We spent the 4th hiking up a very remote 14er in the San Juan mountain range. The peak is located about an hour south of Gunnison, which is to say it's really in the middle of nowhere. We camped the night before at the trailhead with Shari and Brad Post, Lonny Jacobson, and Andy and Laura Westmeyer. The hike was a long one: 13.2 miles round trip with 3600 feet of elevation gained, but we enjoyed clear weather in the morning!
The Toyotas on the road, with Andy taking a picture
Baldy Alto (left) and Stewart Mountain (right) from the road. San Luis is hidden behind Baldy Alto
The trailhead in the afternoon, San Luis's ridgeline is visible at the very far end of the valley
The trailhead in the afternoon, San Luis's ridgeline is visible at the very far end of the valley
The entire cargo of Brad and Shari's Land Cruiser - that's a lot of gear to carry with 6 people!
Setting up camp
An iris in the camp site
Lisa hauls cargo
Lisa and Lonny work to dig all of the meat and trash out of the fire that the previous camp occupants left When we pulled into the campsite, the previous camper was putting out the fire and heading out. After he left, we found 25-30 lbs of meat left in the fire, plus lots of trash that wouldn"t burn left in the pit, and around the campsite. Since we didn"t want critters coming in the night for the meat, we dug it all out, got the fire going and burned it. The trash we packed out.
Lonny pulls out a large piece of salami
Andy and Laura
Shari and Brad
Lonny goes for a piece of leftover burnt steak left by the previous campers
Andy consolidates the leftover meat When we pulled into the campsite, the previous camper was putting out the fire and heading out. After he left, we found 25-30 lbs of meat left in the fire, plus lots of trash that wouldn"t burn left in the pit, and around the campsite. Since we didn"t want critters coming in the night for the meat, we dug it all out, got the fire going and burned it. The trash we packed out.
Our campsite, the start of the Skyline trail segment of the Colorado Trail
Brad focusing on a fork
Andy and Lonny sawing firewood
Sunset at camp
Sunset at camp
Lisa signs in at the trailhead
Alpenglow on a ridgeline
Morning reflections
Our first glance of the summit, to the left of (and behind) the prominent peak
Lisa amongst some willows, the flanks of Organ Mountain behind her
Looking down the valley
On the saddle between San Luis and Organ Mountain, the long summit ridge still ahead
Looking back down towards the trailhead (around the valley on the right, out of view)
Ridgelines, ridgelines, ridgelines
Lisa in front of Baldy Alto peak
Following the trail up the ridge
One of many unnamed 13ers surrounding San Luis to the south
