I found a semi dry spot under a pine tree to hang out during the rain while Lisa took cover in the tent. Once on board, you'll be able to ride back to Durango or Silverton to finish your adventure. NOTE: As of 2021, we have been informed that you cannot board the train in Silverton and get dropped off at Needleton. The final approach of Columbine Pass was pretty steep, but manageable. Amherst and Organ mountains in the background. Discover this 6.9-mile out-and-back trail near Silverton, Colorado. We walked 44 miles vs the 36 listed in the app. We recommend it as long as you are ready to stay 7 days in the backcountry! I only followed the drainage a short ways, but another 100ft away it appeared to drop off. Heres what we learned while preparing for the Elk Park to Needleton hike, plus a few things I wish Id known ahead of time! The trail is always very clear and easy to follow. Make sure everyone in your party books the train together. About a half hour later we arrived at the bridge, and it was a welcome sight. 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. As always, questions and comments are welcome! Then, we saw 2 mountain goats on the other side of Needle Creek that had just walked into someones camp. Everything was still pretty wet from the rains overnight, and it was cold. We didnt take the train so we started at Molas Lake and walked to Needlestop. It worked perfectly. After all, it was Saturday evening. Since youll be hiking in the Rocky Mountains, you should be Bear Aware. You take a train from Durango that. Sometimes 2 to a flower. We didn't want to risk going up and over Hunchback, down Vallecito, up Johnson Creek, over Columbine Pass and into Chicago Basin. My husband had an offline map downloaded in his Google Maps app, although we found it to be unreliable in the Vallecito Creek area. Miles Hiked 5.4 Leave a Comment. This was worth the trip alone and something everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime! The altitude on this backpacking loop varies from around 8,000 to nearly 13,000 feet above sea level. Recent avalanche activity over the winter/spring created several debris fields that required us to do some significant trailblazing. I have a trip report on the Mogollon Mountains in the Gila Wilderness, but the popular side is the east side with all the rivers. It was raining up here and quite cold. (We didnt see any, but we heard they were plentiful.). Not long after, we watched the same goats cross the creek and head towards our general area. After about 20 minutes of hiking, I ran into my first mountain goats of the day. We hiked from the Elk Park train stop to Needleton, which includes about 43 miles of hiking in the San Juan mountains. The Elk Park to Needleton backpacking loop near Silverton, Colorado, covers over 40 miles and features stunning mountain vistas. We got off the train at elk park ~11:45am and hiked ~6 miles uphill the first day. There are a lot of down trees and we had rain and some route finding to cross streams. As we gained elevation, the Animas River became more and more impressive. I think we also got hailed on every day as well, with the exception of our last day. On day one, between the Elk Park Train Drop Off Trail Head and Beaver Pond, we encountered 3 large debris fields. We had to stand guard for a while to make sure they didnt walk right into our camp. Reddit - Dive into anything We had been told by the forest service that we would encounter more avalanche debris fields in the basin. This was comical, yet useful information at the same time. The other guy was impressed with its small size. We were on the trail at 7:30, and saw a few more goats as we made our way out of Chicago Basin. People really are friendly in Colorado! There were at least 5 if not 6 avalanche debris fields on the Elk creek trail. Avalanche debris was cleared. Theres also a Deuter backpacking pack thats a standard size, if youre taller than I am! Still, there were several more people that were waiting by the train tracks and elsewhere. I packed a peanut butter sandwich, some jerky, and a Metrx bar to eat later, as well as 2 liters of water. I chucked some rocks and shouted at them, but theyd just walk 5 feet away and stare back at us. San Juan National Forest - Elk Creek Trail/ Colorado Trail (503) Wed been in Colorado a week now, doing other cool stuff like the Colorado National Monument, Mesa Verde National Park, Denver & Boulder, Rocky Mountain National Park, Telluride, etc. Wilderness Access Train Rides - Durango.com There was another meadow a mile or so past our camp that would have been a nice place to spend the night. It was eerie and mesmerizing at the same time. Thanks for sharing this one. Elk Park Train Stop to Needleton Hiking Route | Trailforks Prepare to not have a cell signal. It resides at 