Friday & Saturday, August 15-16, 2025
Since Diane and I are leaving on Tuesday afternoon to spend the rest of the week up in Wyoming, I needed to be home on Sunday to get prepared for the upcoming trip. Still, I wanted to get out hiking in the mountains this weekend and decided to head on down to Telluride after work on Friday so I could hike the Sneffels Highline Trail on Saturday morning. It’s been quite a while since I last hiked in the Mount Sneffels Wilderness and I was looking forward to returning. Although it seems that the monsoon has been pretty nonexistent around here this season, according to the forecast it looked like stormy weather was going to back this weekend and I might have to work around some wet weather- I was just hoping it wouldn’t completely cancel my plans. As I drove down to Telluride on Friday afternoon I started to encounter some rain as I drove through San Miguel Canyon, but it had stopped by the time I reached Telluride and found a place to park in town.
After making it to Telluride, I checked out the parking and trailhead options for my planned hike on Saturday morning and then went for a short walk up the Cornet Creek Trail.
The steep trail ended at Cornet Falls.
While walking back to town from the Jud Wiebe Trailhead I had a nice view of Ajax Peak.
I followed the path along the San Miguel River and made a loop around the Beaver Pond before returning to my vehicle.
Ballard Mountain
Greenback Mountain
After leaving town I still had plenty of time to find a campsite before sunset, so I decided to finally go visit Mystic Falls. I’ve been meaning to visit this impressive waterfall for well over a decade now but have just never made the time to do so.
This tall waterfall was visible from the trailhead.
After a short walk I reached a nice overlook across from Mystic Falls.
I got soaked from the vegetation along the route as I hiked down into the canyon where I had a great view of the waterfall from below.
Mystic Falls
The Ophir Needles were looking nice as I set out to find a campsite for the night.
South Fork Evening
It rained on and off for much of the night and it was still raining out a little when my alarm went off at 5:00am, but that didn’t last long. After getting ready I drove over to the Mill Creek Trailhead and started hiking about thirty minutes before sunrise. It was still dark enough out that I needed to use my headlamp for the first mile of the trail.
The first few miles of the Mill Creek and Deep Creek Trails were in the trees with limited views, but this meadow offered a view of Mill Creek Basin under low clouds from the clearing storm.
After turning off the Deep Creek Trail I started following the Sneffels Highline Trail through the tress along the top of a ridge.
Entering the Mount Sneffels Wilderness.
As the trail climbed higher the views opened up and I watched the clearing storm begin to let some morning light through.
Campbell Peak
Looking back from the trail there were some great views of the San Miguel Mountains.
Dallas Peak
As the clouds continued to clear I had a better view of the peaks surrounding the basin.
Lost in the Clouds
A commanding view from the Sneffels Highline Trail.
It was fun watching the peaks above play hide-and-seek in the clouds.
Mill Creek
I walked over to an overlook of the waterfall along Mill Creek.
The views continued to get better the higher into Mill Creek Basin I went…
Mill Creek Basin Trail
Sneffels Highline Trail
Just before the final climb up to the pass there was a great overlook of Mill Creek Basin.
If you look closely you can pick out the trail up to the pass.
Here’s one final look back into Mill Creek Basin.
It had gotten a bit cloudy again by the time I reached the pass, but the view was still pretty great!
On the other side of the pass I started my descent through Pack Basin.
Once I was back in the trees the views were limited again, but this small opening in the trees gave me a view across the southern face of the Sneffels Range to Whipple Mountain.
Although the trail down from Pack Basin was a little steep, it was pretty easy hiking.
Once I reached the end of the Sneffels Highline Trail in Epees Park I turned right onto the Waterline Trail and followed it back to Mill Creek.
As I followed the Waterline Trail back to the trailhead I had a nice view down the valley to the beginning of the San Miguel Canyon with Little Cone and Lone Cone visible on the horizon.
Beautiful photos as always! Hey where will you and Diane be going in Wyoming? I live in Jackson Hole and would be happy to help you any way I can 🙂
Our plans for backpacking in the Wind Rivers fell through, so we ended up spending a few days in Yellowstone. We actually just drove through Jackson Hole a few hours ago on our way back home. Thanks for the offer!
I Love reading about your hikes. your photography is so much better. The pictures of mystic falls are great.
Thanks Tom, I’m glad you enjoy reading about my hikes!