Young Scouts – Weminuche Wilderness

[Brian Barnes]

Our older scouts/leaders are off to Philmont. Myself and a few other dads with backcountry experience are watching after the younger scouts (ages 11-13 years old) in mid June. The younger scouts have decided that spending some time in the Weminuche Wilderness would be great. They'd like to spend a day climbing, a day kayaking on a river, and four days and three nights backpacking. We hope to accomplish some of the requirements for the fly fishing merit badge while we are out.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a 4 day trip in this area? Given their ages and that this will be a first backpacking trip for many of the younger scouts and their parents we plan to keep the mileage down. We've already done some training hikes and are averaging ~2-3 miles per hour with full packs (though this was with minimal elevation change).

In the past (before my time) our full troop has been in the Chicago Basin area (via the train to the Needle trail head) and a few summited one of the 14'ers.

[Joe Clement]

Wish I could help, and I'll be watching this with interest. I can't imagine picking Philmont over Weminuche.

[Ryan Lane]

Given that you are going in mid-June, with 11-13 year olds, and looking for a lighter adventure, you mightconsider just backpacking and camping along the Pine within the Weminuche boundary. The gradient is very light in this area and, hence, should make for an easier hike.

The Pine in the Weminuche is great for fly fishing. Plus, in the slower parts of the river, you could run a kayak with no serious concerns. If you are looking to climb a high peak, though, you'd have to hike a bit.

Of course, this section of the trail gets used a bit more than others. But for those not as serious in your group, like the parents, this might be a plus, as they wouldn't be entirely alone out in the wilderness.

If you aren't familar with this section of the Weminuche, let me know and I'll post some more info or you can just email me.

I hope this helps! It will be a fun adventure wherever you go!

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