Lower Endlich Mesa Trail (question about Missionary ridge fire)

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Lower Endlich Mesa Trail (question about Missionary ridge fire)

Post by goingup »

I figure this is a longshot as I have already asked San Juan knowledgeable friends and they don't know but this forum does have a deep seeded underbelly of people who know way more than I do so it is worth the risk. I am looking for information on the lower Endlich Mesa trail out of Vallecito Reservoir. The San Juan National Forest site says that the first nine miles are unmaintained since the Missionary Ridge Fire in 2002 and may be impassable. I do not want to go up past Lemon Reservoir and start at the upper portion of the trail because I have a planned loop that banks on that connecting nine miles of trail in question. I cannot find any information except one comment from a man who hiked the first 3.5 miles of the lower Endlich in 2019 and did not like the mud. Has anyone hiked the full Endlich Mesa trail (the full 21.1 miles to Columbine Pass) from Vallecito Reservoir in the last couple (read 8-10) years? If so is it impassable? Any help would be overly appreciated. Thanks!
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Re: Lower Endlich Mesa Trail (question about Missionary ridge fire)

Post by Marmot72 »

Hey! I was at Endlich Mesa last summer. The road is tedious; it took me between an hour and a half and two hours. The trail is not bad at all. Summer 2019, I was in the Vallecito lake vicinity and tried finding the trail on the USGS topo that leads from that road up to the main Endlich Mesa trail, and I could not locate it from the road. I had the waypoint marked on my phone but I saw no parking or evidence of a trailhead at that spot on my phone.

However, on my hike out from Endlich Mesa last year, I had the joy of some good company with another solo hiker who was packing out, and our path split on our way down, as he was heading down to Vallecito. So it still goes. Such a great guy, but I forgot his name. I'll try to see if I can locate him through a mutual acquaintance and PM if successful.


-Steve
I have phenomenal route-finding abilities. Specifically, I have an uncanny knack for selecting the path of most resistance.
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Re: Lower Endlich Mesa Trail (question about Missionary ridge fire)

Post by goingup »

Marmot72 wrote: Sat Jun 26, 2021 10:03 pm Hey! I was at Endlich Mesa last summer. The road is tedious; it took me between an hour and a half and two hours. The trail is not bad at all. Summer 2019, I was in the Vallecito lake vicinity and tried finding the trail on the USGS topo that leads from that road up to the main Endlich Mesa trail, and I could not locate it from the road. I had the waypoint marked on my phone but I saw no parking or evidence of a trailhead at that spot on my phone.

However, on my hike out from Endlich Mesa last year, I had the joy of some good company with another solo hiker who was packing out, and our path split on our way down, as he was heading down to Vallecito. So it still goes. Such a great guy, but I forgot his name. I'll try to see if I can locate him through a mutual acquaintance and PM if successful.


-Steve
Want a bit of entertainment.... check out what I found after some really deep digging:

https://valhikes.blogspot.com/2019/08/v ... ntain.html

This person did the same loop I want to do but in the opposite direction and I want to tack on 13ers not 14ers but if you read day 5 you learn all about the mystery section of the lower Endlich Mesa trail from Vallecito Res. Even though I have a 4runner, I have no desire to do this out of Lemon Res because I want to make it a loop, but low key they are trying to get rid of this trail and I am just not sure I want to go through a proper thrashing. So I guess we will see. ( I might have to though - I am so intrigued now)
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Re: Lower Endlich Mesa Trail (question about Missionary ridge fire)

Post by d_baker »

goingup wrote: Sat Jun 26, 2021 10:31 pm Even though I have a 4runner,
No more sleeping in a trunk?! lol
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Re: Lower Endlich Mesa Trail (question about Missionary ridge fire)

Post by goingup »

d_baker wrote: Sun Jun 27, 2021 9:01 am
goingup wrote: Sat Jun 26, 2021 10:31 pm Even though I have a 4runner,
No more sleeping in a trunk?! lol
Oh no, I sold the Honda Civic, although I still proudly hang its license plate in my bathroom. I built out the 4runner, so now I sleep in the 4 runner. Technically it is the trunk but quite the upgrade.
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Re: Lower Endlich Mesa Trail (question about Missionary ridge fire)

Post by valhikes »

Sorry, I've just never put in the effort to get famous, or infamous, or whatever. I hadn't even bothered to get an account on here...

I just have to say: Do it! Dooooo iiiiiit!

