilderness near the top, with trails and trail heads. We made the decision to cut our trek short. There was a very brief moment of sunlight right as we crossed Red Rock Creek, which was nice to have at this moment. I like having dry gear! They really wanted to be right there, and werent taking no for an answer. There were also a lot of flowers alongside the trail, and there were tons of butterflies on them. Had never seen so many mountains (we're from OK). We used a Sawyer Squeeze water filter. Thanks for your support you ROCK!. The food issue didnt bother me much, I was mainly worried about the rodents chewing on our sweaty gear. It was almost comical how many people waved at us as the train chugged through town. There didnt appear to be any evidence of beavers here either. When youre in the Chicago Basin, watch for mountain goats! Lots of flowers, waterfalls, and views. So much for being packed. I do regret getting the open-cart seats though, because it was raining and it was not dry inside. Id say we averaged 5 people seen per day on days 1-4. ALLTRAILS and the AllTrails Mountain Design are registered trademarks of AllTrails, LLC in the United States as well as certain other jurisdictions. Parking is available at the Silverton Depot at no charge. There havent been any bugs out the last 2 nights though, and I was really wishing we had a fire like this on night one. When we visited in September, the days were hot and the nights were cold. Dogs are welcome and may be off-lead in some areas. Vallecito Basin, which lies below Columbine pass, was pretty nice. I followed the lake to its drainage, which for reference was directly south of the Miners Cabin. We did not have gloves (other than one pair of fingerless gloves I use when gathering/breaking firewood and climbing), so our hands were getting a little numb. Everywhere along the horizon, fog could be seen rising from the mountains. The weather started to improve a little as we set up the tent and took care of the usual camp chores. We may earn a commission when you use one of our links to make a purchase. It seems that most people in Chicago Basin came from the Needleton stop, hiked here, and turned around and went back the way they came. And what a campsite that would be, killer views! Esta ruta es popular para mochilear, disfrutar de la observacin de aves y ir de camping, sin embargo, podrs disfrutar de algo de paz durante los momentos ms tranquilos del da. Oh well. Looking down on Columbine Lake near the top of Columbine Pass. Eventually, it became steeper, to the point where there were some moments of exposure. Our morning routine is a little more polished now, and we were on the trail by 7am. Required fields are marked *. These guys didnt seem as threatening though. I would have taken more pictures, but I didnt want my camera to get wet. I decided to head downhill in a hurry. Weve also been testing this Deuter Aircontact Ultra 45 + 5 pack and love it. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from May until September. But there would be no sleeping in tomorrow morning though, because we were off to the Great Sand Dunes National Park! There was only one truck by Kite Lake, and we saw no people. This snowshoe hare looks as if it could shoot lasers from its eyes, Campsite along the Elk Park trail, around 10,300ft. Very isolated in the middle of the trail, we only saw 1 other person each day. We made it to Chicago Basin and I made it to the "saddle" of Sunlight peak before talking myself out of going up the rest of the way (regretting it to this day). The plan was to camp at either Kite Lake or Eldorado Lake, whichever looked more appealing. I have backpacked in the Weminuche three times, all in September, and each time we encountered some bad rainy weather. I highly recommend it. As we laid down to sleep tonight, all we could think about was laying down in that nice hotel bed tomorrow night. At 2:45, we heard a train approaching that sounded its whistle. Very nice trip report! Things open up a bit after this pond and there are some meadows to camp in if you were so inclined. Passing through a colorful meadow on the morning of day 2, Nearing the treeline, the views start improving. Comments are not currently showing up on my site right now, need to troubleshoot that. Really helpful report! We camped at ~9300 ft. Today we slept in to 6am. On day four, we hiked along the 4wd road to Pole Creek and picked up our ride there. For that reason, a small cart follows the train to check for any fires started by the train alongside the tracks. Would you advise camping at Columbine Lake? This is when the fog really started growing. Next stop: Wilderness. Looking for a 40-60 mile, week trip. One option for a multi-day trip is from the Elk Park Train Stop to Needleton. So, they suggested to take train from Needleton to Silverton, wait for 1.5h and then return back to Elk Park for the price of full ticket Durango-Silverton . It was a little windy last night, which can make it hard to sleep. Sometimes 2 to a flower. I still panned on climbing Windom and maybe Sunlight. Our brakeman Sam was a wealth of knowledge about any kind of train-related questions we had. It worked perfectly. We got to the train station around 7:15am, as we were told to be there 45 minutes early. Coming down from hunchback pass we had to climb over or around several (and I mean several) trees that were across the path. We woke up today at 5:30 and began to slowly pack up camp. Lisa and I ended up taking a nap for about an hour and a half until the weather improved.
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