Looking for a ~50 mile hike that hits some peaks. Southwest CO.

[sac02]

I'm one of a group of four that does a week-long vacation/hike in southern CO each year.

Last year (2018) we did this:



We are now looking for a similar hike to do this September (2019).

• 50-60 miles

• more than 50% on-trail

• Scenic

• We'd like to bag more peaks than last year

One of the four of us lives in Durango (the other 3 are in TX) and we'd like to stay in that part of the state for easy logistics. (Free lodging before/after, Wife can drop us off/pick us up, etc.)

I'm new to 14ers.com, please let me know if there is a better place to post a question like this.

[Rich H]

Do the hard rock 100 course with added peaks along the way

[drop_bear]

I did this loop a couple years ago while getting Rio Grande Pyramid. It's roughly 50 miles in 3.5 days. We only bagged 3 peaks, but with your extra day there's plenty you could add on in this area.

Capture.PNG (1.18 MiB) Viewed 5163 times

[nunns]

Start Nolan's 14. Go as far as you can/want to. Oh, wait, sorry, that's not in the Weminuche.

Sean Nunn

[randalmartin]

Start Nolan's 14. Go as far as you can/want to. Oh, wait, sorry, that's not in the Weminuche.

Sean Nunn

Nor is it a backpacking trip. My question for the OP is, if you add more peaks it's going to be less about the miles. Perhaps something in the 30-40 miles but having a couple of zero days where you climb something from base camp would be a better plan.

[pbakwin]

Start Nolan's 14. Go as far as you can/want to. Oh, wait, sorry, that's not in the Weminuche.

Sean Nunn

Nor is it a backpacking trip.

Actually quite a good one.

[sac02]

... Oh, wait, sorry, that's not in the Weminuche. ...

edited to change the possible location.

Anywhere in the San Juans, Uncompahgre, or Rio Grande is OK. I guess that's basically the SW part of the state.

[sac02]

This was the first attempt at a route by one of the group. Thoughts?

https://caltopo.com/m/7EGE#1

The first thing that I notice is the end point near Wilson doesn't seem to be a trailhead - so I'm not sure if it is just incomplete, or what the thinking was there.

[Rich H]

Grant Swamp and Virginius Passes will be the interesting but looks good!

[polar]

Looks fun. Maybe the orange trail is just an add-on to the main (blue) trail? Doing the Via Ferrata with all that gear will be exciting! (j/k)

[sac02]

Looks fun. Maybe the orange trail is just an add-on to the main (blue) trail? Doing the Via Ferrata with all that gear will be exciting! (j/k)

Do you think it's worth it to do the Via Ferrata, in general? (regardless of gear situation)

[polar]

Do you think it's worth it to do the Via Ferrata, in general? (regardless of gear situation)

Unless you've done (or going to do) some VF in Europe, the one in Telluride is totally worth it when you're in the area. It's fun, doesn't take too much time, and is a very unique experience. This is the only public VF in the US that I know of, all the other ones are built by private companies that require a guide and a hefty fee. (If anyone knows of any other secret VF in North America, PM me!)