My colorado gettaway trip report

[Canyon Dweller]

This past week I went on a backpacking trip with my dad and his friend Tom for a week. It actually turned out to be 2 backpacking trips.

Saturday we departed from Flagstaff at 5:00am. We went through Durango, Pagosa Springs, to South Fork, up through Creed and into Lake City. This area through the San Juan’s was very different, as it was very beautiful, but not impressive like going to Telluride or Silverton. We could see the trees were starting to change colors.
Our trip started off at the Matterhorn Trailhead at about 11,000 feet. We put on our backpacks and hiked up to a 12,460-foot pass and then headed down to about 12,000 feet where we camped. In all it was about 4 miles, 2 of it was very steep and the elevation was killing me.
Monday we went up Wetterhorn (14,015 feet). It was a loose and scary scramble up most the mountain. Then we reached the "Ships Prow" crossed over the small saddle and headed up the last 200 feet of the mountain. It was very steep and is the part everybody talks about and seams to scare everybody because of the exposure. The exposure was intense, but I thought the climb was relatively easy and safe as long as I did not slip (one slip would be the end of my life). The rock was very solid, and made for a fun ascent. It was not much different than climbing a latter. Once on top we could see the Elk Mountains, All the San Juan Mountains, the Sawatch mountains, some of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains and the La Sals in Utah. We could tell that all the San Juan Mountains got hit with a heavy snowstorm a couple weeks prior. We stayed over 1.5 hours on top, not a cloud in the sky. Coming down after we got on the loose scree my dad slipped and found a rock to cling on to which saved his life. That really scared me, he almost took me with him. But in all it was a safe day and we headed back to camp. We did not see one cloud the whole day, perfectly blue skies.
Tuesday we headed over to the Matterhorn (13,590 feet). On our way we saw a young Bald Eagle swoop down and catch some prey and flew away with it.
Most the way up it was very steep, but we were walking on the grass and tundra, so it was very safe, but it was also very difficult. Then the last 200 feet was on rock and it was a fun scramble to the top. The rock was not really stable; we had to test the rock before using it as a handhold. We were on the peak before 11:00am. The peak was just a pile of rocks and looked like it could collapse at any moment. After we came down Tom decided to go out by himself and maybe get a nap on the slopes of the mountains somewhere. My dad wanted to go back to camp and rest, I did not, so I decided since it was about 12:00 I would go and hike the mountain next to me. I was not sure if I'd get to the top or not, but I gave it a go. About an hour later I got to a 60-foot cliff face, and decided the mountain will not be mine. I then saw a path below me that might take me beneath the cliffs and past them, so I gave it a try and sure enough, before I knew it I was ascending the peak again and worked myself up a scree slope and I was on the summit. The summit log only had one signature on it and it dated July 2003 and I found out the name of the mountain was Broken Hill and the elevation was 13,256. This is now my first mountain in Colorado that I did solo. I took a few photos and headed back to camp which took me about 1.5 hours.
That night some elk came very close to our camp and we could hear them calling out loud and clear.
The next day we did the high point in the San Juan Mountains Uncompahgre Peak (14,309 feet). For the most part it was a walk up, never got harder than the Grand Canyon, but the elevation was killing me. We were stopping about every half a swichback to get a breath. Moving up that high was very slow. We than came onto an unexpected scramble to get to the summit plateau. From there it was a slight slant to the summit ridgecrest, there was no absolute peak, just had to touch every point along the ridgecrest to know I had it. The north face was spectacular, it dropped about 2,000 feet and to look over it I got on my stomach to view over the dramatic edge.
We headed back to camp, packed up and headed 4 miles more back to the car. We drove to Lake City and picked up a few supplies before heading back into the mountains. Driving through the mountains we could see that the trees have changed color even more. That night Tom forgot to put his cooler back into the car. About midnight we heard some clunking outside. Tom got up to see what was going on and a brown bear had got into the cooler. The flashlight scared the bear away. The next morning we looked to see what he had taken; it managed to only bite into one of the one gallon jugs full of water and steal Toms pepper jack cheese.
The next day we headed to Silver Creek Trailhead to hike 2 more mountains. We hiked in about 1.5 miles and set up camp at about 11,200 feet.
The next day we headed up Redcloud Peak (14,037 feet). It was a long steep climb and it only steepened as we reached the saddle at 13,000 feet. From there it dramatically got steeper. The mountain was the reddest rock I had ever seen. The paths across the snow looked like blood streaks. It was that intense. After we reached Redcloud we braked for awhile then headed to Sunshine Peak (14,001 feet), Colorado's smallest 14er. We came across an area that had the intense red dirt with gray rocks on top, it was really strange. About an hour late we reached our last summit, Sunshine Peak. From the summit the contrast of the snow capped peaks to the golden aspens and green evergreens was just breathtaking. There was a mouse on top no bigger than my thumb. We think it got into somebody’s backpack and was let loose on the summit. We spent quite some time resting and taking photos on the summit. We could not of had a more beautiful day as it was sunny and not a cloud in the sky all day. Sometimes the wind would kick up and it would get a bit cold.
On our descent, we headed back down to the saddle between Redcloud and Sunshine. From there, there was a sign that read, “Dangerous decent, not a trail return back to Redcloud.” We decided to go down that “Dangerous Descent.” The climbers trail first took us over some cliffs then it swithcbacked left and suddenly got really steep. It started on solid rock with scree on it, which is a bad combination. Its like marbles on a tile surface. We held on the rocks and headed down it one by one, then it was all loose scree the rest of the way. We slid down, scree skiing all the way down this thing, using our sticks and poles to slow our descent. There were times that stopping was not an option, all I could do was slow my descent with my pole. I just crouched down and went for a ride. I really cannot say it was scary; it was more fun than anything, just exhausting. We descended down about 800 feet in about ½ an hour. From the bottom of the scree slopes we headed down the rock glacier and back into the forest and followed the trail back to our campsite.
Saturday we packed up camp and headed back to the vehicle and headed home.
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Mountains are there to be climbed!

