Tenmile Creek

[blazintoes]

I’m curious about accessing Trinity via the 10 mile drainage between Vestal and No Name. This drainage leads to Balsam Lake and I know there is a climbers trail to the lake via 10 mile but none of my partners have any experience on it. Does anyone here have any information?

[seano]

I came down Tenmile in 2020 after getting to its head via the Vestal-Trinity saddle. It seems like a lot more work than approaching via Vestal Basin, even if you ignore the Animas-fording and possible railroad-trespassing. The trail is still usable once you find it, for what that's worth.

[hellmanm]

Following. I'm curious if others have been able to access Tenmile Creek using the bridge by Elk Park and staying on the eastern side. It appears to be improbable but I'm sure someone has tried.

[Marmot72]

Bumping this thread up from a couple years back - anyone with first or secondhand experience going up this drainage? With the deadfall plaguing NoName and a train ticket for a trip 4 weeks out, I'm curious if this might be a good approach for the lesser thirteeners (Heisspitz, 4, 5) historically accessed from NoName.

[jfm3]

I climbed Vestal and the Trinities Traverse in early July this year and spent quite awhile looking down on the Tenmile drainage. I think it's reeaaaaally lonely down there. I didn't see anyone camping around the lake, nobody was coming up to the Trinities from the south side and I didn't see anyone on any of the summits or ridges above the basin. On the topo map that approach doesn't look as steep as Vestal Basin or Noname, but the (im)passability of the forest is anyone's guess. Try it and let us know!

[turbocat]

Never been up/down the TM drainage, but crossed the upper section many years ago coming from Vestal/Arrow/Trinities to Noname for Jagged in late June. The trails we followed were game trails. There is no one there because the mosquitos have consumed them all. I have never been in such a swarm in all my years, I never climbed so fast to get away from Balsam Lake.

[yaktoleft13]

I've got a trip report coming in the next couple of days, but just climbed all those from balsam lake last weekend. Long story short, best approach would be vestal/trinity saddle, straight down to the lake. From the lake there's a pretty direct way to get heisspitz-->seven with almost no bushwhacking. I would not recommend much horizontal travel in tenmile

[k_fergie]

Selfishly, I really liked our Balsam approach from Beartown and wrote a TR on it. It made the most sense given that we were also picking off some other eastern/northern Grenadiers, but it is similar mileage as the Vestal saddle approach to Balsam.