Shari, the great planner that she is, arranged a fantastic weekend in the San
Juan mountains, down by Silverton. We drove down to Lake City, started up
Cinnamon Pass, camped for two nights, hiking Redcloud Peak (14,034 ft), Sunshine
Peak (14,001 ft), and Handies Peak (14,048 ft), then drove over Cinnamon Pass
into Silverton. We then took the Durango & Silverton railroad and enjoyed
the Animas River valley before heading home. By far, this is the most
spectacular place in Colorado!
Starting up Cinnamon Pass from Lake City (near Creede, CO) The trailhead for Redcloud, Sunshine, and Handies peak are all off of Cinnamon Pass, which connects Lake City to Silverton. The pass would take about 2 hours to drive non-stop, whereas the drive between those two towns via paved roads would be about 4 hours.
Lake San Cristobal and the Continental Divide in the distance
Brad driving on the shelf road Overall, this shelf road wasn"t too narrow - however we did have to pass someone in a spot that really wasn"t wide enough for passing, which made for a little excitement
Redcloud Peak (on the left) and a ridge of Sunshine Peak Sunshine peak is not visible from the trailhead, nor the lower portion of Cinnamon Pass. This is merely a connecting ridgeline at 13,432 feet.
An old miners cabin at the trailhead with Carson Peak in the distance
Our camp perched atop a small hill Lonny"s tent is not visible because it"s in the "forest of solitude"
Lisa, Tracy, Lonny, and Shari working on dinner
An old rusted boiler sticking up above our camp (from an old mine)
Chefs Lonny and Lisa (with Supervisor Shari)
Tracy and Brad We"re all so used to backpacking that whenever the opportunity to car camp appears, we pack everything we can think of: camp chairs, portable tables, awnings...it"s great! Compared to backpacking, it"s like the Ritz Carlton!
"Joan" and "Jay" showing off the new JetBoil that "they" bought for Brian and Lisa for Christmas Check out the Christmas 2006 photos for a bit more context on these...
Morning sun hitting the ridgeline above the valley
Lonny signing in at the trail
Hiking up the river valley The trail to ascend Redcloud required us to hike all the way around it and ascend the back side of the peak.
A columbine on the trail
A cairn marking an alternate trail up Sunshine (with an old coffee pot on top)
Whitecross Mountain (far right) and Handies Peak (center) up Grizzly Gulch
Silver Creek
Tracy and Brian, with Handies and Whitecross in the distance
Tracy, Shari, and Brian
Lonny, taking a flower/water shot
...The photo Lonny was taking
A gnarly looking side wall of Redcloud Peak
The lush green cirque below Redcloud The trail wraps around to the right and eventually ascends to the ridge of Redcloud.
Taking a break on the trail
Lisa ascending
Tracy and Shari ascending towards the ridgeline with Redcloud in the distance
The Bent Creek basin (southeast) from the ridge crest
Ascending the steep and scree-laden ridge towards the summit We"re now behind Redcloud after ascending out of the lush green valley below. This ridgeline was loose and unpleasant, but the views were breathtaking.
Ascending the steep scree slope
Wetterhorn (14,015 ft, left) and Matterhorn (13,590 ft, right) Peaks
Looking down on the ridge crest The trail drops down into the valley on the left
Lisa, cresting the scree slope with Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre peaks in the distance
People on the summit of Redcloud
Lisa and Brian summiting Redcloud, Lonny already on top
The summit of Redcloud Click the image to see the full summit panorama in a separate window.
The summit of Sunshine from Redcloud
Brad and Shari summitting Redcloud
The martian-like surface of Redcloud The rock up top was incredibly red...
Handies Peak - our conquest for the next day
"Jay" and "Joan", summitting their first 14er
Lonny, dutifully pointing out where we camped
Lisa and Brian
"Joan", heeding the warning of the sign The saddle between Redcloud and Sunshine may look like an appealing descent route (rather than re-summitting Redcloud), but it"s ill advised.
Lisa, summitting Sunshine (Redcloud is in the background)
Sunshine summit panorama Click the image to see the full summit panorama in a separate window.
