San Juan Backpack – July 2015

Posted by: dave c at 00:39, August 28 2015.

For several years I’ve wanted to do a long backpack through the heart of the San Juans. On past trips to that area of the state I always had an agenda – to climb peaks. This time I wanted to have time to “smell the flowers” (and photograph them). My old friend Dan and I settled on mid-July to hike the southern-most 4 segments of the Colorado Trail, whichI was sure would be one of the most scenic parts of the trail.

After leaving a car at the southern terminus of the Colorado Trail, on the outskirts of Durango, we drove a second car to Little Molas Lake, our starting point for the hike. We hiked a few miles in that evening before setting up camp. For the next 5 days we hiked some of the most spectacular scenery in Colorado.

The high point for me was the section known as Indian Ridge, a long walk above treeline paralleling the La Plata Range, one of my favorite ranges to climb in. The wildflowers along this section of the hike were amazing.

After a total of 76 miles and something like 15,000 vertical feet of hiking, we arrived at the end of the trail. A memorable trip.

For a slide show suitable for display on PC’s (Flash-based), click on the lefthand image below. For a gallery of the same images which are viewable on mobile devices, click on the righthand image below.

PC Slideshow (Flash-based)                             Gallery for Mobile Devices

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