Elk creek / Needleton Loop

anyone done this loop?

I have only done portions and never the complete loop. The area around Elk Creek becomes alpine as you approach an old miner's camp and then it's pretty exposed all the way to "Bear Town". Down by Vallecito, there's trees but also grasses, etc.. Chicago Basin is full of 14K'ers and those type mountain is what you would be dealing with if cutting some corners. Guess you could go further out and loop back to Vallecito, then to Needleton via Chicago Basin; the peaks south of the CT coming out of Elk Creek is where a number of climbers would go from Silverton but up, … not over to Chicago Basin or Needleton (been about 11 years though, so maybe someone opened one up).

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thanks guys, ill definitely keep these options in mind.