Redcloud summit from Sunshine
Lonny, Brad, Shari, Brian, Lisa, and Tracy on Sunshine Peak
Lonny, cooling himself in a snow bank
A view of Cinnamon Pass as it winds through the valley floor
Shari, Brad, and Lonny back on Redcloud (Brad and Lonny seem unhappy)
Descending Redcloud
Lisa, glissading down a snowfield
Tracy, enjoying herself
Descending down the trail (Handies and Whitecross mountains visible across the valley)
Down from the trail, Lonny decides to take a dip in the stream to cool off Mind you, this water is snow runoff from just a few hundred feet up...it"s probably about 35 degrees.
The 4Runner and Land Cruiser, perched atop some mine tailings below our camp site
Entering the American Basin off of Cinnamon Pass
Brad, fording the stream to the trailhead
Lisa, crossing the stream in the 4Runner
Lonny, Shari, Tracy, Lisa, and Brian before setting off on the trail
Some of the few flowers in the American Basin
Brad, Lisa, and Lonny heading up the trail
A mountain stream
Further back in the American Basin The trail contours around the edge of this basin, crossing the snow fields at the very end of the basin before ascending up the shoulder of Handies Peak.
Shari and Brad (Handies in the background)
Sloan Lake, nestled in the basin at 12,900 feet and still frozen
Tracy, Shari, and Brad, crossing one of many snow fields in the Basin Notice how the trail sweeps up the side of the mountain
Descending a snow field a short bit
The American Basin, from eastern corner
Lisa and Brian, ascending the switchbacks out of the basin You can see the switchbacked trail on the far side of the basin behind Lisa and Brian
Lisa, pressing on to the summit about 0.5 miles ahead and 1000 feet up
Boulder Gulch, below the slopes of Handies Peak
Brad, trying to figure out which peaks surround us
The last steep push up towards the summit
Tracy, Lisa, and Brian high above the American Basin
Tracy, Shari, and Lonny summitting
Lisa and Brian summitting
Handies Summit Panorama Click on the image to see it full screen.This is probably the most isolated and beautiful summits I"ve ever been on. From the top, you can see no signs of civilization in any direction, except for Cinnamon Pass - just fantastic mountains in every direction!
Tracy, Brian, Lisa, Lonny, Brad, and Shari on the summit of Handies
Tracy, taking it all lying down...
Brian and Lisa
Lisa, glissading down a lengthy snow field to save time on the descent
Brian glissading
Lonny and Tracy, glissading a short stretch
Looking back at the American Basin
Lonny, Brad, and Brian's Army Corps of Engineer work on the trail Whenever Brad encounters water on the trail, he attempts to improve or place a dam to reroute the water. It never quite works, but it does help.
Handies from Cinnamon Pass
The 4Runner, about to ascend a rough bit of rocks
Cinnamon Pass
The western side of the Cinnamon Pass summit
Lisa and Brad - the helmsmen
Descending Cinnamon Pass down into the ghost town of Animas Forks
Abandoned cabin and mine at Animas Forks
A waterfall over an old abandoned cabin
Mountains down at the end of the valley
Brad, Tracy, and Lonny, checking out the sheer drop of 150 feet down to the Animas river below
An old aerial tramway heading back into the basin between Little Giant Peak (left) and Round Mountain (right) There are a number of old abandoned aerial tramways heading back to mines. These lead to the Mayflower mine.
The Durango & Silverton railroad
Lisa, Shari, Brad, Tracy, and Lonny aboard the train
A horse riding along the tracks
The train, rounding a corner high above the Animas river
Blowing off steam
The Animas River
Our hotel in Silverton
Brad, Shari, and Tracy's return trip over Engineer Pass
Brad, Shari, and Tracy's return trip over Engineer Pass
Brad, Shari, and Tracy's return trip over Engineer Pass
Mt. Sneffels, from Ridgeway
Brad, Shari, and Tracy's return trip over Engineer Pass
Brad, Shari, and Tracy's return trip over Engineer Pass
