Redcloud and Sunshine Peaks

A few weeks ago we decided to head to the Lake City area to try our hands at another 14er. Half way there we stopped for a picnic lunch by the river of prosciutto, mozzarella cheese, tomato and fresh Italian bread. yum. Nick even caught a couple of fish while we sat in the sunshine deciding where we were going.

We ended up camping just past Lake City and Lake San Cristobal in the old Sherman mining town. There is little left of the town at this point except a few old broken down cabins, so we found a likely spot off the forest road and pitched camp there. The next day would just be an 8 mile or so drive up to the trail head for the two peaks we were going to try and climb, Redcloud and Sunshine. We arrived at camp mid afternoon and it wasn't until early the next morning that I realized I had imbibed a little too much the night before...fun though: the weather was warm, the storm held off and we were able to get a good fire lit to keep the mozzies and biting flies at bay!

Here's Nick enjoying the serenity...







some views from the camping site






The alarm went off around 5.30 and even Nick debated on turning it off, rolling over and going back to sleep - obviously I wasn't the only one who had had a few too many! We finally got ourselves moving and arrived at the trail head at 7 am. I felt a little rough and was seriously starting to wonder about making it to the top, so we stopped while I ate something and had some water. It was the right thing to do - before long I felt much improved and was ready for anything the trail could throw at me...or so I thought at the time!

The trail started at the Silver Creek trail head at 10,400, meaning a hike up of 3,600 feet minimum to reach 14,000 feet. The trail on the other side led to the top of Handies, another 14er, so we will have to come back and do that again someday soon, as it was such a lovely area: right on the Alpine Loop, a four wheel drive trail that runs from Silverton and Ouray through to Lake City.

The views were beautiful as we headed up the valley but we were both surprised at how steep the trail was from the start I think - although that could also have been a consequence of the evening before! So when we were presented with the opportunity of making the hike a little shorter than the expected 11.5 miles, we decided to take it. The "normal" route up the two mountains entails climbing up and over the summit of Redcloud twice on the way to and from Sunshine. So up to 14,034, a mile and a half across the saddle to 14,001 Sunshine (the lowest 14er) and then back over Redcloud and down. The guide book we have lists an alternative route where you turn off the trail at 1.5 miles and head up a drainage "through an enchanted forest " and a "picturesque cirque". It also states that doing the hike this way allows you to "start with the more difficult terrain". Fine we thought: we'll get the tough bit over and done with and we won't have to hit Redcloud twice. Lesson number one as Lisa, a friend in CB who used to work for the Colorado Fourteener Initiative at the Forest Service later confirmed: always climb the standard route.


Heading up to the Cirque...hmmm, no way out yet...







What we didn't see until later was an earlier description of the route, which said "climb a steep slope onto a rock glacier...At 12,800 feet the route steepens dramatically...When snow-free, the trail dodges some small rock outcrops as it winds upward. Loose rocks can be a hazard on this slope". Boy oh boy, wish we'd seen that one earlier! True to the book's description, the trail is beautiful as it winds up through the trees. Her I am taking a breather.



Then it follows a creek as it keeps heading up. The cirque it ends in is gorgeous. Problem was, we couldn't see a way out...oh oh.






We kept following a climbers trail and at this point decided to just try and follow it as best we could as we didn't want to head all the way back down and pretty much start over again...the trail kept getting sketchier and sketchier though, and steeper and steeper. Eventually it wasn't there anymore, or at least not that we could see. So we just started heading up to the saddle above...easier said than done. I am not a climber, nor do I want to be. But when I looked back at one point as I started to panic and wanted to head back down I realized that that was simply not an option...I would just have to take deep breaths, grit my teeth and climb.

The slope was at an angle where we had to be on all fours going up (or at least I did). And yes, the photo on the left is the slope - but what a view! The scree we were scrambling up kept slipping, and I was suddenly glad when there was an outcrop of rocks that I was able to climb on because at least they weren't moving. Nick was worried that I was going to have a total panic attack and had no idea how he was going to get me down, and then even he got worried at one point when the slope we were on all started moving.


