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Tag: san juan mountains

San Miguel Canyon and the Upper San Miguel RiverSan Miguel Canyon and the Upper San Miguel River

San Miguel Canyon and the Upper San Miguel River

Caddis Flats to Beaver Creek & Deep Creek to Down Valley Park | Average CFS: 675
Saturday & Sunday, June 7-8, 2025

Late last year Jackson and I decided to take advantage of Mild To Wild’s annual Black Friday sale and booked a trip on the upper San Miguel River for this Sunday with hopes that there would be enough water to run it. Luckily, even though the San Juan Mountains had a pretty poor snow year this winter, there was still enough water to raft the San Miguel at this time, so we planned to head down on Saturday morning to float through San Miguel Canyon from Caddis Flats to Beaver Creek in our inflatable kayaks the day before. A few years back Jackson and I had floated through Norwood Canyon just downstream from here and we were looking forward to checking out these other sections of the upper San Miguel River this weekend.

CONTINUE READINGSan Miguel Canyon and the Upper San Miguel River
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Lake Hope via the Lake Fork of the San Miguel RiverLake Hope via the Lake Fork of the San Miguel River

Lake Hope via the Lake Fork of the San Miguel River

Saturday & Sunday, September 14-15, 2024

This weekend Diane and I headed up into the San Juan Mountains so we could spend an easy and relaxing overnight camping trip together since we aren’t going to be seeing a lot of each other over the next couple of weeks. We slept in later than usual on Saturday morning before leaving home and then made our way over the Dallas Divide and past Telluride to just shy of Lizard Head Pass where we found a very nice campsite right next to Priest Lake. After setting up camp we continued up the Lake Fork to the trailhead for the Hope Lake Trail, which we planned to hike this afternoon since there were no storms predicted at all for today. This is a hike we’ve been meaning to do ever since we first tried hiking to Lake Hope seven years ago from the South Fork of Mineral Creek on the other side of the pass, but that time we were stopped by a snow drift and had to turn around. We were looking forward to finally making it up to the lake this afternoon!

CONTINUE READINGLake Hope via the Lake Fork of the San Miguel River
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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
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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
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The Rico Mountains: Five Years on the Calico TrailThe Rico Mountains: Five Years on the Calico Trail

The Rico Mountains: Five Years on the Calico Trail

Friday – Sunday, July 5-7, 2024

After Diane and I spent Independence Day backpacking in the Flat Tops Wilderness, we returned home early Friday afternoon so she could spend the rest of the weekend with a friend visiting from out of town. While at home I took some time to repack my Jeep for a solo trip and then headed south to spend the rest of the weekend in and around the Rico Mountains. Over the past four years I have been hiking to the summits of the peaks found along the Calico Trail, which follows the crest of the western Rico Mountains, and I only had one final named peak left- Landslip Mountain, which I panned to hike on Saturday morning.

CONTINUE READINGThe Rico Mountains: Five Years on the Calico Trail
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