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The Mountain Eater is an eight (8) day adventure designed to climb six (6) 14,000 peaks in southwestern Colorado. Since the elevation is so high it is recommended that this trip be planned for August. All but one of the peaks is acceptable for younger Scouts and that is Wetterhorn Peak. Day 1 How to get there: Drive from your place of departure towards Gunnison. Follow US 50 west over Monarch Pass. Go through the small community of Parlin which is 11 miles east of Gunnison. Four miles west of Parlin, CO114 (The Cochetopa Canyon Road) turn south, and follow it approximately 24 miles to the Los Pinos Pass Road going west. This leads to the Old Agency Buildings (Ranger Station). About three miles west, beyond the buildings, the road forks. Take the left fork, or Blue Creek fork, FSR790, for approximately 9 miles to its junction with the Perfecto Creek Road, FSR794.2B, which comes from the South Drive on the Perfecto Creek Road past Chavez and Nutras Creek to its dead end at Steward Creek. This is the trailhead. There are several campsites within .25 miles of the trailhead to San Luis Peak. The water in the area is poor due to cattle dung all over the place; bring your own or lots of purification tablets. Day 2 The trail: Climb San Luis Peak - This is a 10-mile round trip trek; plan 10 hours. Climb west up Stewart Creek Valley, keeping to the right side of the creek at all times. After climbing past several gulches coming in from the left, climb to the saddle on the southeast slope of the peak. From this point, the San Luis Peak summit can be seen .5 miles away to the southwest. The climb is moderate to the top. Day 3 How to get there: The next stop is Lake City; it is a drive day, so choose your route. You can go via a Forest Service road noted as FSR790 or go back north to US 50. It should be noted at this point that the Forest Service map road numbers in this area do not always match those posted on the roads. About 2 miles south of Lake City there is a fork that branches right off CO149. This is a gravel road (BLM3306) going south, in a couple of miles you will pass Lake San Cristobal, and if you drive far enough up and over Cinnamon Pass to Silverton. Follow this road for 11 miles to the old town site of Sherman. At this point, the road gets narrower and rougher. Travel for another 4 miles to where Silver Creek and Grizzly Gulch intersect with the road. This is our destination for trailheads to the next three fourteeners. There is camping near the two creeks or you can reverse direction and go back about 5.5 miles and camp at the Mill Valley Campground. Day 4 The trail: Climb Redcloud (14,034\\\') and Sunshine Peaks (14,00T) - Combined round trip distance for both peaks is 11 miles, 10 to 12 hours will be needed. Take the trail on the north side of the road that follows along Silver Creek. Follow the creek for about two miles to a fork in the trail. Stay left and continue hiking along Silver Creek. The other trail at the fork also goes to Redcloud Peak but is steep and could present some difficulty to younger Scouts. The trail to the left gradually circles Redcloud Peak. You will cross over a pass (13,000\\\'), continue approximately .75 mile further, then climb the ridge from the east side of Redcloud Peak. Sunshine Peak is due south of Redcloud. Follow the trail from the top of Redcloud along the ridge south for 1.5 miles. There is a 500\\\' elevation gain because of a saddle between the two peaks. It is best to exit the way you entered. One can exit the north face of Sunshine and down the valley below to the other trail at the fork mentioned earlier but this z-s is more dangerous. There are a lot of scree fields and drop-offs, this is not the place for young Scouts Day 5 The trail: Handies Peak (14,048\\\') - This is a 10-mile round trip, allowing 7 to 9 hours. The trailhead starts about 1/8 mile further east on the road to Cinnamon Pass. The trail soon parallels Grizzly Gulch for about two miles. The main trail turns left and goes to a lake. Stay right, the trail fades out and you’ll need to plot your own way. Head up towards the saddle then left up the ridge to the top of the peak. This is one of the most scenic valleys and basins of the trip. The area is full of wildflowers during August. Day 6 How to get there: This is a travel day. Backtrack your vehicle to Lake City. At the south end of town, there is another gravel road (BLM3300) that goes west to the Capitol City town site and Engineer Pass. Travel west paralleling Henson Creek. There will be a fork in the road in about 10 miles. The left fork goes to Engineer Pass; the right fork (FSR870) goes another 2 miles to the trailhead. The trailhead starts at Matterhorn Creek; park there. It is suggested that the group backpack in and set up a base camp for these fourteeners. Take the trail that parallels Matterhorn Creek for approximately 1.5 miles. Camp at the last stand of trees just below the timberline. Look at the Quad, map, there is a spring just a little further along the trail from the campsite Day 7 The trail!: Uncompahgre Peak (14,309\\\') - This is a 9 -12 mile round trip, depending on your route; allow 8-12 hours. Leave your base camp hiking north on the Matterhorn Trail, and pass the springs, it is approximately 1.5 miles to the pass at 12,458\\\'. Travel east on the road across the basin. The road passes south of the peak, then becomes a trail which doubles back west then north to the summit. It is shorter and easier to leave the road SSW of the peak, in a relativity flat area near several ponds, and head across the basin to work your way up the grassy slopes of the south ridge, to the right of the high point marked on the map with the 13,108\\\' notation, join the trail above 13,000\\\', then hike to the summit, 2.5 miles from the pass. On the descent, follow the trail back to about the 13,000\\\' level, picking a route down the steep slopes, then down into the basin and southwest back to the road Day 8 Wetterhorn Peak (14,017\\\') - The distance is 8 miles round trip, plan for 7 to 8 hours. Starting at the base camp, hike up to the springs. Leave the trail, cross to the west side of the creek, and follow to the north for a .5 mile. Then head west up the ridge for 1.5 miles, pass the high point marked on the Quad map with the 13,117\\\' notation, and proceed along the left side of the ridge. Work up to the west side of the peak and to the summit on a system of ledges. For the last 150\\\' you will use all fours scrambling up the ledges. This is the mountain that can be dangerous to Scouts due to the ledges and the 600\\\' shoots straight down. Know your Scout\\\'s abilities and control before trying this one.
Created on: 2024-09-10 19:33:43
Last edited by: rhall290472 On: 2024-09-14 08:49:03