Press "Enter" to skip to content

Tag: 13ers

South San Juan Sojourn: Conejos Peak & Summit PeakSouth San Juans: Conejos Peak & Summit Peak

South San Juan Sojourn: Conejos Peak & Summit Peak

South San Juan Wilderness | Thursday – Saturday, August 20-22, 2026

It’s been just over three years since my last visit to the South San Juan Mountains and I’ve been wanting to get back there for quite a while. Initially, I was going to attend the annual GIS Colorado Summer Meetup this week, which was supposed to be held at the Big Meadows Campground along the western edge of the Weminuche Wilderness, and then I was planning to spend the remainder of the weekend hiking in the South San Juans, but that event was recently cancelled. Since I had really been looking forward to returning to the South San Juans, I decided to carry on with my plans and started driving that way early on Thursday morning. I took the scenic route along the Silver Thread Scenic Byway through Lake City and Creede to South Fork and then followed the Lake Fork of the Rio Grande to the Big Meadows Reservoir and Shaw Lake so I could at least check them out, even though I wouldn’t be spending any time in that area now.

CONTINUE READINGSouth San Juan Sojourn: Conejos Peak & Summit Peak
Leave a Comment
Cleveland Gulch: Cinnamon Pass to Schafer BasinCleveland Gulch: Cinnamon Pass to Schafer Basin

Cleveland Gulch: Cinnamon Pass to Schafer Basin

Mountains of Minerals | Thursday – Friday, July 2-3, 2026

This week I had Friday off from work for the Independence Day holiday and planned to spend it in the San Juan Triangle hiking around Cleveland Gulch from Cinnamon Pass to the ridge above Schafer Basin. Although there are quite a few large wildfires burning in Colorado, Utah and Arizona right now, this particular area was being spared from most of the smoke and seemed like a good place to go. I left from work on Thursday afternoon and initially thought I was going to have to drive the long way around to Lake City since Highway 550 had been closed earlier in the week due to the Gold Mountain Fire near Ouray, but luckily it had just been reopened on Wednesday afternoon. When I stopped to top off my gas tank in Montrose I double-checked COtrip one last time to make sure that Highway 550 was actually still open, and it was, so I carried on driving towards Ouray. Of course it figures, by the time I made it past Ridgway the road had been closed again! Thankfully, this time traffic was just being rerouted on County Road 23 instead of having to go the long way around, so it only slowed me down a little.

CONTINUE READINGCleveland Gulch: Cinnamon Pass to Schafer Basin
Leave a Comment
Ridge Stock Driveway: Nellie Creek to El Paso CreekRidge Stock Driveway: Nellie Creek to El Paso Creek

Ridge Stock Driveway: Nellie Creek to El Paso Creek

Uncompahgre Wilderness & Fall Colors 2025 | Friday & Saturday, September 26-27, 2025

This weekend I headed up into the Uncompahgre Wilderness near Lake City so I could spend one final weekend hiking in the high country above treeline as my season in the mountains comes to an end. I’ve been wanting to hike more sections of the Ridge Stock Driveway Trail that traverses much of the wilderness from American Flats in the west to the Alpine Plateau in the east, and I thought it would be fun to hike a segment above Nellie Creek, Big Blue Creek and El Paso Creek, which all surround the base of Uncompahgre Peak– the highest point in the San Juan Mountains! I left from work on Friday afternoon, grabbed a bite to eat in Delta, and then took the Blue Mesa Cutoff over to the Lake Fork of the Gunnison which I followed upstream to Lake City. Although I was hoping to see some fall colors along the way this weekend, I was a bit surprised at just how nice the colors were all around Lake City. I don’t think I’ve ever headed this way in search of fall colors before since my typical go-to spots are around Ouray, Silverton and Crested Butte, but now I think I’m going to have to come back this way again in the future!

CONTINUE READINGRidge Stock Driveway: Nellie Creek to El Paso Creek
8 Comments
Colorado Trail: Carson Saddle & the Continental DivideColorado Trail: Carson Saddle & the Continental Divide

Colorado Trail: Carson Saddle & the Continental Divide

Friday – Sunday, September 6-8, 2024

With the mountain season coming to an end in just a few short weeks and a busy schedule for me later this month, I wanted to make sure that I got out for some more hiking above treeline in the high country this weekend before it was too late. I thought a good way to do that would be by hiking part of the Colorado Trail along the Continental Divide in the San Juan Mountains starting from the Carson Saddle above Wager Gulch, so that’s where I headed when I left work on Friday afternoon. I didn’t want to deal with the Middle Bridge over Blue Mesa on US 50, so instead I opted to go over Red Mountain Pass into Silverton and then took the Alpine Loop over Cinnamon Pass to the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River.

CONTINUE READINGColorado Trail: Carson Saddle & the Continental Divide
Leave a Comment
Mountains of Minerals: Velocity & Richmond BasinsMountains of Minerals: Velocity & Richmond Basins

Mountains of Minerals: Velocity & Richmond Basins

San Juan Triangle | Friday – Sunday, July 12-14, 2024

After spending Thursday on the Colorado River in Westwater Canyon, I returned to work on Friday and then headed out afterwards to spend the weekend hiking in the San Juan Mountains between Silverton and Ouray. After making my way over Red Mountain Pass on the Million Dollar Highway to Silverton, I followed Cement Creek up into Velocity Basin and went for an evening hike along the shore of the little lake in the basin before finding a nearby campsite and getting to bed not long after sunset. Although hot, dry air has dominated the region for the past couple of weeks, afternoon storms were predicted to make a return this weekend, so I would have to make sure my hikes were planned accordingly by getting early starts.

CONTINUE READINGMountains of Minerals: Velocity & Richmond Basins
Leave a Comment