Most Remote/Toughest Trailheads

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interloper
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Re: Most Remote/Toughest Trailheads

Post by interloper »

Bombay2Boulder wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 10:58 am
supranihilest wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 10:33 am
HikerGuy wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 10:21 am

That's the longest off-pavement drive to a trailhead that I have done. I think it is around 30 miles.
Tobacco Lake trailhead for Conejos Peak is even farther. You go past the turnoff for Summit Peak, up and over a pass to Platoro and then past that to another road which gains significant elevation and is longer and rougher than the Summit Peak road. I think it was 46 miles from SH-15 to Tobacco Lake TH or something. Have fun doing that drive all over again! :wink:
Platoro was such a surprise. Major Alaska bush village feel. It's my new favorite cool fact to mention to CO natives. :mrgreen: Unless you lived down in the San Luis valley, I doubt a lot of people even knows about it's existence.
Feel free to keep it a secret...
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justiner
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Re: Most Remote/Toughest Trailheads

Post by justiner »

Bombay2Boulder wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 10:58 am Platoro was such a surprise. Major Alaska bush village feel. It's my new favorite cool fact to mention to CO natives. :mrgreen: Unless you lived down in the San Luis valley, I doubt a lot of people even knows about it's existence.
The GDMBR/Tour Divide goes through Platoro. The lodge had one of those, "eat this giant Yeti-sized breakfast and get it for free" challenge which... which I don't think lasted too long with all those cyclists riding through.
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Re: Most Remote/Toughest Trailheads

Post by kwhit24 »

justiner wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 11:08 am
Bombay2Boulder wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 10:58 am Platoro was such a surprise. Major Alaska bush village feel. It's my new favorite cool fact to mention to CO natives. :mrgreen: Unless you lived down in the San Luis valley, I doubt a lot of people even knows about it's existence.
The GDMBR/Tour Divide goes through Platoro. The lodge had one of those, "eat this giant Yeti-sized breakfast and get it for free" challenge which... which I don't think lasted too long with all those cyclists riding through.
The drive up 520 along the Conejos River is one of the best areas I've been too. I'm pretty sure that lodge is where is had some of their peach cobbler and ice cream. Perfect treat after our hike.
interloper wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 11:01 am
Bombay2Boulder wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 10:58 am
supranihilest wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 10:33 am

Tobacco Lake trailhead for Conejos Peak is even farther. You go past the turnoff for Summit Peak, up and over a pass to Platoro and then past that to another road which gains significant elevation and is longer and rougher than the Summit Peak road. I think it was 46 miles from SH-15 to Tobacco Lake TH or something. Have fun doing that drive all over again! :wink:
Platoro was such a surprise. Major Alaska bush village feel. It's my new favorite cool fact to mention to CO natives. :mrgreen: Unless you lived down in the San Luis valley, I doubt a lot of people even knows about it's existence.
Feel free to keep it a secret...
Sometimes I don't want to share these "secrets" but then again I don't want to see them go away either. Although they seemed to have a decent crowd in RV area when we were there
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Re: Most Remote/Toughest Trailheads

Post by Scott P »

kwhit24 wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 2:35 amSo curious, what are the most remote (furthest drive time from say a city/town with a gas station)
The NW corner of Moffat County has several peaks that are 100+ miles from the nearest town with a gas station. If the gas station is open at Maybell, this cuts 30 miles off that, but it's only sporadically open.

