Lakes, 14ers, and the Colorado Trail - Backpacking on Snow Mesa and the La Garita Wilderness
Wow - that's a long title.
Well, I now have added a third item to the list of where you don't want to go if you want solitude on your CO hikes. All of these are great hikes to take, but only if you don't mind being part of the "crowd". Number one on the list is most definitely 14ers. One of the hiking obsessions in Colorado is to hike the 14ers, hike all 54 of them if you are ambitious. Being at the top of a 14er is a great experience with views that go on forever. Hiking them all gives you some bragging rights particularly with your sea level cousins. But be prepared for some company. It can be a veritable zoo, hiking a 14er, with a steady stream of folks hiking/struggling their way to the top. Contrast that with hiking the 14er's lowly cousin, the 13er. I have hiked many 13ers, usually as a day hike on a backpacking trip, and almost every time, I (we) have been the only person on top - with basically the same breathtaking view that you get from the 14er. We are a very competitive society - we manage to turn everything into a competition. - Well, I guess I just don't have that streak in me - I'll leave the 14ers to everyone else - give me a 13er anytime.
Lakes - I love mountain lakes - makes for really beautiful photos - and I often hike to mountain lakes. But - they are like magnets for hikes and backpacking camping venues. Hike in a beautiful area that doesn't have lakes (West Elk Wilderness comes to mind - a beautiful area, only a few lakes, but beautiful scenery, particularly in the fall), and you will likely have the place to yourself. Backpack to a lake, and it's a minor miracle, if you end up not sharing the lake with several other backpackers. Of course there's the opportunity to fish, and the scenery, so I still hike to lakes, but generally I stay away from them as campsites - I prefer the quieter stream side settings.
Which brings to my third item, and new addition to my "if you want solitude" list, and that's avoid the Colorado trail. I hiked on a portion of the Colorado trail on this 4-day backpack, and over 4 days I ran into about 9 or ten groups of people - not really all that many, and I really enjoyed visiting with a number of those folks (a story to follow), and I really enjoyed this trip and would recommend it...... but every single group of people I met was on this trail because it was part of the Colorado Trail, and they were either hiking all 500+ miles of the trail, or hiking this segment of the trail. If this hadn't been designated a part of the Colorado trail, I wouldn't have seen anyone. It has become another of those items to check off the Colorado hiking list, all the 14ers, check, hiked the Colorado trail, check, etc.
Ok, enough of that diatribe - each to his own.
So on to my trip. 4 days, three nights, camping at 12,200 feet on Snow Mesa (largest piece of high alpine tundra in lower 48, or so I was told), great views of the San Juans, Uncompahgre Wilderness peaks, other high peaks, etc., hiking along the continental divide, coyotes howling at night, Elk "talking" at night, great but strenuous day hikes, and a hike to the top of Baldy Cinco, a 13er (and yes I was the only one there). More stories to follow, but here's some pictures.
Well, I now have added a third item to the list of where you don't want to go if you want solitude on your CO hikes. All of these are great hikes to take, but only if you don't mind being part of the "crowd". Number one on the list is most definitely 14ers. One of the hiking obsessions in Colorado is to hike the 14ers, hike all 54 of them if you are ambitious. Being at the top of a 14er is a great experience with views that go on forever. Hiking them all gives you some bragging rights particularly with your sea level cousins. But be prepared for some company. It can be a veritable zoo, hiking a 14er, with a steady stream of folks hiking/struggling their way to the top. Contrast that with hiking the 14er's lowly cousin, the 13er. I have hiked many 13ers, usually as a day hike on a backpacking trip, and almost every time, I (we) have been the only person on top - with basically the same breathtaking view that you get from the 14er. We are a very competitive society - we manage to turn everything into a competition. - Well, I guess I just don't have that streak in me - I'll leave the 14ers to everyone else - give me a 13er anytime.
Lakes - I love mountain lakes - makes for really beautiful photos - and I often hike to mountain lakes. But - they are like magnets for hikes and backpacking camping venues. Hike in a beautiful area that doesn't have lakes (West Elk Wilderness comes to mind - a beautiful area, only a few lakes, but beautiful scenery, particularly in the fall), and you will likely have the place to yourself. Backpack to a lake, and it's a minor miracle, if you end up not sharing the lake with several other backpackers. Of course there's the opportunity to fish, and the scenery, so I still hike to lakes, but generally I stay away from them as campsites - I prefer the quieter stream side settings.
Which brings to my third item, and new addition to my "if you want solitude" list, and that's avoid the Colorado trail. I hiked on a portion of the Colorado trail on this 4-day backpack, and over 4 days I ran into about 9 or ten groups of people - not really all that many, and I really enjoyed visiting with a number of those folks (a story to follow), and I really enjoyed this trip and would recommend it...... but every single group of people I met was on this trail because it was part of the Colorado Trail, and they were either hiking all 500+ miles of the trail, or hiking this segment of the trail. If this hadn't been designated a part of the Colorado trail, I wouldn't have seen anyone. It has become another of those items to check off the Colorado hiking list, all the 14ers, check, hiked the Colorado trail, check, etc.
Ok, enough of that diatribe - each to his own.
So on to my trip. 4 days, three nights, camping at 12,200 feet on Snow Mesa (largest piece of high alpine tundra in lower 48, or so I was told), great views of the San Juans, Uncompahgre Wilderness peaks, other high peaks, etc., hiking along the continental divide, coyotes howling at night, Elk "talking" at night, great but strenuous day hikes, and a hike to the top of Baldy Cinco, a 13er (and yes I was the only one there). More stories to follow, but here's some pictures.
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