The 4WD road above the parking area is marked "Administrative Use Only," so walk up the road over 0.1 mile to reach the actual trailhead -
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2. Start up the trail, cross a small stream, and continue to a corner which overlooks a gulch -
3. This gulch is at the base of the basin you will hike through to reach La Plata's southwest ridge. Parallel the gulch for less than 0.5 mile to 11,500' where the terrain opens up (
4) and a bit higher to tree line at the south end of the basin -
5. From here, you can see La Plata's southwest ridge but not the summit.
Following the trail, weave through willows to reach the north end of the basin. If the area has received a lot of rain lately, the trail may be quite muddy. Reach the end of the basin near 12,100' to see the trail climbs northwest up a slope to reach a notch in the southwest ridge -
6. Leave the basin and ascend northwest -
7. Just above 12,400' you'll reach an old mine below some cliffs -
8. Turn right and hike higher where the trail becomes steep and loose but then improves as you approach the ridge -
9. After gaining 650 feet on this slope, reach a notch in the ridge, at 12,750'.
Turn right and continue northeast on the trail -
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11. 0.5 mile of easy walking after the notch you reach the crux of the route, a prominent rocky slope -
12. The defined trail ends before the slope so you'll need to locate trail segments and cairns as you approach the base. You may find a LOT of cairns in the area so if it gets confusing simply aim for the center of the slope, not to far left or right -
13. As you climb, the slope gets steeper yet the rock is surprisingly stable. You'll still need to be careful of loose rocks and dirt -
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15. After battling the slope, reach a flat spot just shy of 14,000' -
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Much of the remaining hike is now visible to the north/northeast -
17. From the flat spot, walk over to the ridge crest and follow it toward a 14,200-foot false summit -
18. Follow cairns to the false summit and just before you reach the top, bypass it on the left -
19. On the other side of the false summit drop slightly to join the final portion of La Plata's standard, northwest ridge route -
20. This is a good time to look back and study your surroundings so you know how to return past the false summit on your descent. Join the standard trail and make your way higher. Reach a false summit and walk a short distance over to the true summit -
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