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Spencer Basin to Sugarloaf

Friday & Saturday, July 23-24, 2021

This weekend I needed to stay closer to home since Diane and I had another concert to go to on Saturday night and I wanted to be home early enough in the afternoon so I could rest for a little bit first. I was originally trying to find an easier summit close to Ouray since I was a little worried about all the mudslides we’ve been having in the mountains lately, and I really didn’t want to get stuck anywhere and miss out on the concert, but in the end I decided to head over Red Mountain Pass to Silverton so I could hike to the summit of Sugarloaf from Spencer Basin. Here’s a fun fact: There are at least 28 different Sugarloafs in Colorado (including peaks, mountains, rocks, etc…), but the one located above Spencer Basin along the edge of the Weminuche Wilderness is the highest one in the state at 12,754 feet.

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Highland Mary Lakes & Verde Lakes

Saturday & Sunday, June 9-10, 2018

This weekend Diane and I decided to go on a very early season backpacking trip into the high country near Silverton. During a normal year we wouldn’t even consider going on a backpacking trip into the mountains until later in June or early in July, but with the low snowpack this year we decided to give it a try much earlier to see how the conditions really were. Also, since it’s still early in the season, the monsoons haven’t started yet and we would be able to camp well above tree line without worrying about storms or lightning. Plus, with Highway 550 closed between Durango and Silverton because of the 416 Fire, we figured the mountains near Silverton wouldn’t be very busy right now and we hoped to find plenty of solitude.

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June San Juan’s Day Trip

Saturday, June 20, 2009

With word of the trails in the San Juan Mountains starting to open up already thanks to plenty of dust storms this spring, Amanda and I decided to head down for a day trip. Our destination was a few trails around Silverton. Amanda wanted to drive a trail this trip and since she’s never been up Stony Pass she ended up driving that one. Unfortunately, on our way up to the pass, the weather got bad. It started out as some heavier rain, but as we got higher it turned into snow. The tops of all the mountains were out of view behind the clouds. Once we reached Stony Pass, we decided to turn around and head out of the clouds and into a lower trail.

Tag: highland mary mine

Spencer Basin to Sugarloaf

Highland Mary Lakes & Verde Lakes

June San Juan’s Day Trip