Eventually though, after an hour and a half, some very shaky legs, and a lot of deep breathing, we reached the saddle. There was an older guy at the top with his dog - he couldn't believe the way we had come up. Then we saw the sign that was close to where I had finally pulled myself onto the trail. Yep, that's the way we came up!!! It says "Dangerous area. Not a trail. Please return via Redcloud"...wish they'd had a sign like that at the bottom where we hooked up with the trail!


Here's the trail down...yes, exactly, what trail?!








Oh boy. But here we are on Sunshine. We rested and ate at the top and chatted to a few people who were thinking of hiking back down the way we had come - we advised them not too - way too steep and dangerous. One guy even told us that his guidebook specifically said not to go that way...guess in future I will look at more sources than my "Colorado Fourteeners" handbook!



Views from the top of Sunshine Peak, 14,001 feet above sea level












After soaking in the view, we headed along the saddle and up the trail to Redcloud, here above.









The top of the mountain is gorgeous - very red! And the views all around were incredible. We were able to pick out several more 14ers that are on the list - Uncompahgre and Wetterhorn for starters. A storm started to roll in and we decided that we had better start heading down. The hike up had taken us a lot longer than we expected and we were on the summit far later than we normally are - didn't help that we were late setting out either.


From the top of Redcloud, the trail and the views down are gorgeous. I think this has to be one of my all time favourite trails. Just amazing wide open vistas and a trail along the ridge.









Second of the day




















the trail down











These photos show two or three people heading down - they are the specs in the middle of the second photo - the first photo isn't zoomed in. Kind of helps the perspective of it all!!!















Heading down...finally!

We finally arrived back at the car around 2 with a great sense of accomplishment and a story to tell. An hour later than expected at 7 hours round trip, but what a trip - definitely one I would recommend - as long as you stick to the recommended route!

Summer nights in Crested Butte

The cool and cloudy autumnal weather we have been having (which bodes of nothing so much as snow) produced a beautiful sunset last night and were able to grab some photos.
























Thankfully we didn't have snow here in CB (I think I would have been suicidal) but it did snow in Summit County (Breckenridge, Frisco etc) and I heard reports of snow up Washington Gulch, just out of town...


We also spotted the bear that has been raiding our trash a few nights ago. Nick grabbed the camera and was able to get the critter on film (well OK, on memory card) as he moseyed across the road and headed for his evening snack...

















I guess we learned that you have to have more light to take a photo like that...!!!! Here is the "smart adjust" version...












Oh well. We will just have to keep an eye out for him again tonight...!

Fee's visit

Fee, a friend and old neighbour from Lafayette came to visit in July.
We picked her up at the airport on the Friday morning. She is a keen photographer and had brought all her gear so she could take advantage of the amazing wildflowers still blooming on the trails around here.

We had a pretty packed weekend. On the Friday we showed Fee around town and she took a ton of photos with her fancy new camera. Then we had a great dinner at the Ginger Cafe...still can't beat their Thai green curry!

On the Saturday, we hiked up to Virginia Basin with Ange and Jessie, two other friends from Crested Butte. The weather was cool and cloudy but very humid. Decent hiking weather. Virginia Basin is on the way to the climb up Avery Peak - no mountain climbing this weekend though! Here are Jess, Fee, Nick and Ange on the way up.




And a view from the trail across the valley.








On the Saturday evening, we went to the inaugural Crested Butte Land Trust wine and food tasting. Food and appetizers from just about every restaurant in town, and over 300 wines to try...heaven! A good time was had by all!!! And we even got to keep the wine glasses!









Sunday we spent the morning at the lake and then in town for coffee and the farmers market, always one of my favourite ways to spend a Sunday morning!


Inspired by Fee, I took some photos as well, though I'm sure they are nothing compared to hers - I will post some as soon as she sends them.

All in all, a very pleasant weekend - thanks for coming up Fee - we had a lot of fun!

San Luis Peak

In July, we decided to back track to one of our favourite areas while walking through on the Colorado trail: Cochetopa Creek. This time we decided to do a back pack loop and finally climb San Luis Peak, one of the Colorado Fourteeners at 14,014 feet, which we hadn't managed last time we passed through. Not sure why - probably a little tired at that point!

The loop started at the Stewart Creek trail head, went over the saddle between San Luis and Organ Mountain and then dropped into Cochetopa Creek. Back down at the Eddiesville Trail Head we just had a quick quarter mile back to the truck. We would be dropping the packs at the saddle and climbing San Luis, and then hiking down Cochetopa Creek instead of up it as we did on the Colorado Trail. The loop was about 12 miles, and the mountain would add an extra couple.


We started at the Stewart Ck trail head on the Friday afternoon. Getting there was half the fun as the trail head was about 30 miles from the nearest paved road. The dirt road was in pretty good shape, though it got a little narrow in places. We stopped here to eat the breakfast we had brought along and enjoy the serenity - there was nothing around.















We passed the old Saguache to San Juan toll road for the first time. It was built in 1874. All I can say is that I am glad we weren't traveling on that road in a stage coach! Not the most comfortable way to go I'm sure!





From the trailhead we hiked up Stewart Creek into the La Garita Wilderness area. The trail climbed steadily, but it wasn't too steep and we were able to enjoy most of it! We were headed to the "v" in the photo. We arrived at or very close to tree-line much faster than we expected and figured we had better set up camp before the storm clouds moved in. Now I remember this area - we got rained on every night! When we were hiking up Cochetopa Creek on the Colorado Trail we barely got the tent set up before the rain came down in torrents. We had to dry the fly sheet out on the mountain saddle the next morning...


It was lovely to be up high again even with the storm clouds rolling in, so we got the tent set up as quickly as possible and made sure everything was covered...and the storm hit! We spent the next couple of hours in the tent reading "A Year in Provence"....which only made us feel cold and hungry! Good job I had brought a book though! We were starting to get worried that it wouldn't let up enough for us to cook some hot food and were about to draw straws on who was heading out in the rain to get some of our snack supplies so we could at least eat something, when it started to get perceptibly lighter...finally the sun broke through, so we dashed out, heated some food and ate quickly in case another storm came through...note the Hull FC hat: true fans wear their colours everywhere - they are even famous in the Colorado Rockies!


The sun was welcomed with open arms, and the views were lovely now we were at tree line (about 12,000 feet). We passed the time spotting Big Horn sheep on the mountain sides before retiring for an early night snuggled in our sleeping bags - it was obviously going to be chilly!





And it was! The next morning everything was covered in ice (including Nick's fishing rod!) and it took me everything I had to get our of my sleeping bag to have the cup of hot chocolate that Nick had made for me!!! It was a beautiful day though, as usually happens in the mountains here, and so we enjoyed hiking up towards the saddle stripping down as we went as the heat built! It was a steep climb up, especially with the packs, but we had an early start and not too far to go so we took it easy.





Yup, we're going up there to the saddle. That's the one thing I'm not sure I like about hiking here - it's always up!






Once we reached the saddle we dropped the packs (yay!) and headed for the peak...








As always, the views were lovely from up high and we could see for miles in all directions. We had a well deserved snack and then headed down for Cochetopa Creek.










What we hadn't realized is that the trail across the saddle and down to Cochetopa isn't a trail at all but a series of posts and cairns which we often couldn't see through the willows. Hiking across and down turned out to be harder than expected, and we almost wished we had taken the packs and just hiked up and over the mountain and down the other side. Although it would have been a lot further, there was at least an established trail that is far easier going on the feet...and you know how I like to take care of my feet after the Colorado Trail!


Yep, we were up there early this morning! It's amazing how fast you come down from these mountains...even when it's hard going...I think it took us as much time to come down as it did to go up...








We made it back down the the Colorado Trail and headed down the creek. where Nick was finally able to get some quality fishing time in - though I don't think the fishing was as good this weekend as it had been three years ago when we were last up here. I was able to catch up on some reading while I sat by the river and dutifully took photos!!!




We couldn't find the camp site we were planning on spending the night at, but got a good spot and had a great fire to hang out by for the evening. It at least kept the mozzies and biting flies of us for a while! Dinner tasted good after the hurried affair we had had the night before, and we had even packed in a little rum to add to our hot chocolate to make sure we slept well - though that never seems to be a problem on these weekend back pack trips!

As it was pretty much all down hill at this point (much better I say) we had a quick hike out on Sunday and were able to stop for some relaxing fishing/reading time in the sunshine...



And the perfect end was a cold beer and some lovely cherries waiting for us in the cooler when we got back to the truck!