Alternate Route-La Plata or Missouri?

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fahixson
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Alternate Route-La Plata or Missouri?

Post by fahixson »

I'm thinking of trying La Plata Southwest Ridge from W Winfield or Missouri West Ridge from Rockdale. Anyone have pros/cons to share on these routes? I'm mainly interested in route finding issues (especially if I go solo). I know the non-standard routes can be a little more difficult to follow at times.

Related note, how does the road to Clohesy Lake compare to road up to West Winfield, South Winfield, or Princeton (radio towers)? Those weren't too bad in my Touareg (AWD, ~8" clearance), but I wouldn't want to push too much beyond those.

I'm leaning towards La Plata because I'd like to include Iowa and Emerald with Missouri, but forecast for Fri-Sat this week may not give me enough time for all three before getting wet. Plus, if I can't get fairly close to Clohesy Lake, it may be a longer day than I want to try. Always welcome company, PM if you're interested in one of these options Fri or Sat.
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madbuck
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Re: Alternate Route-La Plata or Missouri?

Post by madbuck »

fahixson wrote:I'm thinking of trying La Plata Southwest Ridge from W Winfield or Missouri West Ridge from Rockdale. Anyone have pros/cons to share on these routes?
This was the first route my wife and I did, it was scenic and straightforward. Nice climb up the saddle which I guess would be trickier with a little snow, and then a bit of slow-going talus hopping with a few false summits. But a great route.

Haven't done Missouri from Clohesy, but did enjoy Missouri's standard with Iowa and Emerald. Looks like you've been up that way already though. Emerald particularly is a scenic peak and fun addition.
Otherwise, 13ers Hope and Quail would be another similar hike on the other side of the road, should be nice in the aspens.

No matter what, have fun there in a scenic place.
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Exiled Michigander
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Re: Alternate Route-La Plata or Missouri?

Post by Exiled Michigander »

I've done both of the routes you are interested in, and both are enjoyable. Route-finding is probably a bit easier on La Plata, since it can be easy to miss the trail toward Missouri from Clohesy (especially in the dark). I also think La Plata is a bit more scenic and interesting (there is a cool mine you can check out, for example). So, if you can only do one, I'd probably say hit La Plata. If you car camp at Winfield, bring firewood. Since it is a popular place, there isn't nearly as much fallen timber around as most car-camping sites.

I hiked the road up to Clohesy, but my thought is that a few sections of the road would be rough, although not necessarily impossible, with an AWD. The bigger question is what the stream crossings are currently like.

Enjoy the solitude of the non-standard routes. Especially at this time of the year, you'll very likely have the route all to yourself.
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Re: Alternate Route-La Plata or Missouri?

Post by RyGuy »

I've done both several times.

La Plata is far more scenic from the SW ridge. However, if it's a wet year, the willows are a bit of a pain to deal with due to all the mud. The route is very easy to find and shouldn't pose an issue at all. Highly recommended.
Getting to the TH in a car...Your Touareg should be ok...just pick your lines carefully in a couple sections.

Missouri West Ridge- Shorter and more scenic than the standard route as well. The trail is easy to find until it enters the basin below Missouri and Iowa, then kinda just disappears. You need to gain the ridge, and then the trail re-appears about midway up and then it joins the standard route to the summit. Pretty fun and also recommended.
Getting there in a car...you probably could get your Touareg up there with very careful, slow drivng, but I wouldn't recommend it. The creek crossings won't be an issue this time of year, but high clearance on that road is a must. It's rare to see anything other than a Jeep, 4 runner, Pathfinder, XTerra class vehicle up there.

-Ryan
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Re: Alternate Route-La Plata or Missouri?

Post by MilesLivesOn »

Did SW Ridge La Plata a week ago. Willows weren't a big issue but going up/down the ridge from the valley wasn't pleasant.
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Re: Alternate Route-La Plata or Missouri?

Post by fahixson »

Thanks all. I made the drive up to West Winfield a couple weeks ago by accident when heading for Huron (navigator loaded W Winfield directions instead of S Winfield). Lovely 30+ min detour around midnight, but I won't make that mistake again. That road seems more doable than Clohesy Lake. TH road plus your thoughts continue to push me towards La Plata.