"Meaningless! Meaningless," says the teacher, "Utterly Meaningless, Everything is meaningless."-Ecclesiastes 1:2

[Trishness]

Sounds absolutely wonderful.......what an adventure!
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~~~Trish~~~

"Eastward the dawn rose, ridge behind ridge into the morning, and vanished out of eyesight into guess; it was no more than a glimmer blending with the hem of the sky, but it spoke to them, out of the memory and old tales, of the high and distant mountains." � J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings.

[plummer150]

Nice! Sounds like a wild adventure I need to do sometime.
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"IRONMAN" cometh, hiketh, destroyeth

[Canyon Dweller]

Thanks. If you do hike over 14,000 feet remember to start taking 2 asperns a day for about a week and then a couple right before your climb. This sort of elevation can give people altitude sickness, especially if your at or near sea level. I got a headache on both Wetterhorn (14,015 feet) and Uncompahgre Peak (14,309 feet.) It's crazy what altitdude will do to you.
I think I was aclimated by the time we did Redcloud and Sunshine, no headaches there.
_________________
Mountains are there to be climbed!

"Meaningless! Meaningless," says the teacher, "Utterly Meaningless, Everything is meaningless."-Ecclesiastes 1:2

[Tom Treks]

Steven,

Just for kicks try some Ginkgo Biloba before, and during your next altitude trek. It helps the bod get oxygen to where it's needed. I've been taking it regularly for a few months now and can tell a big difference in stamina. It will definitely help out in the "thin" air.

[Canyon Dweller]

[JW]

[Tom Treks]

[Guest]

I hate to admit it but Tom is right. As per his recommendation I started taking ginko on a regular basis. After taking it I noticed a quicker recovery in my long runs.

[Hikngrl]

Hey Tom... Is this something I can take before I go to bed with the rest of my vitamins when Ron tucks me in? Or will it keep me from sleeping? Do I need to take it in the AM?
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~~~Diane~~~

I want to shine!

[Tom Treks]

[JW]

Those of us, like Colin and I, who get into agaves (or vice versa), have to be prepared to spill some extra lifeblood. Clotting can be delayed. Just like regular aspirin it's a blood thinner, and delayed clotting is/can be a problem. Along the same lines, I don't know that it's a good idea to experiment with it above 10,000'+ altitudes. Plus be careful if you combine with regular aspirin or other blood thinners.
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What a magnificent time to LIVE! - Everett Ruess.

Since my house burned down, I now own a better view of the rising moon. - Masahide.

[Canyon Dweller]

The whole reason I take asperin before a high altitude hike is to thin my blood. Living at high elevation will also do the same thing. Thats why my dad was able to do the 14ers without a headache and my head started to pound. He lives in Flagstaff and so his blood is going to be thinner than mine. I will look into ginko. It looks promising.
_________________
Mountains are there to be climbed!

"Meaningless! Meaningless," says the teacher, "Utterly Meaningless, Everything is meaningless."-Ecclesiastes 1:2

[Tom Treks]

Steven,

You would have to take an enormous amount of Ginkgo Biloba and mix it with blood thinning drugs to have ill effects.

It actually relaxes the blood vessels in the body allowing a better flow of blood to your muscles and noggin.

As with anything, I wouldn't go too crazy with it. Everyone has their own reaction to it, and limitations.

[charles97]

Hi, sorry to join in late on the conversation (I'm new here), but 14er bagging is a hobby of mine. I've bagged 21 of them so far, though I haven't done the ones you mentioned in your trip report (YET).

I found that on the first couple of fourteeners I did, the altitude got to me, but mostly because of dehydration. My recent trips were much more trouble free with no headaches at all, including a couple times when I drove up from Phx and then hiked above 14K the next day. The trick for me was to drink a lot of fluids the night before and the morning of. During the hike I'll put some Gatorade mix into my water bottle and make sure I sip on it the whole way up, even if I'm not thirsty.

I know it sounds silly and redundant for me to recommend fluids to seasoned hikers, but I had to make an extra effort above my normal hydration habits to prevent altitude problems. It really helped.

Like you, I did the aspirin trick for a while (for me it's acetaminophen since I can't take aspirin or ibuprofen), and it helped but it wasn't 100% effective. It also seems to make me less energetic, so I've stopped doing that lately. Haven't tried Ginko, but sounds like it's worthwhile.

Happy trails!
charles
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Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess.