San Luis Peak Trip Report 07/09/2013

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	San Luis Peak - 14,023 feet
Date Posted	07/09/2013
Date Climbed	07/06/2013
Author	Chinook

San Luis Peak - Stewart Creek with the moose
I called the forest service to check on the access to San Luis before heading out for the climb. To my surprise, all the trailheads are open, even on the Creede side. This was a family trip as my wife and daughter came with to enjoy the Stewart Creek area and camp. This was the first time camping for my daughter, and she was quite excited to use her new sleeping bag and sleep in a tent. We headed out around 11:00 on Friday and made the long trek towards Gunnison. Once we hit the dirt roads it was pretty slow going as they are in good shape, but as always washboarding forces you to drive slow. We got to the trailhead around 6:00 pm and set up camp in a beautiful spot on the east end of the trailhead parking area. If you head this way, be sure to bring bug spray as the mosquitoes were bad. Our campsite The happy little hiker that's not afraid to get dirty! The Happy Little Hiker A few other people came and set up camp shortly after we arrived. I didn't notice any smoke in the area and we had clear skies during the night. My biggest problem is that I love looking at the night sky and taking pictures, but I also like getting up early to start a climb, so what ends up happening is that I usually get no sleep. It was worth it though to see the Milky Way and all the stars. My daughter was amazed how bright all the stars in the sky were! Milky Way I like taking star trail shots, and this one started at twilight with a .5 hour exposure looking straight up from our campsite. Star Trails through the trees The I did another looking at the North Star for 1.5 hours. By the time this one was complete it was past midnight and time to go to bed! 1.5 hour exposure I got up a little after 4:00 am and started hiking with my dog Juneau by 4:45 am. My wife and daughter slept in and went for a short little hike much later. When the sun rose, it was quite evident that the smoke from the fires was in the air. We had a red sunrise that made everything look red for a short amount of time. Smokey Sunrise The one nice thing about fires is that they can make for some spectacular lighting in the morning. Here I am in the upper basin looking back down at Stewart Creek. Sunrise further up the basin Basin shots Basin Upper Basin Juneau was doing great and LOVES to go on hikes/climbs in the mountains. He is such a poser. Juneau the Mountain Dog I saw a few elk watching me as I came out above treeline and headed up to the ridge. Once I got to the ridge, it was getting cold and windy, and I added a few more layers. We got to the top at 7:45, 3 hours after beginning the hike. The whole area is absolutely beautiful and you really feel how remote of a location you are at on this summit. Juneau and I on the summit The Marker From the top I could see the West Fork Complex fire near Creede. It filled all the surrounding valleys with a thick layer of smoke, which looked quite eerie. West Fork Complex fire and smoke in valleys The other thing you notice on this summit, is that in every direction, you are surrounded by firewood. All the trees in every direction are dead from the bark beetle, and although no one likes fires, these forests need to burn. The sooner a fire comes in to burn down all the dead trees, the sooner it can rejuvenate and become a healthy forest again. Firewood I was up on the summit for about 40 minutes taking in the views and then headed down. Here is a look back at San Luis. San Luis On the hike back as with most of my climbs, it took me longer to get down, as I love to stop and take pictures of the scenery and wild flowers. Stewart Creek Valley Stream Indian Paintbrush on trail More Indian Paintbrush Columbine More columbines I knew there were moose in the area and I really wanted to see one, so as I came down the trail back near the beaver ponds I focused the whole time to try and spot one. Then about 3-4 miles from the trailhead, I saw one drinking water. When I stopped to take pictures, the clicking of my shutter spooked it and she was scared off. Here were the shots I got. The moose Another view of the moose When I got back to camp, I met my family and we packed up and headed out. The trip was a great success and my daughter thoroughly enjoyed camping. I think her favorite part was going to the bathroom on rocks outside. She is still saying that she wants to sleep in the tent, so I better take her out again soon. This was 14er #56, so only 2 more to go! Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

San Luis Peak - Stewart Creek with the moose

I called the forest service to check on the access to San Luis before heading out for the climb. To my surprise, all the trailheads are open, even on the Creede side. This was a family trip as my wife and daughter came with to enjoy the Stewart Creek area and camp. This was the first time camping for my daughter, and she was quite excited to use her new sleeping bag and sleep in a tent.

We headed out around 11:00 on Friday and made the long trek towards Gunnison. Once we hit the dirt roads it was pretty slow going as they are in good shape, but as always washboarding forces you to drive slow. We got to the trailhead around 6:00 pm and set up camp in a beautiful spot on the east end of the trailhead parking area. If you head this way, be sure to bring bug spray as the mosquitoes were bad.

