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Peak(s):  Sunlight Peak  -  14,061 feet
Windom Peak  -  14,089 feet
Mt. Eolus  -  14,087 feet
North Eolus  -  14,042 feet
Date Posted:  05/04/2012
Modified:  06/01/2012
Date Climbed:   08/19/2011
Author:  djkest
Additional Members:   Chaos Penumbra
 Perfect trip in a wonderful place   


Chicago Basin Group
Sunlight Peak, Windom Peak, Mt. Eolus, North Eolus
~25 miles and 10,000' of elevation gain


I thought I should post my trip reports from my "Epic Adventure 2011" last year. Yes, the title is a bit cheesy and overblown, but to us in our limited experience it seemed like such a grand undertaking. If you are considering trip to this area you will absolutely LOVE it as long as you are properly prepared. If I had to do it again, it would have been nice to have one more day in the basin, so we could have done Jupiter, a centennial 13er.

(LINKS TO MY BLOG POSTS- MANY MORE PHOTOS)
Day 1 Blog: Train ride and Approach Hike
Day 2 Blog:Sunlight and Windom
Day 3 Blog:Eolus group and return trip

Myself, Chaos Penumbra, and another coworker did our "Chicago Basin" trip last year.
Here's our rough timeline:

Thursday: Worked until 2PM, Drove to Durango, Stayed at Durango Hometown Hostel (A+)
Friday: Train to Needleton (arriving at noon), hiked ~6 miles into Chicago Basin

Saturday: Sunlight and Windom

Sunday: Eolus and North Eolus, packed up and hiked out to train, rode back to Durango.

Monday: Woke up early, drove back to Colorado Springs, in to work by 1PM.

We did stay at the hostel in Durango and we would recommend it. Very nice place and reasonably priced. The rooms were clean, affordable, and the shower was nice.

Durango Hometown Hostel


Hope you like the pictures on my blog, I did take the time to work all of them in Adobe Lightroom.



Comments or Questions
DeTour
User
Great report, great pics
5/5/2012 5:32pm
Your time working the photos is appreciated! That's a treasure trove of great shots, and a great writeup. Your appreciation of the beauty of the area shows through. I hope to experience Chicago Basin and those four peaks this summer, just about the same dates.


HarknessHooligans
User
Thanks and congrats~
6/6/2012 10:34pm
Great report! Very detailed and lots of photots...just what I like to make me feel a little more aquainted with this route. Considering this trip in late August this summer. Congrats! Kinda weird, but I appreciate all this pics with people in them; helps give more perspective and I like to see what kinda of clothing everyone is wearing. (I always seem to struggle with what all to bring/what to leave behind) I was also wondering if people packed a daypack on their overnight pack and how it would be done. Now I know! Thanks again!



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