Chicago Basin

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
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alpinewonderer
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Chicago Basin

Post by alpinewonderer »

Fellow Climbers,

Anyone heading up to Chicago Basin in the weeks to come? Looking for some beta for an early June attempt of the 4 14ers back there.

Thanks

TBO
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HikerGuy
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Re: Chicago Basin

Post by HikerGuy »

Stay tuned, I imagine there will be several condition reports coming in over the next three to four weeks. The way things are going it might be dry by early June :(. The latest visible satellite image on the SentinelHub Playground shows it melted out up to Twin Lakes! I know that they clear the trail of deadfall every year, but I don't think they have that done by early June. Shouldn't be a big problem, just annoying with a heavy pack.
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jeffmpls
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Re: Chicago Basin

Post by jeffmpls »

There’s a trip report for the Chicago Basin on FB, it sounded like the amount of downed trees was enormous. I doubt they’d get much cleared by early June, so I’d plan for a more time on your approach.
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Danger_D
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Re: Chicago Basin

Post by Danger_D »

Here is the text of the update that jeffmpls mentioned

"good morning folks! I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I just got back from Chicago Basin after 5 days and well….all that amazing work the forest service did to clear the trail last year has been undone and then some. There were well over 100 trees down across the trail. There is about a mile and a half stretch that took me nearly two hours to go through.
Also, camping is going to be limited this summer due to down trees in campsites.
Other than that….it’s beautiful as always.
I should also mention that about 2 miles into the trail there is a Sandy section that hugs the cliff with needle creek below. This section is washed out. It is EXTREMELY dangerous right now. Proceed with immense caution as one wrong step will send you tumbling downslope."

Last year we hiked in before they cleared it and I'll say that crawling over around hundreds of downed trees in a backpacking pack was hard work, but definitely worth it
Skimo95
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Re: Chicago Basin

Post by Skimo95 »

I had a couple friends in C.B when I was doing the Ruby > Jagged > NoName loop (early June). They made it sound terrible! Supposedly it takes 10+ members to cut a few trees out a day. It would definitely make the area more adventurous if the deadfall stayed.
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Trotter
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Re: Chicago Basin

Post by Trotter »

I did it last year before they cleared the trail, and it was a lot of extra work climbing over and under trees with a backpack. If its worse then last year...
After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. -Nelson Mandela
Whenever I climb I am followed by a dog called Ego. -Nietzsche
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Alpinefroggy
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Re: Chicago Basin

Post by Alpinefroggy »

Trotter wrote: Fri May 13, 2022 9:02 am I did it last year before they cleared the trail, and it was a lot of extra work climbing over and under trees with a backpack. If its worse then last year...
When did they clear it out?

I have plans for the weekend of the 4th or July for CB.
Skimo95
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Re: Chicago Basin

Post by Skimo95 »

Alpinefroggy wrote: Fri May 13, 2022 9:15 am
Trotter wrote: Fri May 13, 2022 9:02 am I did it last year before they cleared the trail, and it was a lot of extra work climbing over and under trees with a backpack. If its worse then last year...
When did they clear it out?

I have plans for the weekend of the 4th or July for CB.
https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/trailhea ... hparm=sj09
bdwyer
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Re: Chicago Basin

Post by bdwyer »

Danger_D wrote: Thu May 12, 2022 10:35 am Here is the text of the update that jeffmpls mentioned

"good morning folks! I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I just got back from Chicago Basin after 5 days and well….all that amazing work the forest service did to clear the trail last year has been undone and then some. There were well over 100 trees down across the trail. There is about a mile and a half stretch that took me nearly two hours to go through.
Also, camping is going to be limited this summer due to down trees in campsites.
Other than that….it’s beautiful as always.
I should also mention that about 2 miles into the trail there is a Sandy section that hugs the cliff with needle creek below. This section is washed out. It is EXTREMELY dangerous right now. Proceed with immense caution as one wrong step will send you tumbling downslope."

Last year we hiked in before they cleared it and I'll say that crawling over around hundreds of downed trees in a backpacking pack was hard work, but definitely worth it
Thanks for the info. I was thinking of going for early June, but will wait. Anyone want company on a train trip, to share drive and parking, whenever after maybe mid June, let me know. I want to stay in at least 5days and hopefully more though, and hoping for Peak Fifteen if there is a leader among you. Know the areas as have hiked in all of them
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ECF55
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Re: Chicago Basin

Post by ECF55 »

HikerGuy wrote: Wed May 11, 2022 3:14 pm Stay tuned, I imagine there will be several condition reports coming in over the next three to four weeks. The way things are going it might be dry by early June :(. The latest visible satellite image on the SentinelHub Playground shows it melted out up to Twin Lakes! I know that they clear the trail of deadfall every year, but I don't think they have that done by early June. Shouldn't be a big problem, just annoying with a heavy pack.
Thanks for the SentinelHub link. That's really handy! Interesting to compare the overhead imagery with the conditions reports to get a feel for reliability of the data, but snow above treeline is pretty obvious stuff. Thanks again.
bdwyer
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Re: Chicago Basin

Post by bdwyer »

Skimo95 wrote: Fri May 13, 2022 9:43 am
Alpinefroggy wrote: Fri May 13, 2022 9:15 am
Trotter wrote: Fri May 13, 2022 9:02 am I did it last year before they cleared the trail, and it was a lot of extra work climbing over and under trees with a backpack. If its worse then last year...
When did they clear it out?

I have plans for the weekend of the 4th or July for CB.
https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/trailhea ... hparm=sj09
Are you on the train, and in a group? I want to go that way, then or sooner (that sounds doubtful due to debris) and stay in up to a week. Would sure like to be in a group, from train reservation perspective, and possibly sharing parking/gas/etc. if anyone out there is in a group once debris is down and wants another carpooler, traveler, let me know. Been in several times and up each of the basins at least once. Have about ten peaks (not 14ers) I want to climb.
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alpinewonderer
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Re: Chicago Basin

Post by alpinewonderer »

Thanks Team for all of the good insight. Heck, I was worried about snow, not downed trees. Great beta. Thanks again.
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