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Miles: 45 Days: 6-8 Difficulty: Strenuous. Lots of flowers, waterfalls, and views. We didn't want to risk going up and over Hunchback, down Vallecito, up Johnson Creek, over Columbine Pass and into Chicago Basin. Eventually, I was able to scare them off pretty good by simply throwing my arms up in the air. We definitely underestimated the length and altitude. We brought along this Weminuche Wilderness National Geographic map. Weminuche Wilderness, CO Elk Park/Needleton Loop Hike. After going up a series of switchbacks, I had reached the Twin Lakes by around 7:15. I learned this the hard way when hiking around Snowmass Lake last year. We didnt take the train so we started at Molas Lake and walked to Needlestop. We were on the trail at 7:30, and saw a few more goats as we made our way out of Chicago Basin. There was another meadow a mile or so past our camp that would have been a nice place to spend the night. I asked one of the train workers if we could sit in the covered carts even though we had tickets for the open cart, and he said sure, if theres a seat available. They can be a lifesaver on a long hike. Passing through a colorful meadow on the morning of day 2, Nearing the treeline, the views start improving. Prueba esta ruta de punto a punto de 37,3-millas cerca de Silverton, Colorado. Heres an overview map of the Weminuche Wilderness, which includes trailhead locations. After about an hour of rain, thunder and lightning, I gave up on the idea of a fire. There is no road access to either the Elk Park or Needleton trail access points. The skies were pretty blue now and there was abundant sunshine. We passed many more campsites along the trail shortly after leaving our camp this morning. As of the 2013 season, a round-trip ticket is $90.10 + $10.00 for your pack. I purified some more water for todays hike and ate breakfast, a Metrx bar and some granola & almonds. Thanks for the great report! I dont trust the skies and just assume it will rain later today. This was our third trek on this trail. The top of Hunchback Pass offered no views, as the visibility was around 200 feet. She said that several of them approached the campsite and some got extremely close. Depending on where you plan to board the train, plan ahead and determine which parking option meets your needs best. I highly recommend it. For your monthly pledge, at various tier levels starting at $5, you receive perks and benefits in return. As we waited by the tracks, one of the hikers we were talking to in the shack was showing another guy his sleeping pad. Unlike Snowmass though, the trail here was more open and very well worn, and not much here to get me wet. I love being above the treeline, and I was excited to hike today. There were tons of mines dotting the mountainside, some of which looked pretty difficult to get to. Todays hike was all uphill, but it wasnt too strenuous. After lunch, we continued to climb in elevation until we reached the Miners Cabin just below the CDT. Overall a pretty remote and isolated trail with beautiful scenery, clean water everywhere and pristine nature. It rained a little very briefly when I got back, then was party sunny the rest of the day with only a few intermittent showers. All in all, quite a bit of wildlife. I chucked some rocks and shouted at them, but theyd just walk 5 feet away and stare back at us. NOTE: As of 2021, we have been informed that you cannot board the train in Silverton and get dropped off at Needleton. Basin and Range Trail (2020) Strider1. Had never seen so many mountains (we're from OK). The weather was cloudy and more scattered rain throughout the rest of the day. It was only 11:45, so we had 3:45 to wait. Very good tip report. If needed, when you reach the Vallecito and Johnson Creek trail junction, you could hike about 10 miles to the Vallecito Reservoir, a popular lake area. My wife and I completed this hike in September of 2016 and loved it. Did this route from July 28 to August 3. Within 10 or 15 minutes, I found a decent campsite near the Lake. We are early 50s, fairly fit experienced hikers from Durango, and we gave ourselves 5 nights/6 days. Molas Lake to Animas River via Molas Trail, Vestal Basin via Colorado and Elk Creek Trail, Stony Pass, ATV Trail 821, and Cinnamon Pass OHV Route. I'm hoping that we weren't unncessarilly cautious and missed out. Miles Hiked 5.7 (summit Windom Peak starting from camp in Chicago Basin) It was the kind of terrain, like sand, that feels like you take one step back for every two steps forward. By the time we were leaving the treeline behind, foul weather had returned. It filtered a little more slowly than usual because we were at high elevation, but still worked well. The Durango-Silverton train offers a