Bob DenOuden's Pacific Northwesterner: Rocky Mountain High...

Getting to the trailhead is half the fun

My annual week-long backpacking trip was in the Weminuche Wilderness of SW Colorado this year. This trip featured a bonus; a ride on the Durango-Silverton narrow gauge railroad. The train dropped us off at Needleton where we began our loop by grinding up Needle Creek, through Chicago Basin and over Columbine Pass (over 12,500'). This has been a really good monsoon summer for this area so while we were annoyed at daily thunderstorms we enjoyed the lushness of a well-watered mountain loop. It was nice to escape the summer of smoke in Bend and we were treated to high lakes, moose, goats, wildflowers, and mining relics. The train picked us up at Elk Park were we finished the route in Silverton, ate lunch, and headed back to Durango. This was my first Colorado backpack and it was interesting comparing these mountains with the many other Rocky Mountain adventures I have enjoyed. A few observations; the presence of 14ers (14,000' peaks) in Colorado brings out the crowds. Once past Chicago Basin we enjoyed significantly more solitude. Also, Colorado seems crazy with off-roaders, especially the "side-by-side" models that are as expensive as cars. We popped out of the wilderness for one night and saw many of these deluxe toys roaming the back roads, as we did in the town of Silverton itself. People make a good living in Colorado by "guiding" Texans into the mountains on these rigs. I am glad this fad has not hit elsewhere.