This was a hike that I had been thinking about for some time. This hike, while stunningly beautiful and still very challenging in areas, was contrasted with several avalanched areas and lots and lots of downed trees suffering from the beetle infestation. The train ride in and out from Durango was a great way to get to and from these trailheads, and I met some wonderful people along the way. Here is a recap of my 38-mile hike over the 5 days in the Weimunche Wilderness....
Day 1: Durango Train to Elk Park Stop (mile 0) to Elk Creek trail (6 mile)
Distance: 6 miles
It was about a 3-hour train ride following the Animas River out of Durango to the Elk Park Stop, where only 6 of us got off the train (compared to the 20-30 people that got off at Needleton!). The train dropped us off around 11:30 am. I hung around with 3 other people to watch the other steam engine coming from Durango pass and got on my way around noon. I was overly ambitious, thinking I could make it 8 miles this first day. What I failed to realize was that this was my first trip out this summer, so I wasn't conditioned yet to big elevations and altitude. I quickly realized this early in the hike and so had to level set my expectations each day.
I got off to a rocky start--I was so eager to get going that I completely missed the trail cut-off into the woods and had to climb through brush up hill before I found the trail. I also dropped my Osmo gimbal for my phone and had to backtrack about 100 yds to find it. This all happened in the first 15 minutes on trail! After that, the sky got cloudy, and I started hearing rumbles of thunder in the distance. It started to rain about 2:30 pm and continued to rain until about 5 pm when I found a really nice big campsite and decided to call it for the evening. At that point my feet, socks and pants were soaked, so I was looking forward to crawling in to tent and getting dry clothes on. Shortly after I set up my tent, another female hiker happened by and asked if she could share my campsite, and I was happy to have the company for the evening even if it was conversing through our tent walls as it rained! Betsey, my tent neighbor, was completing the entire CT solo at age 67 this summer. What an inspiration! This trail overlaps with the CT and we were currently on segment 24, and so she had about a week left to complete the last 4 segments on her way to Durango. We shared come great conversation, and I was so appreciative of her insights (and her company) on my first night on the trail.
Day 2: Elk Creek trail (mile 6) to Vallecito Trail (mile 14)
Distance: 8 miles
Betsey and I said our goodbyes early this morning, and we headed opposite directions. It was 2 miles and a 2000 vertical ft climb up to the intersection of the trail with the CDT, and while it was certainly a beautiful section to hike, it was a slug up to the top. I passed about 5 people this morning, all solo hikers like myself. I stopped at the top for a break and to eat some lunch, and then made my way down towards Kite Lake. As I filtered water bladder by the lake, I could see the clouds moving in again. I started to ascend the trail to Hunchback Pass, about 500 vertical feet up from the lake. As I got about a half mile from the top, the wind picked up and it started to rain. As I stopped to put my rain gear on, it started to hail and so I quickly got off trail and descended down into a small grove of trees to seek some shelter from the pelting hail. The temperature really started to drop, and so I had to pull out from puffy jacket and gloves to
add more layers. I hunkered down for about 15 minutes until the storm passed. More storms were rolling in, and so I made a run for it once there was a break in the rain and was also to get up and over the pass before the dark clouds rolled in again. The trail switched over to the Vallecito Trail once I was on the other side of the pass, with the rest of the afternoon mostly descending down into the valley and very slow-going. I climbed over so much deadfall--big trees that I had to literally climb up and over. I am pretty sure I climbed
over 100 trees, no joking aside. At one point as I was climbing over a cluster of downed trees, I lost my balance and fell completely backward, landing in the middle of 3 overlapping trees. It was not my finest moment, and luckily, I did not hurt myself. I did look like a turtle on my back trying to right myself though! I realized about 5 minutes down the trail that my phone fell out of my pocket, and I had to climb back over 2 large trees to get back and found it between all the downed trees.
I continued to descend into the valley below and came upon a beautiful meadow with 2 other tents nearby and decided to call it home for the night. As I chatted with the two couples there, I learned they were camping here for climbing a 13er mountain in the area.
They were very obviously very experienced hikers and climbers. The one couple gave me a business card with information on a website they maintain, and only days later did I find out that these folks were the Climbing Cooneys of the Colorado 13ers - Routes, Maps, Peakbagging Beta + Peak Lists (climb13ers.com), and well known in Colorado for their accomplishments in climbing all the 14ers and 13ers in Colorado! We chatted about the downed trees and the lack of trail maintenance in this area, as they had come over Hunchback Pass earlier in the day as well. The Cooneys and their friends where so kind, and again I was appreciative of the nearby company for the second night.