I would totally do it again. It's possible that the memory of the nasty has dulled with age. It would definitely be easier to do knowing what I was getting into. (I realize you haven't quite got this no matter how much excruciating detail I put into the blog post.) It's the kind of thing where a lot of the battle is just having the resolve. Those shoes I put a hole in were Lone Peaks and about 200 miles along, so due for a hole. That was a great loop. Less easy in some spots than others. It's really only 2 miles that were proper FUBAR. The rest of those nine miles are just hard to see and if you can't get my track off the Google map, you can get it off Peakbagger. As long as you remember the track won't be perfectly on trail, it should be helpful. I'm not sure I would swap the direction, though. That sort of crud is easier to deal with downhill and without the food weight of however many days. Also, the certain amount of scratching and bruising might have more consequences at the start than at the end. On the other hand, you could end up trapped by the growth in the last two years.
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Re: Lower Endlich Mesa Trail (question about Missionary ridge fire)

Post by MaxmimumMills4 »

This has intrigued me more than it reasonably should. Please please PM if any other beta is available.
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Re: Lower Endlich Mesa Trail (question about Missionary ridge fire)

Post by dillonsarnelli »

goingup wrote: Sat Jun 26, 2021 10:31 pm
Want a bit of entertainment.... check out what I found after some really deep digging:

https://valhikes.blogspot.com/2019/08/v ... ntain.html

This person did the same loop I want to do but in the opposite direction and I want to tack on 13ers not 14ers but if you read day 5 you learn all about the mystery section of the lower Endlich Mesa trail from Vallecito Res. Even though I have a 4runner, I have no desire to do this out of Lemon Res because I want to make it a loop, but low key they are trying to get rid of this trail and I am just not sure I want to go through a proper thrashing. So I guess we will see. ( I might have to though - I am so intrigued now)
Once upon a time I almost tried this. Good luck! Also hi!
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Re: Lower Endlich Mesa Trail (question about Missionary ridge fire)

Post by goingup »

valhikes wrote: Sun Jul 11, 2021 8:09 pm Sorry, I've just never put in the effort to get famous, or infamous, or whatever. I hadn't even bothered to get an account on here...

I just have to say: Do it! Dooooo iiiiiit!

I would totally do it again. It's possible that the memory of the nasty has dulled with age. It would definitely be easier to do knowing what I was getting into. (I realize you haven't quite got this no matter how much excruciating detail I put into the blog post.) It's the kind of thing where a lot of the battle is just having the resolve. Those shoes I put a hole in were Lone Peaks and about 200 miles along, so due for a hole. That was a great loop. Less easy in some spots than others. It's really only 2 miles that were proper FUBAR. The rest of those nine miles are just hard to see and if you can't get my track off the Google map, you can get it off Peakbagger. As long as you remember the track won't be perfectly on trail, it should be helpful. I'm not sure I would swap the direction, though. That sort of crud is easier to deal with downhill and without the food weight of however many days. Also, the certain amount of scratching and bruising might have more consequences at the start than at the end. On the other hand, you could end up trapped by the growth in the last two years.
Val, is this your first post? Did I draw you out of the wood? I very much enjoyed your blog and it helped me a lot!
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Re: Lower Endlich Mesa Trail (question about Missionary ridge fire)

Post by valhikes »

goingup wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 5:43 pm Val, is this your first post? Did I draw you out of the wood? I very much enjoyed your blog and it helped me a lot!
Well, I pondered signing up before to add some trip reports. I still haven't done that, so not so drawn out. However, encouraging travel on the routes less traveled is Important. Since my COSAR card looks to be having a second year of no purpose :roll:, I don't have too much to say or add or ask.

Does that mean buoyed by the knowledge it probably was possible, you went for it? Or that it warned you away for a boring ol' out 'n' back in the canyon?
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Re: Lower Endlich Mesa Trail (question about Missionary ridge fire)

Post by goingup »

valhikes wrote: Tue Jul 20, 2021 1:52 pm
goingup wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 5:43 pm Val, is this your first post? Did I draw you out of the wood? I very much enjoyed your blog and it helped me a lot!
Well, I pondered signing up before to add some trip reports. I still haven't done that, so not so drawn out. However, encouraging travel on the routes less traveled is Important. Since my COSAR card looks to be having a second year of no purpose :roll:, I don't have too much to say or add or ask.

Does that mean buoyed by the knowledge it probably was possible, you went for it? Or that it warned you away for a boring ol' out 'n' back in the canyon?
I ended up pulling out some maps and linking a whole bunch of stuff out of Telluride through the Dallas Divide to make for a really nice loop. Ended up being 62 miles with about 20,000 feet of gain, a few 13ers, 25 creek crossings, 87 downed trees and a whole lotta solitude. Finished in about 58 hours. But I still plan on doing your loop, either in fall or next summer. My main concern was the exposure to storms and a really unsettled weather forecast which really made no difference as I was above 10,500 feet the entire trip I did through the Dallas divide.
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