Weminuche high route

[bapazian1]

Hello,

I am curious what you think of this trip plan. I feel good about the route finding aspect. Is early August a bad time to spend this much time above the treeline? I haven't been to the San Juan before so wanted to check on that especially. Let me know if anything looks off on route idea. Obviously will have to adjust exact route based on weather and what the topo lines look like in real life.

1 Weminuche overview South.jpg

2 Weminuche overview North (1).jpg

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This route basically is following Joey C's high route Weminuche loop [YouTubeVideo] https://youtu.be/wrCS9h7x6iE [/YouTubeVideo]

Basically Vallecito to Columbine pass. Drop down to Chicago basin and spend a couple days bagging 14ers. Head back up and link up passes and alpine lakes up high. Hazel lake, sunlight lake, Leviathan, lake Silex, Trinity lakes, elk Creek drainage, Colorado trail, CDT, Rock Creek, back down Vallecito. Got it at about 80 miles including the peak bagging miles. Was thinking 8 or 9 days.

Any thoughts appreciated!

[Cruiser]

Paging justiner to the white courtesy phone. Justiner, white phone please.

[justiner]

I'm not too much of an expert of the Wem, but I found the terrain between Twin Thumbs Pass/Chicago Basin and Vestal Basin to feel wild, remote, and very challenging. No trails really to speak of, lots of water, over-head high willows, downed trees, steep passes, and cliffs below treeline to navigate through. I can't think of too many places like it in CO. My line differed much from what you've outlined, but I wouldn't recommend my line over yours - it's truly a Choose Your Own Adventure type of place. Chicago Basin being a little bit of a downer after all the time outside of it. Adjust any off-trail estimations accordingly. 8-9 days of food starts to become a heavy pack.

[jaymz]

I was planning on getting the ChiBasin 14ers from Vallecito a couple of years ago with an exit hike out to the train. Then the 416 fire happened and I haven't had a chance since. I do remember there being some question about the handful of river crossings, and having to get creative to navigate across certain spots. Might not be a problem in August, or at all anymore. I'm sure someone else can give you a better update on that.

[Conor]

Interesting enough, Gaia has on their map a "Kodiak high route." From Jagged, it follows your path between needle 7 & 8, then it joins the path on the south side of the trinities and into vestal basin and to the colorado trail. Never been on it, but I have been scoping something like this though.

Annotation 2020-07-15 100349.jpg

[turbocat]

Choose your own adventure for sure. Tough-ass miles and lots of them. Going up Elk Creek on CO Trail to CDT junction (North of Eldorado Lake) to Hunchback Pass, steep and switchback hell...makes me cringe just thinking about it. By the time you hit that, your conditioning should be top notch on day 4 or 5. Beginning of August, I would probably suggest going over Twin Thumbs vs. the Sunlight Spire (never been over that way, but have always consciously looked at it and opted for TT). Crossing upper No Name and hitting Jagged Pass from the west would be my preference and what I have done a few times in the past.

Be aware. A high percentage of the trees are dead down in Weminuche from beetle kill, I have not been down there yet this year, but if it is like everywhere else I've been this year in CO, there will be substantial blow downs from the spring wind storms. Camping at or above treeline is way better to avoid tent placements in tree fall zones.

Unless your really looking for 7 or 8 nights out and willing to carry that much food over that high route, I would probably just drop off Hunchback Pass back down into Vallecito and out on day 7. West/Middle Ute Creek up through Rock Lake is nice and all, but after the first 2/3 of your trip, seem like unnecessary miles to tack on to criss-cross the CDT (read: up/down). I have always found that 6 nights/7 days is a perfect time frame to tour the Weminuche.

Have fun. Very special place and one of the best wild places in CO.

[Kansan]

I can only advise on the route from the Peak Eight/Storm King shoulder to the Colorado Trail by way of the pass between Peak Three and Peak One. This route is very doable. Good camping spots by Trinity Lake and on the north side of the pass between Peak Three and Peak One.

[Jakomait]

I've wandered around that area a few times and my takeaway is that if you know what you are doing, you can move almost anywhere through that alpine. Traveling light will make the up and over summits a lot more pleasant, for instance your path up and over Grizzly C is a legit scramble much more than a scree pass (fresh in my memory from 2 weeks ago). Humping 50lbs over that would suck but it would be a breeze if you strip the load to way down in the 10lb range I'm used to. Nothing on your route looks concerning to me.

Here's an example of what's possible in that same area in a little 4 day adventure:
https://www.strava.com/activities/1878479841

[bapazian1]

Hey thanks for all the input and comments on the route. We are planning to pack very light for this trip. The food will be the only thing weighing us down. I am strongly considering doing the route as planned but skipping the 14er peak bagging Chicago Basin excursion. This would drop the trip down to ~62 miles and 15k gain and allow us to condense the number of days to minimize food weight. AS much as I love peak bagging I am much more excited about potential solitude and incredible high country views. Did some google earth exploring last night. It seems like there are a couple of cruxy spots on this route. As Jakomait mentioned the ascent from Hazel to Grizzly col looks pretty brutal. I have pretty good beta for the descent from the youtube video but the ascent will have to be a wait and see to figure out the route finding.The section from Sunlight to Leviathan also looks like it could be tricky as well. I'm sure it will be much more obvious once we're in the thick of it!

[Jakomait]

The ascent from Hazel to Griz is wasn't that bad, it just looked intimidating! I've been guilty of sandbagging things but I thought it was only 3rd class up some grassy ledges into pretty stable blocky rocks that lead into a heavily cairn marked path on the summit.

Here's a GPS file that should give you hope:
https://www.strava.com/activities/3695118671

Good luck out there! Can't wait to hear how it goes.

[Rainier_Wolfcastle]

I've had 5 backpacking/peakbagging trips back there and know a lot of others with multiple trips. The peaks/views/wilderness are all worth it. But prepare to be wet, it has always rained more than forecast (mid july - late sept) and moving through basins the willows stay wet quite a while after rains and they are often shoulder high and unavoidable. There has always been at least one stuck in the tent day and one holy sh!t thunderstorm. It is very hard to stay dry...unless you catch a lucky window.

[bapazian1]

So our final decision, barring game time decisions to alter, is to keep the Chicago Basin 14er bagging detour. But plan to skip CDT towards Ute Lakes and instead head over Hunchback pass back down to Vallecito. This will be over 8 days. If we make better time than planned we will add back on the CDT stuff but we will see!

Any thoughts on using solely a tarp for shelter up there. My concern is about mosquitoes by the drainages/lakes. Is that a legitimate concern early August or not so much?