8,277 feet of elevation in San Juan County. Now back on the trail, we were approaching the CDT. Esta ruta es popular para mochilear, disfrutar de la observacin de aves y ir de camping, sin embargo, podrs disfrutar de algo de paz durante los momentos ms tranquilos del da. To reach this trail on foot, some hikers make a longer loop from the Molas Trail (about four miles). This was $90 each person for a round trip ticket, plus $10 to each to haul your backpack. By the time we were leaving the treeline behind, foul weather had returned. On day four, we hiked along the 4wd road to Pole Creek and picked up our ride there. The rain subsided and we dipped below the clouds into a new valley. ALLTRAILS and the AllTrails Mountain Design are registered trademarks of AllTrails, LLC in the United States as well as certain other jurisdictions. John Werner: Backpacking Weminuche Wilderness not easy, but worth the This time wasn't as bad as 1993, where my ancient A-frame tent blew down, but I'd suggest doing it in August for longer days and less rain. Our food and gear were safe from the mice last night, so that was a relief. We met others that were completing this 36-40 mile trip as we were walking into the wilderness from Needleton. The oldest cart on the train was built in 1879, and the oldest engine was from 1925 I believe. We saw deers, elk, mountain goat, beavers. To exit we kept walking all the way to Purgatory. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Eric Poulin, long distance hiker and outdoor adventurer, Greenland Hike/Packraft Expedition (2022) *Coming Soon The rain sucked, but it sure did make you appreciate what little sunshine we did get. I wonder how they get to their homes, since there are no roads anywhere near here. Thats for water drainage, and maybe goats. I laughed and told him how I lost the trail before it headed up. By tnmule20, February 10, 2022 in Camping & High Adventure. Once on the other side, the path down to Eldorado lake was pretty clear. There was an insane amount of biting flies and mosquitoes by the river here though, and I was regretting my decision to leave the bug spray and mosquito head net behind. The trail follows the 44 road past the lake, and then winds towards the trail leading up to Hunchback Pass. There were more mountain goats in the evening as well. I ended up spending an hour and a half up here just hanging out. Climb aboard and make memories youll cherish forever by planning an outdoor adventure that starts on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. I figured more people would be out here doing the full loop like we were doing, but that clearly wasnt the case. Anyways, with breakfast in our stomachs and all our wet gear packed away, we hit the trail around 7:30. Success! It was about 1/3 the size of his sleeping pad, and as far as I know, is the lightest one on the market at 9.1 ounces. Generally considered a moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 20 h 6 min to complete. This snowshoe hare looks as if it could shoot lasers from its eyes, Campsite along the Elk Park trail, around 10,300ft. Not once did we get wet crossing a stream. Once past the tricky part near the top of the pass, it was your general steep descent via switchbacks. Very clear and interesting. Thats how I do it these days. Are there fishing opportunities along this route? Finally, with any backpacking trip, you should look for an emergency out. Our dehydrated meals said they were tested at 5,000-foot elevation, and to double the cook time for every additional 5,000 feet. I put my poles away now as I found it necessary to use my hands a little here and there going up some of the boulders. After a nice relaxing break, we hit the trail again. Miles Hiked 10.4 Awesome views all around, but it was still cold and precipitating out and thus my camera stayed under my rain jacket. There is no road access to either the Elk Park or Needleton trail access points. . The skies were cloudy all around us though. I'll never forget it. I had also been considering a climb up Sunlight Peak as well, but it was so nice up here on Windom Peak that I decided to relax, and just enjoy the beautiful view. Looking up, it looked very easy and straight forward. There were many stream crossings and several large waterfalls that we passed, but due to the weather and number of miles we had to cover, we didnt spend any time checking most of them out. We woke up today at 5:30 and began to slowly pack up camp. For suggestions, see my guides to the best womens hiking boots and hiking gear for men. The pictures dont even come close to being there first hand. Making reservations to ride the train to the wilderness is easy. Im assuming forest service will clear this soon. Yet another day we found ourselves traversing a pass in bad weather. We passed several waterfalls and areas of whitewater. We used a Sawyer Squeeze water filter. Done over 5 nights and 6 days. All of our gear was dry and life was good. They were all well marked but took extra time to navigate. Once I gained a few hundred feet in elevation, I could see that there wasnt any threat of getting soaked and I took off the extra layers. 