| Peak(s): |
Redcloud Peak - 14,037 feet Sunshine Peak - 14,004 feet |
| Date Posted: | 09/01/2016 |
| Date Climbed: | 08/20/2016 |
| Author: | Chagster1 |
| Peak(s): |
Redcloud Peak - 14,037 feet Sunshine Peak - 14,004 feet |
| Date Posted: | 09/01/2016 |
| Date Climbed: | 08/20/2016 |
| Author: | Chagster1 |
| Redcloud & Sunshine from Silver Creek Trailhead |
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Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks August 20, 2016 My third hike for the 2016 season would take me solo again. Due to me having some dates mixed up and then reconfirming my mistake later, my hiking partner Nathan would not be able to make it. Nonetheless I decided to go forth with my plan anyhow to hike Redcloud and Sunshine Peaks. Having already done Handies and Uncompaghre, I wanted to knock out more of the 14'ers in this area. I left Austin at 2:00 am on Friday morning and started my northwest journey to Lake City. After a long day of driving I entered the city limits of Lake City at around 4:30 pm Local time which meant it was about a 15 ½ hour drive. Knowing that I would be exhausted from the long drive, I went ahead and made a reservation at the Texan Cabins just outside of town. It was a wise choice. The cabin was perfect for my situation and I recommend it to anybody. Small and quaint was exactly what I needed. I then ate a chicken sandwich from the Cannibal Grill and Saloon which was excellent. I called it an early night and hit the bed around 9:30 pm. Due to wanting to get a very early start, I woke up at 2:30 am. The weather in the area had been kind of shady with odd thunderstorms occurring earlier in the day, and I wanted to make sure I allotted enough time to summit both mountains and get down before the storms hit. I made a last minute adjustments to my pack and hit the Hinsdale County 30 road around 3:00 am. Having been on this road before, I knew it was going to take some time to make the 16 mile drive to the trailhead. The road up to the trailhead is nice at first, after Mile 8, it really begins to get rough. I was driving a Jeep Cherokee and had no problems, but could see that if I had been driving a smaller car that I could easily have bottomed out in some of the potholes. It was a little scary doing this drive in the dark by myself that early in the morning, but I eventually hit the Silver Creek Trailhead at 3:45 am. I had concerns that I would all by myself for this hike, but soon realized I had plenty of company. The trailhead was packed. To my surprise, the sky was also crystal clear, something I was desperately hoping for. I grabbed my pack and proceeded up the trail and into the forest. At the beginning of the trail, it is quite steep, but quickly levels off as you enter the forest. My headlamp definitely saved me. In the middle of the woods, it was quite dark even with the moonlight. Soon I found myself alongside the creek. It is rocky in this area and you have to watch your footing or you could easily roll an ankle, especially in the dark. A little while later, the trail begins to hook to the right and you can easily see how the basin opens up just as the route description describes. As I entered the basin, I could see some headlights on the mountainside and thought to myself that those guys must have really started early since they were so far ahead of me. The basin is relatively easy hiking with some areas even flat. I had no problems at all keeping a brisk pace. Soon I found myself in the saddle with Redcloud to my right. The sun was beginning to come up and I had some beautiful views to take in. Surprisingly, the wind picked up quite a bit and the temperature was much colder than what I was expecting. I had to don my cold weather gear. At that moment, a man name Jeremy had caught up with me. We chatted a few minutes and then both proceeded up to the false summit. This section was much steeper with some areas I had difficulty getting my footing due to how loose the mountain is. There are multiple trails that split from one another, but all eventually do climb towards the false summit. Just stay to your right and you will be okay. After reaching the false summit, Redcloud's final pitch is easily seen. There was no time for stopping and we immediately proceeded up to Redcloud's summit. Finally at 6:45 am, I reached the summit of Redcloud Peak, 14,034 feet. It was surreal! After looking at my watch, I could not believe I had just hiked this mountain in less than 3 hours. It was definitely a record for me. Jeremy and I ate a snack, took some pictures, and then looked over towards Sunshine. The sky was perfect! Although it was cold, we knew Sunshine was next. We proceeded over to Sunshine at 7:00 am. I will say that from where we were standing on Redcloud, it looked rather straight forward, but some parts of the trail are hidden and the trail is much longer than it looks. I knew it was 1.5 miles based on route description, but it seemed farther, especially as you begin to summit Sunshine. Finally an hour later at 8:00 am, Sunshine Peak 14,001 feet was accomplished! I felt great! For whatever reason, it was much warmer on Sunshine, probably hence the name Sunshine. We didn't stay long. After another snack and some pictures, we decided to head back over to Redcloud. Although there are other options in going down, I recommend going back over to Redcloud. A buddy of mine took an alternative route down last year and absolutely hated it. You don't save any mileage nor time and it is much more dangerous. Sunshine looks very loose and steep all the way around, so these alternative routes were definitely not in my plans. We began hiking back to Redcloud at 8:15 am. I will say going back to Redcloud was much more difficult than going to Sunshine. Although it is more gradual, it never seems to let up the entire mile and a half. To top it off, you actually reach another false summit when you go back to Redcloud, something I somehow missed while going over to Sunshine. Nonetheless, Jeremy and I reached our third summit (Actually only 2nd) of the day at 9:15 am. Redcloud Peak "AGAIN" 14,034 feet! By this time, there were many more people on the mountain. We actually spent a little more time on Redcloud this go around as we were making conversation with some of the other hikers. Although it was still cold (Again), the weather was holding up. At 9:45 am, we decided to head back down. The hike back to the trailhead was just like any other, a little painful in the knees but otherwise we held a nice steady pace. At 11:45 am we reached the now busy trailhead and called Redcloud and Sunshine in the books. This hike was definitely one of my better hikes for being in shape. 12.5 miles and 4,800 feet of elevation in less than 8 hours is quite an accomplishment when you summit three mountains. Jeremy was a great hiking partner. It is always cool to meet people on these 14'ers who share the passion and even better when you can make a friend and a hiking partner. Although I did not get his contact info, I am sure we will run into each other again. Nice to meet you Jeremy, see you soon! Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow): 
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