The O-Wi-Yu-Kuts Mountains are almost certainly the most remote range in the state, or at least the one farthest from the nearest population center or gas station. Interestingly, the high point in the range holds the title of hill. Kleins Hill is probably the farthest ranked peak in Colorado from a gas station. It would be about 130 miles each way from the nearest town with a gas station. Middle Mountain would be next and would be just under 120 miles or so each way from the nearest town with a gas station.
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Re: Most Remote/Toughest Trailheads

Post by Will_E »

CaptainSuburbia wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 10:57 am
Will_E wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 10:41 am
CaptainSuburbia wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 10:37 am The trailhead for Italian Mountain is the most remote/toughest one I've been to. The last 5 miles are particularly brutal and took me an hour and 30 minutes to drive. My dog wanted to kill me. Definitely a 2 spare tire road. To make matters worse, you have to deal with dozens of dirt bikes and side by sides trying to pass. I'll take Como rd to 10,000 feet over this road any day.
Pretty sure you could walk 5 miles faster!
Yes, but my small dog breed would not have enjoyed the extra 10 miles.
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Re: Most Remote/Toughest Trailheads

Post by nsaladin »

Scott P wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 4:05 pm
kwhit24 wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 2:35 amSo curious, what are the most remote (furthest drive time from say a city/town with a gas station)
The NW corner of Moffat County has several peaks that are 100+ miles from the nearest town with a gas station. If the gas station is open at Maybell, this cuts 30 miles off that, but it's only sporadically open.

The O-Wi-Yu-Kuts Mountains are almost certainly the most remote range in the state, or at least the one farthest from the nearest population center or gas station. Interestingly, the high point in the range holds the title of hill. Kleins Hill is probably the farthest ranked peak in Colorado from a gas station. It would be about 130 miles each way from the nearest town with a gas station. Middle Mountain would be next and would be just under 120 miles or so each way from the nearest town with a gas station.
Which Middle Mountain?
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Re: Most Remote/Toughest Trailheads

Post by TomPierce »

Scott P wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 4:05 pm
kwhit24 wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 2:35 amSo curious, what are the most remote (furthest drive time from say a city/town with a gas station)
The NW corner of Moffat County has several peaks that are 100+ miles from the nearest town with a gas station. If the gas station is open at Maybell, this cuts 30 miles off that, but it's only sporadically open.
The pumps in Maybell operate with a credit card even when the station is closed. Or at least they used to, just my experience a few years ago.

-Tom
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Re: Most Remote/Toughest Trailheads

Post by Scott P »

nsaladin wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 10:11 pmWhich Middle Mountain?
This one:

https://listsofjohn.com/peak/3556
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Re: Most Remote/Toughest Trailheads

Post by Scott P »

TomPierce wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 10:31 pm
Scott P wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 4:05 pm
kwhit24 wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 2:35 amSo curious, what are the most remote (furthest drive time from say a city/town with a gas station)
The NW corner of Moffat County has several peaks that are 100+ miles from the nearest town with a gas station. If the gas station is open at Maybell, this cuts 30 miles off that, but it's only sporadically open.
The pumps in Maybell operate with a credit card even when the station is closed. Or at least they used to, just my experience a few years ago.

-Tom
Sometimes. It's sporadic and depends on the season. Or at least that was true when I lived in the area.
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Re: Most Remote/Toughest Trailheads

Post by JChitwood »

Scott P wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 4:05 pm
kwhit24 wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 2:35 amSo curious, what are the most remote (furthest drive time from say a city/town with a gas station)
The NW corner of Moffat County has several peaks that are 100+ miles from the nearest town with a gas station. If the gas station is open at Maybell, this cuts 30 miles off that, but it's only sporadically open.

The O-Wi-Yu-Kuts Mountains are almost certainly the most remote range in the state, or at least the one farthest from the nearest population center or gas station. Interestingly, the high point in the range holds the title of hill. Kleins Hill is probably the farthest ranked peak in Colorado from a gas station. It would be about 130 miles each way from the nearest town with a gas station. Middle Mountain would be next and would be just under 120 miles or so each way from the nearest town with a gas station.
Three gas stations in Dutch John, UT, they’re less than 100 miles from the O-Wi-Yu-Kuts. Dutch John itself is only 129 miles from Craig. Klein’s Hill to Dutch John is 32.7 miles.
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Re: Most Remote/Toughest Trailheads

