Backpacking in the Weminuche Wilderness
The Weminuche Wilderness Area is extremely popular for hiking and backpacking. It is located in the San Juan and Rio Grande National Forests in Colorado. With nearly 500 miles of trails and almost half a million acres, it is Colorado's largest wilderness area.
My plan consisted of leaving my truck in Durango and getting a ride over to the Vallecito Reservoir trailhead. From there I would hike up the Vallecito Creek Trail to Johnson Creek, spend the night, and take the Johnson Creek Trail over Columbine Pass into the Chicago Basin. There are three "fourteeners" right there next to each other in the Chicago Basin: Mount Eolus, Sunlight Peak, and Windom Peak. I would spend a night or two and then hike down to the Needleton trailhead and catch the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad back to Durango.
I was trying to go ultralight, although I've never really succeeded in achieving true ultralight status (about 12 pounds for that length of trip). I think I was at about 20 pounds; mostly because of food.
I told authorities in Durango exactly where I was going, when I would return and left a copy of my itinerary along with my bootprints in aluminum foil in my truck. I arrived at the north end of Vallecito Reservoir, paid the driver way more than I expected for the ride over from Durango, and started up the Vallecito Creek Trail. There is nothing like hiking in Colorado!
In those days, I didn't have a GPS unit, but had carefully studied my maps and estimated times. It was a beautiful walk up Vallecito Creek. The day was warm and the sky blue. A couple of miles up the trail, I noticed I was missing something and realized I had left my walking stick leaning on the trailhead sign back at the reservoir. I was not going back for it! Soon I began to hear the rumble of thunder in the north, although it never did actually rain that day. I passed a campsite that was using lamas for pack animals and maybe to ride, which was the first time I had seen them other than at stables.
Late in the day I arrived at the intersection of Johnson Creek and Vallecito Creek and found a place to camp. A few other hikers were nearby, but it was not crowded, and actually quite secluded. I set up my homemade silnylon tarp and started to heat up some tea and soup on my tiny alcohol stove that I made from a soda can (about 1 ounce). I spread out my homemade quilt to fluff up, although it wasn't particularly cold. As a side note, after experimenting with the quilt on several trips, I will go back a lightweight synthetic bag. The quilt is too much trouble to keep wrapped around you and doesn't save any weight by the time you make it thick enough to stay warm. Just my preference, though.
During the night, I looked up and saw a little creature's eyes right in front of mine. I jumped and it jumped and took off. It must have been a little mouse or other rodent. We scared each other half to death. I had to laugh.
The next morning after packing everything into homemade nylon bags and my homemade backpack, I started looking for the Johnson Creek Trail. Moments earlier, a huge elk came jumping through the bushes. There are no signs, or other markings anywhere up there. Just something that looked like it might be a path beside the creek that looked like it was headed more or less in the right direction. Things like that have given me an appreciation for GPS.
I took off up the path and it was actually a couple of hours before I was fairly confident I was on the right trail. Of course, I had my topo maps, but they sometimes leave a little to be desired when it comes to 100% certainty. But, eventually after some significant climbing out of the tree line, I made it to Columbine Lake just under Columbine pass. With drizzle and cloud cover, a pretty good breeze, and at 12,700 feet I cooled down pretty quickly after stopping for a snack by the small lake.
When I finally hit the pass and could see into the Chicago Basin, it was a stunning view. The three fourteeners were plainly in sight. I worked my way down past some old mines and into the trees, where I set up camp for the second night. I think the altitude was affecting my appetite because I was nearly sick trying to eat noodles. That's the last time I ever ate them camping. I don't think they have any nutritional value anyway, from what I have read.
I was awakened in the middle of the night by loud thunder and bright lightning accompanied by pouring rain. That was the first test of the tarp in real weather and to my amazement it performed flawlessly. I did not get a drop of water on me, even from splashes from water pouring off the sides. I did learn, however, that when silnylon gets soaked it sags. So, you need to pitch the tarp high enough and tight enough that you still have plenty of clearance even if it gets wet. The other thing is that since it is completely waterproof, condensation forms on the underside in a storm like that.
The next morning, after nearly choking on the extremely nutritious breakfast mix I had made and vowing to never touch that again either, I packed up and started down the Needle Creek Trail to the Animas River and the Needleton stop for the train. There is absolutely nothing at Needleton except a bridge over the Animas River to the railroad track. I spread out my tarp to dry and waited for the train. There were several other backpackers there, as well. I had seen a few camps up in the basin, and people were climbing the peaks.
Before long I heard the train. It came by hissing and spewing steam and stopped and loaded everyone up. Of course, there were other passengers taking the trip from Silverton back to Durango. The train ride itself was really interesting. It would be well worth it to do even without camping. The views on the way back down to Durango were spectacular. Some of the sheer cliffs along which the train runs are exciting, to say the least.
You could plan some pretty long trips in the Weminuche if you wanted. Although I did not see many people except at a distance, I did talk to some hikers that had started in the north and had been in there over a week. You can combine trails into interesting combinations of multi day trips. One year while 4-wheeling I was camped north of Silverton and noticed a trailhead with a sign that said Weminuche Wilderness. It brought back some fond memories.
