Advice for September Trip

[maniac365]

I'm flying into and out of Denver September 7-21 and want to fit in as much hiking as I can in that period. I was there 10 years ago for four days and did Longs, Bierstadt, Elbert, and La Plata. I'm not wedded to just 14K peaks, but looking for the best hikes. I'm thinking about getting an Airbnb in one location for the first week and in another for the second week. I would appreciate any suggestions on in which towns I should base myself for a week and what I should consider for a list of peaks. I'll be hiking solo, so if anyone wants to join me for a day that would be great.
Thank
Rick (from Maine)

[nyker]

Sounds fun!

You have lots of options. With two full weeks, I'd choose two places and stay a week at each or three places and do 4-5 nights each.

RMNP is nice that time of year, though will be more crowded, so Estes Park could work if you don't mind more people around.

If you stayed in Buena Vista or Salida you could have dozens of 13ers and 14ers handy, Salida would make the Sangres closer as well.

The foliage would be nice towards the end of the month, so maybe do a week in Salida and week in Aspen to see two sides of the Sawatch.

You could also stay in Alamosa if you wanted to hike some of the many peaks there and do a day at the Sand Dunes. Willow Lake is a nice place to camp (under Kit Carson and Challenger).

[nyker]

For list of peaks, any 13er or 14er in the Sawatch would be fair game, ditto with the Sangres. Plan accordingly depending on how much you want to hike/climb per day and whether of you will camp in or do all as day hikes.
For more solitude check out Mt Ouray or Cronin Peaks. Crystal or Pacific Peaks are at the end of a stunning basin and are worthwhile to explore.
The Crestones and Humboldt would be nice with a high camp west of South Colony.

[seano]

That's a wonderful time to be in the Colorado mountains, with the kids back in school and the aspens turning. Since you have some time, I suggest driving a safe distance from the Front Range cities. A week in Salida, Buena Vista, or Leadville would be good, and you can reach the Sawatch 14ers (and other peaks) from there with only minor abuse of your rental car. For your other base camp, I'd choose somewhere in the San Juans, like Pagosa Springs or Silverton. I'm not sure if AirBnB has made it to Lake City, but that would be another good location that time of year.

All of these areas have extensive trail networks, and plenty of peaks and routes of varying difficulties. I don't know anything about your experience or interests, so I won't recommend any specific routes or peaks.

[maniac365]

Thanks for the responses. To give a bit more info about my experience in case anyone wants to recommend specific hikes, I'm 65 y/o, but quite fit. I've been hiking for 50 years and did a lot of technical climbing in my 20's (the high point being an ascent of the Nose Route at age 20). I hike weekends year round in the White Mountains of NH and do regular trips overseas. The past several years have included Kilimanjaro, Everest Base Camp, GR20 on Corsica, Cordillera Huayhuash and the Haute Route. On my past several birthdays, I've flown to Phoenix and climbed Humphrey Peak on the first day and then did a two-day Rim to Rim to Rim at the GC. (Hump to hole). I feel that I am as strong a hiker as I ever was, but know I'm being chased down by Father Time, so I'm trying to get it in while I can. I'm looking forward to a good two weeks of hiking. I'll probably be just doing day hikes.
Thanks again.
Rick

P.S. This web site is a great resource. We don't have anything close to this in the Northeast. I made sure to make a contribution.

[huffy13]

I'll second the suggestion for finding a good base camp around Salida, Buena Vista or Nathrop. Breckenridge would be a good place also. September is my favorite month to do my hikes, I love the change of colors and the cool weather, along with the reduced risk of serious afternoon thunderstorms. My suggestions for peaks would be Huron, Shavano, Yale and Massive in the Sawatch range, Quandary and Sherman in the Tenmile/Mosquito range, Humboldt (in the Sangre de Cristos) is not a terribly long drive from Salida. If you are planning some weekday hikes I'd even suggest bagging the Grays and Torreys combo on the front range.

[Wentzl]

It is a long drive from Denver, but if you have not visited the San Juan mountains, you have been missing the best of the Colorado Rockies. OK, slightly biased opinion.

Get a place in Ouray or Ridgway.

Day 1; Yankee Boy Basin. Pick your peak. Sneffels, Gilpin, Teakettle, Potisi or just hike up Governor Basin to Virginius Pass and poke around on the ridges there.
Day 2; Wetterhorn peak from the north side via Owl Creek Pass to Coxcomb pass and Wetterhorn Basin.
Day 3; Handies via Grouse Gulch
Day 4; Head up to Telluride and hike up Black Bear creek all the way up to Oscar's Pass.
Day 5; South Mineral Creek to Ice Lake Basin. Pick your peak - Vermillion, Grant, Golden Horn

Don't bother with a bunch of USGS maps. Just buy this:

http://www.buckskinbooksellers.com/book ... +and+Ouray

Now that you have a taste of the San Juans, you won't go anywhere else in Colorado.

[Cruiser]

I'd spend a week in Buena Vista or Salida and tackle a bunch of the Sawatch peaks. Then I'd head further south to the San Juans and spend a week in Lake City or Ouray or Silverton. The driving will be almost as beautiful as the hiking!

[seano]

I'd spend a week in Buena Vista or Salida and tackle a bunch of the Sawatch peaks. Then I'd head further south to the San Juans and spend a week in Lake City or Ouray or Silverton. The driving will be almost as beautiful as the hiking!

That is my advice also. BV has a lot of places to stay.

"Third-ed." The Sawatch, particularly the area around Huron Peak, should be nice, and they're easily accessible from BV. There are lots of moderate peaks to hike.

If you're day-hiking and based in Silverton, take a couple quick trips up Engineer Mountain and Snowdon. They're not so tall, but they have spectacular views.

[highpilgrim]

If you're day-hiking and based in Silverton, take a couple quick trips up Engineer Mountain and Snowdon. They're not so tall, but they have spectacular views.

Grand Turk and Sultan mountains are easy hikes from Molas Pass that have great views of the area and the ability to hear the Durango&Silverton train from the top. It was pretty cool to find that rail clicks and whistles could be heard from that far up.

Choo-yodeling.

[TaylorHolt]

Obvious advice: make sure you get a rental car with decent clearance and 4wd/Awd.

I'll second everyone else's suggestion of a week in BV/Salida and a week in Lake City or Ridgeway.

[maniac365]

Thanks for all the helpful advice on where to spend my two weeks hiking in Colorado in September. Based on that, I plan to spend the first week in Salida or Buena Vista and the second in Ouray or Silverton. I would appreciate any advice on choosing between Salida versus Buena Vista and Ouray versus Silverton in terms of proximity to trails and a place to spend time in when I'm not hiking. Thanks.