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Day 1: Drove 3 hours from Denver to San Luis Valley Campground for the night
Day 2: Drove 3 hours to Durango, left one truck and shuttled to Vallecito Campground, hiked 10 miles in with 2000’ gain
Day 3: Left camp at Johnson Creek/Vallecito Intersection at 6:05am and got into Chicago Basin at 1:30pm (10 miles 4000’ gain over 12,700 Columbine Pass)
Day 4: Left camp at 4:15 summited Sunlight at 8:15am and Windom at 11:00am.
Day 5: Left camp at 4:20 summited Eolus at 8:30am and N. Eolus 10:00am.
Day 6: hiked 7 miles out of Chicago Basin to Needleton to get Train back to Durango, shuttled to Vallecito, partied in Airbnb in Durango
Day 7: drove back to Denver
Quick Notes about Chicago Basin from Vallecito:
The “Marginal Cost” of hiking from Vallecito compared to the train is an extra 13 miles, an extra 4,000 feet of elevation gain with a heavy pack, and an extra day to the trip.
Vallecito Trail is in good shape and easy to follow
The trail from Vallecito to Columbine Pass has plenty of switchbacks; don’t be turned off by how steep it looks on the map
A couple of river crossings on Vallecito Trail that aren’t for slouches
No need to carry more than liter of water at a time as there is constant river access all the way to Columbine Lake (about 300 feet below 12,700’ pass)
Tons of wild strawberries on the approach
Hide your beer better in Animus River because there are jerks out there who will steal it
One-Way train ride is great way to earn the Chicago Basin
In 2021 there was no one-way ticket on railroad so we had to pay the same cost as a two-way ticket unfortunately.
Bring a tarp to socialize under for the afternoon rainstorms
Be prepared for mountain goats, marmots, chipmunks, deer, and porcupines to invade your camp. We had several clothing items chewed up by the nocturnal porcupine whom we affectionately dubbed “Mr. Snuggles”
Bring river crossing shoes
Caption Here
This was my third adventure into the Chicago Basin. The first time we took the Durango-Silverton RR in 2013 from Durango. In 2017 we took the RR in and out from Silverton. This time (2021) we decided we’d hike in over Columbine Pass and take the train one-way out. We’ve established a precedent to return to the magical spot in Colorado every 4 years.
Stiffler_from_Denver; Exiled Michigander; Shoe-Bacca Johan came in from Vallecito and the rest of the ascent party came in from the train a day later.
Vallecito Campground
Vallecito Camp Ground
The Vallecito Crew heading out
Setting out from Vallecito anticipating rain
Early part of Vallecito Trail runs high above river
early on the trail runs high above river
Earn great views about an hour into hiking
great views about an hour into the hike
solid trail follows the river
trail continues by river
great bridges
great bridge crossing
We wanted to test the hypothesis that after 3 days in nature without distractions from your phone, you get more creative. To test this, I challenged the other 6 people in my party with a Remote Association Test (RAT), which involved three common stimulus words that appear to be unrelated. The task is to come up with the 4th word that is somehow related to each of the 3 clue words. Think of them as 3 compound words who share one common word.
For example:
If you are given “swiss, cottage, and cake” the word the relates to all three is: “cheese”
Swiss Cheese, Cottage Cheese and Cheesecake
I gave each hiker 8 minutes to try and get as many as possible. We did this experiment on day 1 and day 3/4 for the two groups.
Here are the clues to both days: (answers at the end of trip report)
Day 1 Remote Association Test (8 minutes)
shelf / read / end
scan / nap / burglar
lounge / hour / drink
soap / shoe / tissue
desert / ice / spell
bay / picture / washer
noise / collar / wash
dash / happy / stick
jury / door / side
pain / serial / whale
Day 3 Remote Association Test (8 minutes)
broken / clear / eye
skunk / kings / boiled
sandwich / golf / foot
garbage / beer / paint
coin / quick / spoon
gold / stool / tender
manners / round / tennis
room / blood / salts
chocolate / fortune / tin
computer / cable / broadcast
Day 1 Remote Association Test during a break up the Vallecito Trail
Another bridge crossing
another solid bridge
Here's where the bridge washed out years before. We bushwacked up about 200 yards and found a slightly more shallow crossing. The current was fast. I was glad that I brought Crocs to cross in.