The happy little hiker that's not afraid to get dirty!

A few other people came and set up camp shortly after we arrived. I didn't notice any smoke in the area and we had clear skies during the night. My biggest problem is that I love looking at the night sky and taking pictures, but I also like getting up early to start a climb, so what ends up happening is that I usually get no sleep. It was worth it though to see the Milky Way and all the stars. My daughter was amazed how bright all the stars in the sky were!

I like taking star trail shots, and this one started at twilight with a .5 hour exposure looking straight up from our campsite.

The I did another looking at the North Star for 1.5 hours. By the time this one was complete it was past midnight and time to go to bed!

I got up a little after 4:00 am and started hiking with my dog Juneau by 4:45 am. My wife and daughter slept in and went for a short little hike much later. When the sun rose, it was quite evident that the smoke from the fires was in the air. We had a red sunrise that made everything look red for a short amount of time.

The one nice thing about fires is that they can make for some spectacular lighting in the morning. Here I am in the upper basin looking back down at Stewart Creek.

Basin shots

Juneau was doing great and LOVES to go on hikes/climbs in the mountains. He is such a poser.

I saw a few elk watching me as I came out above treeline and headed up to the ridge. Once I got to the ridge, it was getting cold and windy, and I added a few more layers. We got to the top at 7:45, 3 hours after beginning the hike. The whole area is absolutely beautiful and you really feel how remote of a location you are at on this summit.

From the top I could see the West Fork Complex fire near Creede. It filled all the surrounding valleys with a thick layer of smoke, which looked quite eerie.

West Fork Complex fire and smoke in valleys

The other thing you notice on this summit, is that in every direction, you are surrounded by firewood. All the trees in every direction are dead from the bark beetle, and although no one likes fires, these forests need to burn. The sooner a fire comes in to burn down all the dead trees, the sooner it can rejuvenate and become a healthy forest again.

I was up on the summit for about 40 minutes taking in the views and then headed down. Here is a look back at San Luis.

On the hike back as with most of my climbs, it took me longer to get down, as I love to stop and take pictures of the scenery and wild flowers.

I knew there were moose in the area and I really wanted to see one, so as I came down the trail back near the beaver ponds I focused the whole time to try and spot one. Then about 3-4 miles from the trailhead, I saw one drinking water. When I stopped to take pictures, the clicking of my shutter spooked it and she was scared off. Here were the shots I got.

When I got back to camp, I met my family and we packed up and headed out. The trip was a great success and my daughter thoroughly enjoyed camping. I think her favorite part was going to the bathroom on rocks outside. She is still saying that she wants to sleep in the tent, so I better take her out again soon. This was 14er #56, so only 2 more to go!

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

JA_son27	Nice! 7/9/2013 5:43pm It was nice meeting you up there, nice pics and report!
Chinook	Thanks! 7/9/2013 7:24pm It was great meeting you as well. Did you climb any other peaks?
JA_son27	nope! 7/9/2013 9:57pm Still slowly trying to get back into shape! I'm hoping for at least one front range peak this season.........
scubasteve	Nice Report 7/10/2013 12:37am Thanks for all the awesome pics! My buddies and I are planning a 3 day backpack here later in the summer. Love the wildflower pics especially. Hopefully, they'll still be in bloom. And I totally agree with the fire comments. Fire suppression has its consequences. Hopefully, we can learn some conservation lessons from the last 100 years of forest management. And it's so cool to see kids out there! I'm trying to ease mine into the idea with some easy stuff in RMNP. Thanks again for the inspiration!
slaggbottom	Love the pics 7/10/2013 12:46am Enjoyed the night photos, as well as the others. Nice work!
screeman57	Great pics 7/10/2013 3:52am and nice meeting you up there! The wildflowers were intense--and you capture them perfectly.
HarknessHooligans	Love the pictures! 7/10/2013 3:35pm That 2nd star picture is amazing! You have a keen eye for photography. San Luis is definitely the place to go for that. Congrats on the hike and getting one step closer to bagging them all!
ladyice22	Momma moose AND baby moose 7/13/2013 7:33am Gorgeous pics!! We hiked San Louis a few weeks before you and spotted momma moose and baby moose chillin in the upper part of the basin just after sunrise. Wish my camera took pics like yours! :D
MonGoose	Star Trails! 7/1/2015 4:26pm I loved the photography, especially the star trails.

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