Another question related to Missouri/Iowa/Emerald though ... Is there a trail between Pear Lake and Clohesy Lake? In reading through TRs, I saw a few different ways to get from Emerald summit back to Clohesy Lake. It seemed like the easiest was to descend south off Emerald, then west, and it looks like there is a trail on topo that connects Pear to Clohesy Lake. Is that generally preferred route vs. heading west from one of the summits/saddles to rejoin the Missouri West Ridge route (or going back over Missouri)?
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Re: Alternate Route-La Plata or Missouri?

Post by Trotter »

RyGuy wrote: Getting there in a car...you probably could get your Touareg up there with very careful, slow drivng, but I wouldn't recommend it. The creek crossings won't be an issue this time of year, but high clearance on that road is a must. It's rare to see anything other than a Jeep, 4 runner, Pathfinder, XTerra class vehicle up there.
+1
After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. -Nelson Mandela
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Re: Alternate Route-La Plata or Missouri?

Post by JeffR »

fahixson wrote:Another question related to Missouri/Iowa/Emerald though ... Is there a trail between Pear Lake and Clohesy Lake?
Yes. Enjoy the route-finding, as it gets faint.
To recognize the beauty in sadness, without playing host to the pain...
- Under the Sun, "Reflections"
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Re: Alternate Route-La Plata or Missouri?

Post by SikYou »

I did Missouri west ridge 2 weeks ago, amazing route. The 2nd stream crossing was knee deep and the road is pretty rough. We saw mostly big SUV and Jeep types up there but there was 1 sweet surprise...a Honda CRV almost all the way at the gate. The CRV looked stock; it clearly had some pretty serious, pretty fresh dents in the front end. Also, we noticed pieces of a runningboard strewn about the road that where not there in the morning when we came up.
I'm slower than Scott P.
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Re: Alternate Route-La Plata or Missouri?

Post by RyGuy »

fahixson wrote: Another question related to Missouri/Iowa/Emerald though ... Is there a trail between Pear Lake and Clohesy Lake? In reading through TRs, I saw a few different ways to get from Emerald summit back to Clohesy Lake. It seemed like the easiest was to descend south off Emerald, then west, and it looks like there is a trail on topo that connects Pear to Clohesy Lake. Is that generally preferred route vs. heading west from one of the summits/saddles to rejoin the Missouri West Ridge route (or going back over Missouri)?
It starts off strong as you head around the lake, but is pretty much a faint game trail at best towards the back end of the basin. Bring GPS and a map. :-)
"Climbing mountains is the only thing I know that combines the best of the physical, spiritual, and emotional world all rolled into one." -Steve Gladbach
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Re: Alternate Route-La Plata or Missouri?

Post by JeffR »

SikYou wrote:I did Missouri west ridge 2 weeks ago, amazing route. The 2nd stream crossing was knee deep and the road is pretty rough. We saw mostly big SUV and Jeep types up there but there was 1 sweet surprise...a Honda CRV almost all the way at the gate. The CRV looked stock; it clearly had some pretty serious, pretty fresh dents in the front end. Also, we noticed pieces of a runningboard strewn about the road that where not there in the morning when we came up.
"My car looks kinda like an SUV (if I squint real hard), ergo it can handle anything a real SUV can... right?"

:lol:
To recognize the beauty in sadness, without playing host to the pain...
- Under the Sun, "Reflections"
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Re: Alternate Route-La Plata or Missouri?

Post by jwendling »

My wife, son and I did LaPlata from SW this summer and really enjoyed the views and hike. I felt a little like we were in the Northwest on the lower portion through the trees hiking next to the creek.
Coming down toward the willows you get beautiful views of Huron and the treeline. I've only done 16 but this would be my second favorite for views, behind Huron.
We took plastic bags to put around our boots for the willows, just in case, but didn't use them as getting around the real muddy parts wasn't too bad. And it rained a lot during our CO stay.
The interesting part of the climb for us came as we crested what we thought was the summit only to look quite a distance to find we had another 45 minutes to an hour to go.
This was my wife's first 14er and she was great.

I had no problem getting to the gate in my 4Runner.
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