The map in my trip report is generated from a wordpress plugin, where I uploaded my GPX file of the hike. Length: 7.9 mi Est. A full train schedule is available on the Durango Train website. Everywhere along the horizon, fog could be seen rising from the mountains. We estimated ~100 trees that we had to go over, under, or around - felt like a tough mudder. Lisa had a bit of trouble last year in the Maroon Bells when we hiked the Four Pass Loop, and I may have had a slight headache that first day as well. This will be especially helpful during creek crossings and on downhill areas with loose pebbles. I wasnt sore at all until day 4 or 5, with only moderate soreness in the hamstrings. Your email address will not be published. Very useful. Yes there is. Not once did we get wet crossing a stream. Molas Lake to Animas River via Molas Trail, Vestal Basin via Colorado and Elk Creek Trail, Stony Pass, ATV Trail 821, and Cinnamon Pass OHV Route. Elk Park Train Stop to Needleton is a 36 mile moderately trafficked point-to-point trail located near Silverton, Colorado that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. This route climbs 8,523 ft with a max elevation of 12,843 ft then descends -9,174 ft. Local Trail Association Your monthly pledge helps me bring you more quality hiking and outdoor adventure videos, trail guides and content. We chatted for a while and took turns taking pictures of each other before they headed down. False alarm. I didnt want to push Lisa too much in the first few days so I think the plan for days 1 and 2 were pretty good. Its also a good idea to drink lots of water (more so than at sea level). But, thats another story for another trip report. Weve also been testing this Deuter Aircontact Ultra 45 + 5 pack and love it. At 2:45, we heard a train approaching that sounded its whistle. To close the loop I have to get from Needleton fo Elk Park (6.5mi). One option for a multi-day trip is from the Elk Park Train Stop to Needleton. 2/21/22 12:49pm. What a place for a cabin though! This route includes 3 trails. Heres my caltopo map of the Elk Park/Needleton hike: There are no fees or permits needed to hike or camp in the Weminuche Wilderness. Great hope they dont cause us any trouble tonight. Go to the print button at the top and choose print to pdf. After checking our gear and getting set up, we were on our way. However, after the first couple of miles and adjusting to altitude, I love it! Ran I to some bad weather that chased us out on the 2nd day but we saw a few moose on this trail. Again, a lot of trees were down that we had to circumnavigate. Still a good ways from the pass, we pushed on as the rains started in their usual off and on fashion. I climbed up to the top of this ridge for some truly amazing views of the Weminuche Wilderness, Beautiful views of Eldorado Lake during the best weather of the afternoon, Awesome views from an unnamed high point above Eldorado Lake. We were on the trail at 7:30, and saw a few more goats as we made our way out of Chicago Basin. If needed, when you reach the Vallecito and Johnson Creek trail junction, you could hike about 10 miles to the Vallecito Reservoir, a popular lake area. The Needleton stop also gives you access to the Needle Creek Trail, Johnson Creek Trail and the Chicago Basin. It also didnt hurt that we pampered ourselves a little afterwards with a leisurely day at Pagosa Springs. Physically, I did pretty well on this hike. Early morning at the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad station. It was a little windy last night, which can make it hard to sleep. The sun was shining on the Twin Lakes now, and it was beautiful. Nice! Actually, mid May. Literally just yards below the top of the pass, on the Chicago Basin side, the trail gets extremely steep and pretty sketchy. We walked down to Needle Creek and took a side path over to a waterfall, but besides that, we spent the rest of the day relaxing in camp mostly. Not today, it gre more and more intense as time went on. Elk Park Train Stop to Needleton Moderate (39) Weminuche Wilderness Photos (318) Directions Print/PDF Map Share Experience this 57.9-km point-to-point trail near Silverton, Colorado. Nearly everyone who comes by Needleton does so via the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Generally considered a moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 19 h 35 min to complete. The ride is slow and sooty and other than the crying kids that overpopulated our car, the ride really was wonderful. You'll need to reserve this option in advance, but it makes for a great opportunity to explore the San Juan National Forest. Im considering doing this loop this summer and you have really helped! Hi Ryan, Thats definitely too early in the season. Id say there were about 20 people total here waiting for the train. Note that these satellite device options typically require that you have an active subscription to use the features. The train moves very slow, around 18 MPH max speed. This snowshoe hare looks as if it could shoot lasers from its eyes, Campsite along the Elk Park trail, around 10,300ft. Elk Park flag stop to Needleton flag stop between Durango and Silverton Elk Park flag stop to Needleton flag stop between Durango and Silverton. Everything was still pretty wet from the rains overnight, and it was cold. The water was deep and fast flowing here. Brandon why didnt you ask for Tiffanys number??? We changed clothes in the car and tried to mask our stench with deodorant and cologne/perfume before setting off into the city in search of food. Excellent views all around. with an Osprey water bladder. I used a Garmin InReach Mini 2 to track our location, and any time we came to an unmarked trail junction, we knew which way to go. We didn't want to risk going up and over Hunchback, down Vallecito, up Johnson Creek, over Columbine Pass and into Chicago Basin. There were at least 5 if not 6 avalanche debris fields on the Elk creek trail. The trail can be access from either Molas Trail #665 or the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Rainroad Elk Park train stop. He discourses on his own mortality, about getting too old to have such adventures, and striking your own path in life while you still can." Morning of day 2, climbing up the Colorado Trail, Going up a funky section of the Colorado Trail, below the Miners Cabin. At mile 4.25 or so, there were some nice camping spots in the meadow. It was incredible to see the clouds taking over the area! Cell service is highly unlikely. Maybe not a traditional campsite, but it was by far the driest campsite Id seen on this trip yet. 7 of the Best Summer Backpacking Trips in the Mountain West All we could