backpacker service from May to October, where they drop you off and pick you up at train stops which more or less correspond to the trailheads. The final approach of Columbine Pass was pretty steep, but manageable. However, the clouds were building now and threatened to block the sun for the first time today. View Profile I still panned on climbing Windom and maybe Sunlight. The water is gorgeous. Hikers exchanged stories about their experiences in the Weminuche Wilderness and beyond to kill the time. If youre doing the whole Elk Park to Needleton loop, take the Durango-Silverton diesel train north from Durango to Elk Park. On the trail by 7am today, we headed up to the CDT once again. Two friends of mine and I did this backpack in 1995. We only had to wait 30 minutes before suiting up. Columbine Pass The crowning jewel on our recent vacation to Colorado was an epic backpacking trip. I saw maybe 10 people on day 5, and probably about 60 on day 6. The hiker who told me about the mice up here had camped here last night. At 2:45, we heard a train approaching that sounded its whistle. 09-23-2015, 12:45 #12. (we were going from Needleton to Elk Park). When we visited in September, the days were hot and the nights were cold. 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. Any and all kinds of weather! Really, it shouldnt be called a creek, but a river instead. The best times to visit this trail are May through September. 18-21 September 2017. Lisa and I ended up taking a nap for about an hour and a half until the weather improved. FIND YOUR WAY OUTSIDE is a trademark of AllTrails, LLC. The Durango-Silverton railroad heading north to Elk Park. We walked 44 miles vs the 36 listed in the app. All we could do is move downhill as quickly as possible, and after descending another 1500 feet or so, all was well again. Plenty water sources, every day at least 2. Call the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad at 1-888-872-4607 to book and make your reservation. Id say we averaged about 4-5 bouts of rain per day. Here, there were several more mountain goats hanging out on the rocks by a small pool of water. My group is collectively only able to go last week of May/first week of June. On this section of the trail, the views were mostly obstructed by trees until we reached the beaver pond at mile 3. There were many stream crossings and several large waterfalls that we passed, but due to the weather and number of miles we had to cover, we didnt spend any time checking most of them out. I didnt rain much though. There was a new amazing view after every turn. There were many campsites to choose from in the area near the Vallecito Creek Bridge. Otherwise, you can order a big map from mytopo.com. It was incredible to see the clouds taking over the area! We got to the train station around 7:15am, as we were told to be there 45 minutes early. The benefit is being able to skip the train and park at the Lime Mesa TH. 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Early morning at the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad station. After 6 days of hiking, we couldnt wait to get to the hotel. This is where Eldorado Lake drains off the mountainside and down to the Miners Cabin area we passed earlier today, Looking up at 13,627ft White Dome from the Eldorado Lake drainage. I was awestruck with the beauty of those mountains. Copyright 2015-2023 Champagne TastesAll Rights Reserved. Happy trails! This will give you time to make it to your seats before the final boarding call. For shelter, we carried a backpacking tent, as well as a double sleeping pad, Sea to Summit Thermolite sleeping bag liners, and a compressible backpacking quilt. Very useful. It moved away pretty quickly, but I could tell it was not a rattlesnake. On the Elk Park to Needleton loop, the emergency outs are limited. Black flies were a pain the whole week. There was even a distinct trail that led much of the way up, until it could no longer be seen amongst the boulders. Getting close to the top of Hunchback Pass. See this list of my favorite freeze-dried meals if youre curious about what theyre like. Because of this we consider it to be a hard trail but the views were worth every single second. One of the train employees told us a little about the history of the train and how things work. From a distance, I could see faint lines on the hillside that were definitely the switchbacks. Dogs are welcome and may be off-leash in some areas. This satellite powered device is able to track your location on a digital map, share your location with friends/family, send basic text messages, and (most importantly) it has an emergency SOS button to get help. Then, we saw 2 mountain goats on the other side of Needle Creek that had just walked into someones camp.