Post by Scott P »

JChitwood wrote: Thu Jul 07, 2022 1:34 amThree gas stations in Dutch John, UT, they’re less than 100 miles from the O-Wi-Yu-Kuts. Dutch John itself is only 129 miles from Craig. Klein’s Hill to Dutch John is 32.7 miles.
With a good 4wd and some good maps, you could probably find a shorter way (distance wise) from Dutch John. To get to the trailhead people use though and I was referring to though, you would either have have to drive from Dutch John to Wyoming and then down (though I have never tried coming in that way) or drive to Browns Park and then up. You could do a long walk in from Utah as well.

That Google Maps driving route you are looking at is completely bogus though.

First, the route doesn't take you to what people are using as a trailhead for Kleins Hill. The directions take you to a place in Utah and then show a dashed line to Kleins Hill.

Second, the "road" Google Maps shows has been washed out and overgrown for a long time. It's not on any other maps I know of (not even the 7.5 Minute Topo Maps) other than Google Maps and probably the county's RS2477 claimed routes.

In theory, you could drive in from Dutch John, park somewhere near Galloway Creek, walk what Google Maps shows as D87 Road, and then walk cross country to Kleins Hill, but that's not the trailhead I was thinking of or referring to. Although it would be possible to come in that way, that would be the same as saying that it is also possible to climb Longs Peak from Grand Lake and showing a dashed line from Grand Lake to Longs Peak. That wasn't the trailhead I was thinking of.

Using Google Maps and pin drops, Dutch John to the trailhead I was referring to is 88.7 miles each way if you go through Browns Park. I couldn't get Google Maps to get a good measurement from the driving into Wyoming route, because it doesn't recognize the road connections and wants to take a long roundabout route going to the far north that would be well over 100 miles.

I'm still guessing with the trailhead at Kleins Hill to be possibly the farthest trailhead in Colorado from a town with a gas station. It would be 88.7 miles from Dutch John or 107 miles from Craig (not the 130 I guessed earlier). If the gas station in Maybell is open, that would bring the one way distance down to 77 miles.

You are right though that there is at least one other trailhead that could be used to get to Klein Hill that is closer to a gas station. If you are already in Dutch John and if Klein Hill is your sole destination, it would be a good way in. It would make it more into a hike as well.

If people did use that route on Google Maps instead, Middle Mountain would take the place of Klein Hill as being the trailhead to a peak that is farthest from a gas station.

Alas, I haven't climbed Kleins Hill, Middle Mountain, or Limestone Ridge. The time I headed out there, I made the made the mistake of bringing the Subaru and got stuck in the sand. I had to walk a long ways before finding help.
Last edited by Scott P on Thu Jul 07, 2022 10:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Most Remote/Toughest Trailheads

Post by bdloftin77 »

Scott P wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 4:05 pm
kwhit24 wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 2:35 amSo curious, what are the most remote (furthest drive time from say a city/town with a gas station)
The NW corner of Moffat County has several peaks that are 100+ miles from the nearest town with a gas station. If the gas station is open at Maybell, this cuts 30 miles off that, but it's only sporadically open.

The O-Wi-Yu-Kuts Mountains are almost certainly the most remote range in the state, or at least the one farthest from the nearest population center or gas station. Interestingly, the high point in the range holds the title of hill. Kleins Hill is probably the farthest ranked peak in Colorado from a gas station. It would be about 130 miles each way from the nearest town with a gas station. Middle Mountain would be next and would be just under 120 miles or so each way from the nearest town with a gas station.
Nice. I did Tanks, Cross Mountain, Diamond Peak, and visited the NW Colorado corner on a trip. It felt pretty remote! Should have tagged Kleins Hill while I was up there. Also visited the Dinosaur National Park visitor center and went to the Harpers Corner viewpoint. Pretty cool! I'll have to do Warm Springs Cliff next time too.. heard that's a cool viewpoint.
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