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This is a spectacular trip with abundant scenery and lots of solitude. I've begun planning my adventures for this summer, and while there will be a handful of overnighters and long weekends, I've settled on the Elk Park-Needleton Loop for my main trip. Early morning often leaves thick fog in valleys, only to be burnt away later by the sun. 28 miles, a little over 8k' of elevation gain. Great hike! The train ride out of Durango and through the Rockwood Cut was quite enjoyable. I couldnt really see Kite Lake well from the the CDT, but as I said earlier, my mind was pretty much set. Breathtaking! After the train dropped us off at Elk Park, it was pretty quiet. We loaded our backpacks in the baggage car. There were tons of mines dotting the mountainside, some of which looked pretty difficult to get to. From Twin Lakes, I made it back to my campsite in 35 minutes. After driving around town, we realized that there was zero parking available anywhere. Even though I initially didnt want to build a fire, I was really glad to have it going now. Our stop is Elk Park, a 3 hour ride from Durango. The skies were grey to start the day, but gave way to some blue patches by mid morning. Nice! We had cinders in your hair most of the trip, they didnt seem to go away! Ran I to some bad weather that chased us out on the 2nd day but we saw a few moose on this trail. Enjoy the hike, its a good one! Go to the print button at the top and choose print to pdf. Very isolated in the middle of the trail, we only saw 1 other person each day. I missed the shortcut from Eldorado Lake to Hunchback pass , many years ago.Im headed there in 2 wks and hoping to find itAny suggestions, This time I will have a GPS when looking from Hunchback pass I was pretty sure I could see a trail to Eldorado Lake , but wasnt positive so I didnt give it a try. Interesting views in the upper Chicago Basin area. For shelter, we carried a backpacking tent, as well as a double sleeping pad, Sea to Summit Thermolite sleeping bag liners, and a compressible backpacking quilt. NOTE: As of 2021, we have been informed that you cannot board the train in Silverton and get dropped off at Needleton. A hiking boot is preferable. You take a train from Durango that. We kept the food bags in our packs too, which is kept in OPsaks. As we waited by the tracks, one of the hikers we were talking to in the shack was showing another guy his sleeping pad. The San Juan mountains are notorious for being snowy and the best time is probably mid July to Mid September. They could not believe how small the pad was, but I got the impression it was too ultralight for them. Id say we averaged 5 people seen per day on days 1-4. I found a semi dry spot under a pine tree to hang out during the rain while Lisa took cover in the tent. Be prepared for a lot of bugs and rain. On day four, we hiked along the 4wd road to Pole Creek and picked up our ride there. The top of Hunchback Pass offered no views, as the visibility was around 200 feet. Ill send this to your email as well. However, Im sure you could find a clearing to put a tent somewhere. Anyways, with breakfast in our stomachs and all our wet gear packed away, we hit the trail around 7:30. I wonder how they get to their homes, since there are no roads anywhere near here. Getting close to the top of Hunchback Pass. Miles Hiked 5.4 Finally, with any backpacking trip, you should look for an emergency out. Finally, the weather is cooperating! I dont like to sit in the tent if I dont have to. Also, this area of the Weminuche has quite the rodent population. We are early 50s, fairly fit experienced hikers from Durango, and we gave ourselves 5 nights/6 days. I decided to head downhill in a hurry. The views were awe inspiring, but of course, it began to rain. They didnt seem to concerned with our presence though. If you found my trip report useful, please dont hesitate to leave a comment! I used a Garmin InReach Mini 2 to track our location, and any time we came to an unmarked trail junction, we knew which way to go. Here comes my ride! This hike is definitely a good one! There is no road access to either the Elk Park or Needleton trail access points. There were a bunch of waterfalls along Needle Creek though. Weve also been testing this Deuter Aircontact Ultra 45 + 5 pack and love it. Hikers exchanged stories about their experiences in the Weminuche Wilderness and beyond to kill the time. We chatted for a while and took turns taking pictures of each other before they headed down. After realizing that, I looked around and could see