My plan consisted of leaving my truck in Durango and getting a ride over to the Vallecito Reservoir trailhead. From there I would hike up the Vallecito Creek Trail to Johnson Creek, spend the night, and take the Johnson Creek Trail over Columbine Pass into the Chicago Basin. There are three "fourteeners" right there next to each other in the Chicago Basin: Mount Eolus, Sunlight Peak, and Windom Peak. I would spend a night or two and then hike down to the Needleton trailhead and catch the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad back to Durango.
I was trying to go ultralight, although I've never really succeeded in achieving true ultralight status (about 12 pounds for that length of trip). I think I was at about 20 pounds; mostly because of food.
I told authorities in Durango exactly where I was going, when I would return and left a copy of my itinerary along with my bootprints in aluminum foil in my truck. I arrived at the north end of Vallecito Reservoir, paid the driver way more than I expected for the ride over from Durango, and started up the Vallecito Creek Trail. There is nothing like hiking in Colorado!
In those days, I didn't have a GPS unit, but had carefully studied my maps and estimated times. It was a beautiful walk up Vallecito Creek. The day was warm and the sky blue. A couple of miles up the trail, I noticed I was missing something and realized I had left my walking stick leaning on the trailhead sign back at the reservoir. I was not going back for it! Soon I began to hear the rumble of thunder in the north, although it never did actually rain that day. I passed a campsite that was using lamas for pack animals and maybe to ride, which was the first time I had seen them other than at stables.
Late in the day I arrived at the intersection of Johnson Creek and Vallecito Creek and found a place to camp. A few other hikers were nearby, but it was not crowded, and actually quite secluded. I set up my homemade silnylon tarp and started to heat up some tea and soup on my tiny alcohol stove that I made from a soda can (about 1 ounce). I spread out my homemade quilt to fluff up, although it wasn't particularly cold. As a side note, after experimenting with the quilt on several trips, I will go back a lightweight synthetic bag. The quilt is too much trouble to keep wrapped around you and doesn't save any weight by the time you make it thick enough to stay warm. Just my preference, though.
During the night, I looked up and saw a little creature's eyes right in front of mine. I jumped and it jumped and took off. It must have been a little mouse or other rodent. We scared each other half to death. I had to laugh.
The next morning after packing everything into homemade nylon bags and my homemade backpack, I started looking for the Johnson Creek Trail. Moments earlier, a huge elk came jumping through the bushes. There are no signs, or other markings anywhere up there. Just something that looked like it might be a path beside the creek that looked like it was headed more or less in the right direction. Things like that have given me an appreciation for GPS.
I took off up the path and it was actually a couple of hours before I was fairly confident I was on the right trail. Of course, I had my topo maps, but they sometimes leave a little to be desired when it comes to 100% certainty. But, eventually after some significant climbing out of the tree line, I made it to Columbine Lake just under Columbine pass. With drizzle and cloud cover, a pretty good breeze, and at 12,700 feet I cooled down pretty quickly after stopping for a snack by the small lake.
When I finally hit the pass and could see into the Chicago Basin, it was a stunning view. The three fourteeners were plainly in sight. I worked my way down past some old mines and into the trees, where I set up camp for the second night. I think the altitude was affecting my appetite because I was nearly sick trying to eat noodles. That's the last time I ever ate them camping. I don't think they have any nutritional value anyway, from what I have read.
I was awakened in the middle of the night by loud thunder and bright lightning accompanied by pouring rain. That was the first test of the tarp in real weather and to my amazement it performed flawlessly. I did not get a drop of water on me, even from splashes from water pouring off the sides. I did learn, however, that when silnylon gets soaked it sags. So, you need to pitch the tarp high enough and tight enough that you still have plenty of clearance even if it gets wet. The other thing is that since it is completely waterproof, condensation forms on the underside in a storm like that.
The next morning, after nearly choking on the extremely nutritious breakfast mix I had made and vowing to never touch that again either, I packed up and started down the Needle Creek Trail to the Animas River and the Needleton stop for the train. There is absolutely nothing at Needleton except a bridge over the Animas River to the railroad track. I spread out my tarp to dry and waited for the train. There were several other backpackers there, as well. I had seen a few camps up in the basin, and people were climbing the peaks.
Before long I heard the train. It came by hissing and spewing steam and stopped and loaded everyone up. Of course, there were other passengers taking the trip from Silverton back to Durango. The train ride itself was really interesting. It would be well worth it to do even without camping. The views on the way back down to Durango were spectacular. Some of the sheer cliffs along which the train runs are exciting, to say the least.
You could plan some pretty long trips in the Weminuche if you wanted. Although I did not see many people except at a distance, I did talk to some hikers that had started in the north and had been in there over a week. You can combine trails into interesting combinations of multi day trips. One year while 4-wheeling I was camped north of Silverton and noticed a trailhead with a sign that said Weminuche Wilderness. It brought back some fond memories.
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