tough river crossing where bridge washed out years ago
Another swift and potentially dangerous "stream" crossing
another challenging crossing
We found a fallen log to butt-scoot across
butt-scooting across
Just under 10 miles in on the GPS we can to the trail junction
Intersection of Johnson Creek and Vallecito Trails
Great camping and great morning views on the start of Day 2
great camping at Johnson Creek Intersection and great morning views
Starting up the Johnson Creek Trail toward Columbine Pass eventually
starting up the Johnson Creek Trail headed toward Columbine Pass
fresh strawberries
tasty strawberries sprinkle the route
Solid trail on one of the steeper sections of the Johnson Creek
solid trail on steeper section
Flatter spot on the Johnson Creek trail before the final steep approach to Columbine Lake
flatter section before final steep section to lake
When you hike into Chicago Basin from Needleton, you approach from the lower part of the basin. This leaves you with a bit of a conundrum as to where to set up camp. Do you pass up a great campsite for a spot closer to the high peaks and further into the basin but for one that might already be occupied?
When you come down from Columbine Pass, you enter the Chicago Basin at the very top. Which makes selecting the best camp spot easy---just keep descending the basin until the best spot is available. With an early start from Johnson Creek/Vallecito Intersection you can get into Chicago Basin before Durango train riders arrive that day. We brought walkie-talkies so I was able to snag the Cat-Bird Camp Site and radio to JacerJack and the rest of the train-crew as to where we set up our camp for the next 3 nights.
Some photos from the Chicago Basin 14ers the next 3 days
Early sunlight on Eolus as we head toward Sunlight Peakcoming back down from EolusSummit of N. Eolus
Vallecito Crew heading toward Needleton on Day 5
Vallecito Crew headed out of Basin
RAT Results:
Five out of Six subjects significantly improved on their RAT score after 3 days in nature. I noticed my brain was much more relaxed, still, and less agitated after 4 nights in the backcountry. There is obviously something very rejuvenating about getting away from the distractions of your phone, carrying heavy loads, and sinking into the San Juans
Subject 1: went from 4/10 to 6/10
Subject 2: went from 5/10 to 8/10
Subject 3: went from 4/10 to 7/10
Subject 4; went from 8/10 to 10/10
Subject 5: went from 4/10 to only 3/10
Subject 6: went from 5/10 to 7/10
RAT answers:
shelf / read / end book
scan / nap / burglar cat
lounge / hour / drink cocktail
soap / shoe / tissue box
desert / ice / spell dry
bay / picture / washer window
noise / collar / wash white
dash / happy / stick slap
jury / door / side panel
pain / serial / whale killer
broken / clear / eye glass
skunk / kings / boiled cabbage
sandwich / golf / foot club
garbage / beer / paint can
coin / quick / spoon silver
gold / stool / tender bar
manners / round / tennis table
room / blood / salts bath
chocolate / fortune / tin cookie
computer / cable / broadcast network
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
Nice trip report! I'd rate the Vallecito approach at about a 4 or 5 out of 10 on the Sufferfest Scale. Not nearly as bad as I made it out to be even with the additional 20 COVID pounds I've put on. The river crossings and last 500 ft. of getting over Columbine pass were probably the hardest parts.
I'm still in awe of you standing upright on the Sunlight summit block. I don't know how a guy who can't get more than 15 ft. off the ground toproping at a climbing gym without getting sketched out can have no worries whatsoever on that precipice. Seems like some cognitive dissonance there! I think you've transformed from "Short Rope Stiffler" to "Summit Block Stiffler."
In 2025 we'll have to return to the Chicago Basin via Purgatory or perhaps something even more non-standard.
Cool report and nice to see folks taking the path less traveled. We did a similar trip the week before you did but in reverse, Purgatory to Vallecito, and for 13ers along the way instead of 14ers. Purgatory and Chicago Basin are nuthouses, Vallecito Creek and Basin? Not so much, and Vallecito Basin is off the charts gorgeous! The Weminuche always delivers!
It seems like you guys had a fun time on the road less traveled (and did a bit of science -- love the RAT!). Between the ford and the miles, Vallecito is a once-a-year approach for me, but I've done it multiple times, and have always enjoyed the scenery and lack of crowds. The neighboring Pine River is also spectacular and uncrowded, although/because there are no 14ers or centennials out there.
I was just in chicago basin and agree the strawberries were insane on the hike up.
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