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Tag: champion basin

Red Mountain Creek: Ironton Park to Peters Pass

Mountains of Minerals | Friday – Sunday, August 1-3, 2025

This weekend I headed up into the San Juan Mountains near Ouray so I could hike a few new trails and explore some of the old mining ruins that are found along the upper reaches of Red Mountain Creek from Ironton Park up to Peters Pass. The weather forecast for the weekend was looking pretty dry, but there was bound to be some smoke in the air from all the wildfires currently burning in the southwest this summer. As usual, I left from work on Friday afternoon, stopped for a quick dinner in Delta and then continued up the Million Dollar Highway to the Red Mountain Mining District for my first hike which would take me to the Corkscrew Gulch Turntable and American Girl Mine.

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Red Mountain Pass Peaks

Friday – Sunday, July 10-12, 2015

June was a busy month for me that prevented me from spending much time outside and then I got sick over the long Independence Day weekend, so it’s been quite a while since I’ve been out hiking and camping and I really needed to get back into the mountains this weekend! Since I’m a little out of shape, I thought it would be a good idea to start out the season hiking a few easier peaks near Red Mountain Pass this weekend that I’ve thought about climbing for years. Diane and I left after work on Friday and drove through Ouray to one of our go-to campsites in Mineral Basin. We quickly setup camp at 11,600 feet elevation and were soon sleeping. I know that some people have trouble sleeping at higher elevations, but I almost always sleep well over 10,000 feet and this night was no exception.

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