do is move downhill as quickly as possible, and after descending another 1500 feet or so, all was well again. I'm a traveler who loves to eat. None of them seemed very dry though. I hope your backpacking trip is just as epic as ours was. I climbed up the highest hill along the edge which was roughly 12,700ft, which provided awesome views of Eldorado and everything else around. It filtered a little more slowly than usual because we were at high elevation, but still worked well. Check out my AWESOME DIY stealth camper van build project! The top of Hunchback Pass offered no views, as the visibility was around 200 feet. However I'm looking forward to making another trip here soon. And what a campsite that would be, killer views! Copyright 2015-2023 Champagne TastesAll Rights Reserved. Absolute Best 5-7 Day Backpacking Trip ID,MT, or WY Thanks for your support you ROCK!. The altitude will affect water filters and food cook time, which is usually explained on the packaging. My two 15 year olds and I just completed it mid July 2021 and it took us five days. One of the train employees told us a little about the history of the train and how things work. Looking for a slightly larger backpacking pack that will still fit a short torso? The rock is slippery and there is nothing to help you balance yourself on this very narrow section of trail, which happens to have a BIG drop on your left. Needleton Bridge Trailhead // Colorado 13ers Elk Park to Needleton Backpacking Loop - Champagne Tastes Discover this 6.9-mile out-and-back trail near Silverton, Colorado. The free version of caltopo only allows 5 pages max in your pdf, so just break it up into blocks of 5 pages or less and print out the entire map that way. One of the biggest drawing points of the Elk Creek trail is the unique opportunity to combine a Wilderness trip with a ride on a steam locomotive. We hiked from the Elk Park train stop to Needleton, which includes about 43 miles of hiking in the San Juan mountains. Heres what we learned while preparing for the Elk Park to Needleton hike, plus a few things I wish Id known ahead of time! I love being above the treeline, and I was excited to hike today. Before we knew it, we saw the Weminuche Wilderness boundary sign. Shortly after, we saw the skull with spine still connected of some type of antlered animal alongside the trail. We had been told by the forest service that we would encounter more avalanche debris fields in the basin. I can use train but according to DSNGRR schedule, their trains stops EITHER in Needlton OR in Elk Park, but not in BOTH. Not too bad, but this was definitely not a class 2+ as described on 14ers.com. Clearly has not been maintained for a few seasons. Obviously I skipped this route on our way up here, opting to go the traditional way up the switchbacks to the CDT, but I was curious if it was doable. I wanted to make it farther though, and we pushed on to about 5.5 miles where we made camp along Elk Creek, elevation ~10,300ft. The weather was holding out all morning, shine shining and blue skies. This is a spectacular trip with abundant scenery and lots of solitude. I just completed this route the July 11-15, 2022. I guess thats good, because that was less people we saw on the other days. Everyone in the shack jumped up immediately, rushing to put on boots and grab their gear as we rushed towards the tracks. Some streams had a lot of flash flood debris jammed up in certain points, more so than wed seen in other areas. Lisa and I ended up taking a nap for about an hour and a half until the weather improved. Soon enough it was back to the rain. The Weminuche Loop is a classic 40-50 mile horseshoe hike that starts at Elk Park and ends at Needleton. Route Elk CReek campsite to Eldorado Lake. People really are friendly in Colorado! We reached the drop off at Elk Park (about . I do regret getting the open-cart seats though, because it was raining and it was not dry inside. The fourth day we hiked from Chicago basin to the needleton train stop, which was an easy ~7 miles downhill. The stars were barely visible now that the morning light was fast approaching, but this was the most Id seen of stars the entire trip. Required fields are marked *. San Juan National Forest. Interesting views in the upper Chicago Basin area. Our food and gear were safe from the mice last night, so that was a relief. I only saw a steep trail consisting of loose rock. Once we reached a flat area around 11,650, there were a good amount of campsites scattered about. Swampy, muddy areas where your foot sinks ankle deep in mud are also likely, as well as multiple creek crossings. From above, I spotted a deer down below on the trail to Kite Lake. Was the extra research and time spent preparing for the Elk Park to Needleton trip worth it? I got injured jumping off the bridge there, so we couldn't complete the hike north over hunchback pass, and down Elk creekwe were kinda bummed. The third day we hiked ~11 miles, starting with 2 miles downhill and then 7 miles to the top of columbine pass and then 2 miles down to camp at Chicago basin. After lunch, we continued to climb in elevation until we reached the Miners Cabin just below the CDT. Awesome, thanks! Very good tip report. Basin and Range Trail (2020) There were a lot of berries along the trail, although not all edible. It moved away pretty quickly, but I could tell it was not a rattlesnake. There was only one other campsite occupied the we could see in the area, so it wasnt too crowded. Would you advise camping at Twin Lakes? The bridge at Vallecito Creek, near Johnson Creek, is still good. It took us 7 days to complete it. Will b taking my 19 yr old son in early August this year for his first extended back country pack trip. More views ruined by the weather, and as a result I took few pictures in this area. Caltopo is pretty awesome if you havent used it already. The nature back there is unbelievable. The train ride out of Durango and through the Rockwood Cut was quite enjoyable. I was awestruck with the beauty of those mountains. At that point, one of our trek members sustained a significant ankle injury. When youre leaving from Durango, youll need to have your gear in the boxcar at least 45 minutes before departure. I feel like my extra efforts in training before this trip really made the difference in my knees. We didn't. Windward_Coug. But there would be no sleeping in tomorrow morning though, because we were off to the Great Sand Dunes National Park! Another option (which you should probably do anyway!) Pack your food in a bear sling or bear canister. Elk Park Train Stop to Needleton | Map, Guide - Colorado | AllTrails
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