1. We ended up finishing around 5pm on the 5th day, so instead of waiting around for the return train to Durango on day 6, we took the train to Silverton for lunch, then rode the whole return trip to Durango. The weather looked like it was holding out as we neared the top, but it looked like it could turn bad at any moment. There are also sections with loose pebbles where youll want good traction. Lisa was quite scared here, and it took a lot of coaxing to get her to move. Twin Lakes, still waiting for early morning light to hit tis waters. Needleton, Colorado - Activities and Events | San Juan County Parking for the train is available in Durango and Silverton. Hello, solitude. The only way to combat them is it cover up your skin with long sleeves, jacket hood, etc. We set our packs up on a rock ledge with rain covers on, hoping thats be enough to keep them dry. The skies were pretty blue now and there was abundant sunshine. Past that meadow, the trail begins to climb past the treeline. It was nice to know that we had a day off of hiking coming up tomorrow, at least for Lisa anyways. One guy stopped and said Whoa, what are you doing going up that? TR: Elk Park/Needleton Loop with extras - WhiteBlaze The train moves very slow, around 18 MPH max speed. Lisa spent the morning chasing away mountain goats. instead of the 7:30AM train which stopped at Needleton. This particular mine only ran about 30ft or so, and was not that interesting. As we waited by the tracks, one of the hikers we were talking to in the shack was showing another guy his sleeping pad. It was extra sunny during the day, and there were thunderstorms most evenings. Trains run daily, with wilderness access available during summer months. If youre boarding the train at a flag stop, you need to alert the conductor. Carry a comfortable pack with a water reservoir. Instead of heading over to Sunlight, I decided to follow the drainage leading to Twin Lakes and explore that area. San Juan National Forest. The four debris fields we crossed we scary enough. I did see a lot of goat hair stuck in the trees and bushes now, which we had not seen anywhere else yet along our hike. The trees down are no joke - this probably added an hour to our day. Columbine Pass The crowning jewel on our recent vacation to Colorado was an epic backpacking trip. Seeing the fog rise from the mountains and engulf the peaks around us was incredible. Some hikers we met said that it sleeted on them one evening (when it had only rained on us). Our stop is Elk Park, a 3 hour ride from Durango. From a distance, I could see faint lines on the hillside that were definitely the switchbacks. That is, of course, after hot meal and long hot shower! The train follows the overall route of the Animas River northward from Durango and stops at Silverton, however, we werent going that far. 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. On this section of the trail, the views were mostly obstructed by trees until we reached the beaver pond at mile 3. Subscribe to receive an emial notification when new content is added, Sawtooth Mountains Idaho Landscape Photography Canvas Prints, Seeking Lost Logo Shirt - Unisex Softstyle T-Shirt, Basin and Range Trail Planning Kit: Guidebook, GPX, Maps, Waypoints, Water Chart, Vanadinite Mineral Specimen (North Geronimo Mine, AZ), Wulfenite on Fluorite Mineral Specimen (Red Cloud Mine, AZ). Lots of people in the Chicago Basin, no one in the Johnson creek or Vallecito creek area. Most were quick to check out the shack as we did, so the cinder block and wood plank benches filled up fast. It looked like a nice spot, close to the water, but the views werent excellent. Our most reliable digital map was from Garmin, within the Garmin Explore app on my phone. However, Im sure you could find a clearing to put a tent somewhere. Get around Durango in style with rental vehicles. Sultan Peak | Map, Guide - Silverton, CO | AllTrails Whitewater rafting with professional guides. Generally considered a moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 19 h 35 min to complete. On the Elk Park to Needleton loop, the emergency outs are limited. The skies were grey to start the day, but gave way to some blue patches by mid morning. In fact, there wasnt a single cloud in sight now, just a beautiful deep blue sky in all directions. Would that be too early in the season? The Animas River. Not too bad, but this was definitely not a class 2+ as described on 14ers.com.