Eric's Hikes: Colorado Trail Adventure Part IV: Spring Creek Pass to Molas Lake

Days 14-18: August 2-6

Spring Creek Pass to Molas Lake with side trip into Weminuche Wilderness

Distance: ~75 miles Total Distance: 360 miles

Highlights: Jarosa Mesa, Colorado Trail Friends Yurt, meeting other hikers, Lake San Cristobal, CT high point, Cataract Ridge and Lakes, Cuba Gulch, ~1000 sheep, Stony Pass, easy walking up on the divide, Arrow and Vestal Peaks, looking down into Elk Creek, Eldorado Lake, leaving on the CT and staying on the divide, Vallecito Lake and creek, the Guardian, moose, Weminuche high route, hiking up Sunlight Creek, bear and porcupine, Sunlight Lake and Peak, Needle Mountains, Jagged Mountain, rock fields, Leviathan Lake and Peak, Vallecito Mountain, Lake Silex, Storm King Peak, Trinity Lake, the Grenadiers, Elk Creek, Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Tracks, Molas Lake and Pass, Jeep Ride, Pizza

Campsites:

14. Colorado Trail Friends Yurt

15. Near Cuba Gulch Trail

16. Sunlight Creek

17. Elk Creek (8 miles from Molas Pass)

18. Condo between Silverton and Durango

Comments:

In the morning I headed back to the bakery. On the outside it doesn’t look all that nice, but the food is so good! I got four pastries, two for breakfast and two more for on the trail. I also bought a spinach roll, which made for a great dinner that night.

On the way out of town I stopped at the Sportsman store to buy some water treatment as I had run out of Aqua Mira two days before and survived. I ended up with some expensive iodine tablets, but best of all, Butterfinger fudge!

Getting a ride back to the trail didn’t take long, as I got a ride with Onion, who is a very experienced thru-hiker on the national scenic trails. Thanks for the ride Onion. Check out this article about him: http://www.backpacker.com/june_2008_feature_onion_mr_magoo_cdt/articles/12430

Onion had been staying at the hostel and was driving another woman named Jo to the trail. She also had a dog. His name was Tiago. We hiked together to the yurt.

Tiago

Great views from Jarosa Mesa. Saw a bunch of sheep. The sheep dogs didn’t like us all that much.

Jarosa Mesa

We ended up staying in the Colorado Trail Friends’ Yurt. I would have liked to go farther, but the clouds began looking super dark and then there was a massive hail storm.

Another CT hiker, Calvin, had camped just down the hill and came by for a nice chat. He’s from Georgia and hiked the CT last year as well.

Three other hikers joined us later. They were stuck up on Jarosa Mesa right when the storm hit.

Woke early the next morning and got a good half day in before it clouded up and the rain came. Simply amazing views up on the divide!

Breakfast!

Looking back to the Yurt

High Up on the Divide

Lake San Cristobal from the Divide

Near the CT's Highest Point

I wanted to make it to Stony Pass but decided to call it a day after the Cuba Gulch Trail as there was some lightning and thunder getting closer plus I was cold, wet, and tired. I also knew there were amazing views in this area that I didn’t want to miss and I would be able to enjoy them the next morning.

Cataract Lake

Sunrise

A huge flock of sheep invaded the trail, going the opposite direction near Stony Pass.

Sheep!

The views up on the divide from Stony Pass to Elk Creek are simply amazing. I cannot say enough.

Arrow and Vestal Peaks on right

Where the Colorado Trail and Continental Divide Trail split for the final time.

I knew I wanted to do an alternate route in the Weminuche Wilderness, but I was not sure what for some time. Initially, I planned to continue on the CDT southeast from where it splits off with the CT to Wolf Creek Pass. Due to fires, I also looked into other options in the Weminuche. I considered Chicago Basin but decided I wanted something more remote. I ended up following this route from Sunlight Creek back to the CT. http://www.backpacker.com/destinations/hikes/43747

In order to connect with the route I decided to follow the divide where the CT splits off and goes down Elk Creek. There is what appears to be an old road that becomes a cairned trail. I was thinking about going over Hunchback Mountain on the divide but the trail dropped down to beautiful Vallecito Lake so I followed it there.

Looking down into Elk Creek with Eldorado Lake on left

Vallectio Lake

I continued down Vallecito Creek to meet up with the Vallecito Creek Trail. The descent was fun as there were numerous waterfalls and streams all converging into the creek. At times there was a small trail; others not so much.

Vallecito Creek

Waterfall

I eventually connected with the real Vallecito Creek Trail and followed it past the Rock Creek junction until I was near Sunlight Creek. Along the way I had my first and only moose encounter of the journey.

After crossing Vallecito Creek, I wasn’t quite sure where Sunlight Creek was but then I saw a few tents hidden in the woods. I didn’t expect to see anyone here but there were some people who were planning to head up to Sunlight Lake in the morning. They told me I was near Sunlight Creek.

Before the Storm

I attempted to make my way to Sunlight Lake that evening, but it was quite the climb.

On the way I had some special animal encounters. I was following a small trail that would come and go when I saw a bear in the trail in front of me up the hill. It was looking under a rock for some food, unaware of my presence. It began walking down the trail toward me. Then it went behind a tree so I lost sight of it. I moved off the trail so I could see what it was doing and took a few pictures. The bear continued to come down the trail in my direction. I eventually let out a loud “Hey!” and the bear turned around, running like its life was in danger.

Bear

Just a few minutes later I noticed a strange creature under a bush in the trail. It was kind of white and grey and I thought it might be a skunk. Not wanting to smell worse than I already did, I decided to walk around it a different way. Once on the other side I decided to get a closer look.

A Porcupine!

Soon the darkness began to fill the evening and along with it rain. I had just lost the trail again and decided to go to the creek to wait it out and eat a snack. Then an all-out thunderstorm began so I quickly set-up my tent in the most undesirable location I used all journey, a very slanted location near the creek.

Good thing I didn’t make it up to the Sunlight Lake as the storm up there above treeline was certainly ferocious.

The next day was one of the best. The Weminuche high route is something I definitely recommend if you are feel comfortable going off trail. The views of the alpine lakes and being right inside the Needle Mountains was unlike anything on the CT.

Sunlight Lake with Sunlight Peak

A small pool of water with Sunlight Peak

I had a make shift GPS by pairing my Inreach SE SOS device with my Iphone which I had loaded the waypoints into.

There were a lot of rocks to hop across so my pace was far slower than on the kind tread of the CT.

Looking back to the pass I came from

Leviathan Lake

Up high on an unnamed pass in the Needles

Lake Silex

Trinity Lake

Looking back to the Divide

The Descent North to Elk Creek

I eventually made it back to Elk Creek and the CT. I traveled a short distance before another thunderstorm came in. I found a great campsite this time in an open meadow with a mountain view.

I had planned to cross the CT and continue north to Verde Lake, Mary Highlands Lakes, Silver Lake and on to Silverton, but I was in need of a zero day. I later had the chance to view some of the area from the Mayflower Mill located near Silverton. The self-guided tour is well worth it.

The next morning, I continued down Elk Creek, meeting the three guys who I had stayed with at the yurt.

Morning view from camp

Near the Animas River we were able to hike along the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad tracks for a short distance.

There was a long switch-back filled climb to Molas Pass. I had convinced my parents to take their own vacation to Colorado and they were waiting at Molas Lake to pick me up so we could go jeeping in the afternoon.

Molas Lake