where the trail picked up again, and started hiking directly towards the trail in the distance. Columbine Pass The crowning jewel on our recent vacation to Colorado was an epic backpacking trip. It was extra sunny during the day, and there were thunderstorms most evenings. It is a fairly difficult hike, but not one that isn't doable. Columbine Lake Trail #509 in San Juan National Forest is a difficult and steep trail with 16 discernible switchbacks but it's worth the effort. Trees blocked most of the views. with an Osprey water bladder. Without going closer, theres no way of knowing what the rest of it looked like. After going up a series of switchbacks, I had reached the Twin Lakes by around 7:15. Hiking through Vallecito Basin on our way up Columbine Pass. Before reaching the trails down to Kite/Eldorado Lakes, we had to hike over a 100ft rocky ridge, just as the clouds looked their worst. Weminuche Wilderness National Geographic map, Black Diamond Alpine carbon trekking poles, MSR PocketRocket Deluxe backpacking stove, Sea to Summit Thermolite sleeping bag liners, Elk Park to Needleton Backpacking Loop (Silverton, CO), Supplemental Privacy Notice For California Residents, Supplemental Privacy Notice For Nevada Residents. I wasnt sore at all until day 4 or 5, with only moderate soreness in the hamstrings. The trail follows the 44 road past the lake, and then winds towards the trail leading up to Hunchback Pass. Farther downstream revealed a tall but tiny waterfall before the land leveled out near the lake. Generally considered a moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 19 h 35 min to complete. Small amounts of debris from avalanche on the Needles creek trail but easy to navigate. I still panned on climbing Windom and maybe Sunlight. To exit we kept walking all the way to Purgatory. It was well worn and looked much less difficult than I had imagined. We set our packs up on a rock ledge with rain covers on, hoping thats be enough to keep them dry. The stars were barely visible now that the morning light was fast approaching, but this was the most Id seen of stars the entire trip. Route Chicago Basin to Needleton train stop. One of the train employees told us a little about the history of the train and how things work. However, if you can afford it, the train ride is fun, and it sure is nice once you reach Elk Park and realize you don't have to make that 1,700' climb back up to Molas Pass. Very good tip report. This cabin would be a good place to wait out a storm, but its not suitable as an overnight shelter due to its condition. We headed down towards Kite, watching as the fog grew more and more around us. Back, finally! This is a popular trail for birding and hiking, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day. We saw several deer and prairie dogs before getting into the mountains. The weather started to improve a little as we set up the tent and took care of the usual camp chores. We passed many more campsites along the trail shortly after leaving our camp this morning. I guess thats good, because that was less people we saw on the other days. Dogs are welcome and may be off-lead in some areas. Today we slept in to 6am. Instead of heading over to Sunlight, I decided to follow the drainage leading to Twin Lakes and explore that area. There were no beavers. My group is collectively only able to go last week of May/first week of June. The train moves very slow, around 18 MPH max speed. Maybe, MAYBE in a low snow year but from what I can tell the west is getting quite a bit of powder this year so my guess would be July before the route is fully snow free. Did this in and back turning around a waterfall. For suggestions, see my guides to the best womens hiking boots and hiking gear for men. Great report, how can I get your waypoints? The weather was cloudy and more scattered rain throughout the rest of the day. Here, there were several more mountain goats hanging out on the rocks by a small pool of water. I was . I figured the total mileage for today would be about 14 miles, but everything after mile 4 or so would be downhill. We got to the train station around 7:15am, as we were told to be there 45 minutes early. A really incredible trip with unbeatable views! Required fields are marked *. For example, early access to youtube videos, stickers, t-shirt, behind the scenes info on my new thru hiking route creations, special thank you card and more! Just import my GPX file and then you can print it out. More jokes were cracked to the effect of mines smaller than yours and isnt it usually the other way around?. 