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My friend Dave and I set out for the Winfield area off CR 390 on Thursday afternoon to camp near the trailhead for the southwest route of La Plata. We found a great campsite about 1/2 mile before the final turnoff to the trailhead around 6pm. Campsite 1/2 mile from trailhead turn-off
No cars passed by our campsite until 5:30am the next morning. By the time we were ready to drive the short distance to the trailhead around 8:30 (late start, but the weather was perfect and we may have had a little too much fun around the camp fire the previous night), 3 or 4 cars had passed by on the way to the trailhead, along with a group of 3 hikers who had apparently parked back toward Winfield (We passed them on the trail eventually and I don't think they made it to the top of the ridge before turning back).
I had read that the turn off that takes you a few hundred yards to the trailhead was really rough, but I didn't think it was much worse than the main road (which does require a high-clearance vehicle), only you are climbing up the whole way. We parked about 75 yards from the actual trailhead in a small clearing along with 2 other cars. Parking area just below trailhead
Once the hike began, it was only 40 minutes or so before we broke out of the trees and into the willows, which can be muddy in places. Dave and I stopped for a short break next to what appeared to be the remnants of an old mining cabin near the base of the steep, loose climb up to the ridge. Looking toward the ridge from the willows
This climb was what we were least looking forward to, though as we started climbing, it quickly became apparent that the climb down would be far worse because it would be nearly impossible to maintain our footing on the loose gravel.
Once we reached the ridge, there was a nice (i.e., flat) trail heading northeast toward the two false summits and eventual summit and we met a group of 3 women and their dog, who were taking a long break at the ridge. From the ridge to the final climb(s) up the talus Looking up toward the first false summit
Upon reaching the base of this next climb, it became apparent that the loose climb up the ridge wasn't the only challenge on this hike. The next thousand feet or so of elevation gain is all talus with competing cairns and hike and seek trail. The first false summit is reached at about 13,950 with a view of the second false summit and the summit a few hundred yards away and several hundred more feet of elevation gain.
I reached the summit at around 12:15pm, a few minutes after Dave. We shared the summit for a little while with a guy from Atlanta and his two climbing partners before it was just Dave and I enjoying the perfect weather, but also thinking about how much climbing down the talus and the loose descent from the ridge were going to suck. The guy from Atlanta left behind the sign for others to use.
On the way down, we passed the group with the dog on their way up and then I made the mistake of going too far left from the highest false summit. It looked like a nice shortcut over to the first false summit, but it just made for more difficult rock hopping.
The climb down from the ridge became a combination of using the trekking poles for stability, and controlled slides. But once we got into the willows, I was able to switch on my auto-pilot mode and reached the car at about 3:15 with Dave not too far behind.
This hike was tougher than I expected. I can't compare it to the standard route, but the hikes up/down from the ridge and up/down the talus make it a challenge in spite of the lower evelation gain and shorter distance.
I think this is the better route just because of the scenery but that 1000' talus slope was hell when I did it too. One of those 'just stare at your feet and move forward' things! I also agree that the standard established trail up to the ridge is ridiculous. Instead of taking it up we opted to take the far right large gully up. On the way down however, I thought someone was going to break an ankle or leg taking a spill. Absolutely no traction there.
Hoping to climb this peak this upcoming weekend and this is good info.
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