Day 3: Vallecito Trail (mile 14) to Needle-Johnson Creek Trail (mile 24)
Distance: 10 miles
Day 3 started off sunny but very wet. My feet sloshed through flooded muddy trails and wet, dewy bushes. Most of the morning was yet again climbing over more downed trees. I felt like it would never end! I saw a young deer with felted antlers next to the trail, and later a large black beer in a meadow of bear grass next to the Vallecito River, just a few miles north of the intersection of the trail with the Vallecito
bridge. I passed two groups of hikers heading north (11 people total) and that was the last I would see of human wildlife for the next 24 hours! I stopped after crossing the Vallecito bridge for a late lunch, and then started to make my way up on the Needle-Johnson Creek Trail towards Columbine Pass. My plan was to hit the pass the next morning, so I spent the afternoon looking for a nice campsite and found one about 3 miles from the
bridge at around 3 pm that afternoon. I made camp next to the trail on an existing campsite that sat above the creek, with great access to the water below and sounds of flowing water all night!
Day 4: Needle-Johnson Creek (mile 24) to Chicago Basin (mile 30.5)
Distance: 6.5 miles + 1.4 miles searching for lost gear!
I left camp at 7 am and started my 4-mile climb up to Columbine Pass. I passed one hiker coming down from Columbine Lake about a mile from the pass, who offered some great advice about potential campsites in the Chicago Basin area which was my destination that day. It was a beautiful morning, and I made it to the top of the pass at about 10:30 am, with a stunning view of the basin below. The descent down the pass
was particularly difficult, very steep and lots of loose gravel in the first 1/4 mile down. I had to
take it really slow to keep from sliding down on my butt. Along the way, I passed another abandoned miner cabin and mineshaft next to the trail. It was a 2-mile hike down the intersection of the trail with the Twin Lakes trail, and somewhere along the way I dropped my
buff and my new acquired Senchi hoodie. I only discovered this once I was at my campsite. I set up camp, had a late lunch, and then pledged to hike back up 1-mile with the hope of finding my hoodie and buff.
A storm was starting to roll in, and as I left camp it started pouring rain. Luckily, at 0.7 miles up the trail I found my hoodie and buff laying just next to the trail! I was so happy; I didn't even mind the walk back in the pouring rain! Once I got back to camp, it continued to rain, so I got cozy in my tent and proceeded to rest and make some hiking notes on my phone. I had hoped that the evening would clear off so that I could make an after-dinner hike to the Twin Lakes 1 mile above, but more rain moved in and so I explored the basin abit and made it an early evening to bed.
Day 5: Chicago Basin Trail (mile 30.5) to Needleton Stop (mile 37)
I had just a little over 6 miles to go this last day, and mostly downhill on the way back to the train stop at Needleton. The train was not scheduled to come through until about 2:45 pm that afternoon, so I took my sweet time packing up camp that morning, departing about 9 am from my campsite. The morning was sunny and quite warm now at the lower elevations here.
I saw a few mountain goats up on the hillside as I started down through the basin and passed several beautiful waterfalls and pools as I followed the Needle-Johnson Creek. I crossed the bridge about 1:15 pm that afternoon and spent the next hour and a half hanging out with fellow hikers waiting for the train. Shortly after 3 pm, the train arrived coming from Silverton, and we loaded up our gear and made our way to the concession stand for food, cocktails and my personal favorite--a cold Diet Coke! We arrived back in Durango around 5:15pm that evening.
Tips for traveling on the Durango-Silverton Railroad
If you are interested in using the train ride for backpacking this route or into the Chicago Basin for other hiking experiences, here are some helpful tips:
Buy your round-trip tickets ahead of time by calling the Durango-Silverton train station directly. You can purchase tickets for the normal train ride for Durango to Silverton on the website. However, you do need to call them to arrange your bag ticket and ensure your drop-off and pick-up stops as a hiker. This ensures you have a seat there and back, and they don't forget you!
The train only stops once each way - dropping off hikers at these two trains stops on the way to Silverton in the morning, and once in the afternoon picking up hikers at Needleton on the way back to Durango, so be sure to confirm the train schedule so you don't miss your ride.
There are bathrooms and concessions on the train, so you have access to refreshments and normal comforts when you are back on the train. The concession takes both cash and credit card in the event you need a few last-minute snacks on the way out or are eager to celebrate a successfully completed trip with a celebratory beverage on the way back!
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