5h 16m. Elk Park is a wide spot in the Animas River canyon located at milepost 490.5 on the Silverton Branch of the San Juan Extension. Some of the rocks were covered in ice making them extremely slippery too, so I had to be very careful once I neared the top. There were many campsites to choose from in the area near the Vallecito Creek Bridge. The unincorporated community of Needleton is very secluded east from the Highway 550. Now through this little plateau area, the trail starts heaving down pretty quick. The people were yelling at them and throwing rocks to try and scare them away, but the goats were pretty stubborn. Ive started research for a September 2017 trip and came across your report. One option for a multi-day trip is from the Elk Park Train Stop to Needleton. There are a lot of trees down throughout the Johnson Creek and Needle Creek drainages - another hiker counted 155 trees across the trail on the way down from Chicago Basin to Needleton, but it looks like the FS is working their way up, clearing from the bottom up. The water was deep and fast flowing here. This hike primary route. Lisa was quite scared here, and it took a lot of coaxing to get her to move. Vallecito Basin, which lies below Columbine pass, was pretty nice. Again, a lot of trees were down that we had to circumnavigate. See the beauty of the San Juans on a guided tour. Sad to see all the beetle damage. Bob Marshall. Our lunch spot today was next to a waterfall. We hiked from the Elk Park train stop to Needleton, which includes about 43 miles of hiking in the San Juan mountains. Yes, either hiking boots or hiking shoes are a very good idea on these trails. The weather was once again threatening to rain as I made it to the top, finally sitting up on the CDT. To board at a flagstop, you must be on the east side of the tracks. On day two, we encountered an even larger debris field between Beaver Pond and the ascent to the miner's shack. We ended up eating at Diorios Pizza which was pretty good. After staring me down for a minute, they decided to move in my direction. Then, we saw 2 mountain goats on the other side of Needle Creek that had just walked into someones camp. She's a photographer, food writer and traveler, and is certified in Backcountry Kitchen and Backcountry Navigation from the Colorado Outward Bound School and Identifying Wild Plants from Backpacker. More mountain goats as I leave the Twins Lake area. See this list of my favorite freeze-dried meals if youre curious about what theyre like. It was a little windy last night, which can make it hard to sleep. Or some come at it from the opposite (Needleton) end, via Purgatory Flats Trail and the Animas River Trail (about 10 miles). Of course, now it starts to rain for the first time today. One guy stopped and said Whoa, what are you doing going up that? Hail/freezing rain/snow was falling, and it was Hunchback Pass all over again, with a little better visibility. West Needles Contiguous Wilderness Study Area. Patreon is a service that allows you to provide monthly financial support to your favorite content creators. Creating new thru-hiking routes & guides, hiking videos, outdoor documentaries, backpacking trip reports, trail journals, photos and more! Finally, some views! I learned this the hard way when hiking around Snowmass Lake last year. Clothes and gear is now dry (mostly), and we wreaked of smoke. As another hiker had told me earlier today, there were a lot of rodent holes in this area, and I could see mice running around everywhere. All we could do is move downhill as quickly as possible, and after descending another 1500 feet or so, all was well again. It was incredible to see the clouds taking over the area! Besides that, she was very happy to have a day off to rest. Looking for a slightly larger backpacking pack that will still fit a short torso? Other hikers trickled in to the area as time went on. Two other climbers reached the top during my stay up here. I ended up spending an hour and a half up here just hanging out. We played leap frog with the other groups of hikers most of the day as we passed them on their breaks and vice versa. This is the "fourth bridge" of vallecito creek, north of the vallecito campground/Trailhead. So much for being packed. I can use train but according to DSNGRR schedule, their trains stops EITHER in Needlton OR in Elk Park, but not in BOTH. If needed, when you reach the Vallecito and Johnson Creek trail junction, you could hike about 10 miles to the Vallecito Reservoir, a popular lake area. This was a class 3 in my opinion. It was only 11:45, so we had 3:45 to wait.