Pigeon/Turret from Chicago basin

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Trotter
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Re: Pigeon/Turret from Chicago basin

Post by Trotter »

Gonna attempt this in a few weeks, marking it for lots of good info here
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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Will_E
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Re: Pigeon/Turret from Chicago basin

Post by Will_E »

dwoodward13 wrote: Thu Jun 24, 2021 6:55 am Going from CB->Pigeon->Turret->CB is going to be a massive day. 90% off trail and not terrain you can move fast on. You certainly wouldn't want to have a storm roll in and then be stranded in another basin from your camp.

I clock it at around 12 miles and 9000 feet of gain using a track I used last summer (but camped in Ruby and then headed out after P/T). I added a screenshot of the route for atodor (although its the same as the 3 or 4 TRs out there).
You were spot on for elevation gain, almost exactly 9k. For distance, Apple gave me 19 miles, Garmin Inreach gave me 16.3. Garmin is probably closer to reality.

Had a perfect forecast, but still started at 2:20 am in case storms showed up in the afternoon. Weather was perfect all day. Plan b if weather showed up was to descend Ruby basin back to Needleton then go back up to camp in Chicago basin. Hardest part was getting down the back side of Twin Thumbs in the dark, I couldn’t tell how far the snow went so just crossed a couple steep snowfields (had ice axe with me). Coming back it was possible to avoid most of the snow.

Really great day, glad I did it this way as a day trip.



6A319619-8E17-4360-8FA1-97109B77BFCE.jpeg
6A319619-8E17-4360-8FA1-97109B77BFCE.jpeg (101.2 KiB) Viewed 1558 times
Last edited by Will_E on Tue Jul 06, 2021 8:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
seano
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Re: Pigeon/Turret from Chicago basin

Post by seano »

dwoodward13 wrote: Tue Jun 29, 2021 6:44 am
atodor wrote: Mon Jun 28, 2021 7:25 pm Is it reasonable to plan on doing Turret early morning the day of train departure from Needleton? I remember hiking back from Chicago Basin in something like three hours, so I would imagine from Ruby basin cannot be more than that.
Ruby could absolutely take longer than 3 hours especially if you are camping in the meadow below Turret. Chicago Basin is a super highway and Ruby is a faint marking in the grass/dirt. I wouldn’t attempt to compare times on them. There will be plenty of deadfall, steep loose ground, and getting lost and attempting to locating the trail again until you reach Needleton.
I remember the Ruby Basin trail being relatively easy to follow on the way down 5+ years ago, but it *is* a use trail instead of a CFInterstate, so I wouldn't make it part of a tight schedule
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Re: Pigeon/Turret from Chicago basin

Post by Trotter »

atodor wrote: Mon Jun 28, 2021 7:25 pm Is it reasonable to plan on doing Turret early morning the day of train departure from Needleton? I remember hiking back from Chicago Basin in something like three hours, so I would imagine from Ruby basin cannot be more than that.
Having just done a trip up CB, hitting all four 14ers, backpacking into ruby, and doing pigeon and turret and hiking out ruby... I'd say no, its not reasonable.

First of all, if you going all the way back there, might as well get Pigeon at the same time as Turret.

And ruby basin is willow hell from the campsite down to the ruby lake. Took us at least an hour to backpack through it. Then like another 2-3 hours going down to Needleton. The trail is narrow, climbs 900 feet even though you descend 3000 also. But the deadfall will slow you down so much. Its actually hard to follow the trail several times when you have to detour around a bunch of massive trees that are too thick to go over or under.

CB trail is a highway compared to ruby "trail"
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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Re: Pigeon/Turret from Chicago basin

Post by WildWanderer »

I just did the trail to Ruby Basin this past weekend. It's my 4th or 5th time out there. The trail is better defined than the last time I was there, but there are now a lot more downed trees on steep slopes, making route finding interesting at times, especially in the dark. The willows haven't improved either. https://wildwandererlmc.wordpress.com/2 ... trailhead/
It's a mountain: get over it.
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Re: Pigeon/Turret from Chicago basin

Post by atodor »

OK, I admit it's tight. But: 3 hrs ruby lake to train stop, 1 hr camp to Ruby lake, 4 hours for Turret. Starting at 6 AM; getting at the train at 2 PM.
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Re: Pigeon/Turret from Chicago basin

Post by jjust »

jjust wrote: Mon Jun 28, 2021 2:53 pm Does anyone think this seems reasonable (or crazy)?

It's basically a loop going up Chicago Basin, day hike Jupiter, up and over Twin Thumbs Pass, day hike Jagged, up and over Noname-Ruby Pass (See Roach 13ers book page 257.), day hike Pigeon/Turret, and then hike out Ruby Creek. It ends up being about 29 miles and 17,000 vertical. We have an entire week to accomplish the loop. Any thoughts or concerns are appreciated.

San Juan 13ers.jpg
Just a quick update that this loop to hike all four Centennial Peaks in the area worked well for us and was very efficient and not overly difficult.

https://www.jamesjusthiking.com/latest-reports
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