Two Nights in Southern Colorado
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While much of the Colorado high country is still blanketed in snow, the S de C Wilderness in the southern part of the state is open for business, so Max and I took a long weekend trip starting near the bustling metropolis of Crestone.
It was a “Y” shaped trip, beginning at a trailhead at 8500′. When I pulled into the trailhead, I saw a woman scurrying back to her tent wearing a head-net, and indeed as I emerged from the car, my face was besieged by 1,000 mosquitos. So we geared up quickly and headed up the trail, hoping that things would be better at higher elevations, since we were planning to camp at about 11,800 feet that evening.
The trail started along a creek rising steadily through a mixed forest.
After at a trail junction, we went NW, into aspens. This has been a wet Spring in Colorado, and there were a couple of water crossings that had to be taken more seriously than usual.
Eventually, at about 10,700 feet, the bugs relented, and we took a break. Behind Max, you can see the signs of a winter avalanche that took down an Aspen grove.
As we continued up the valley, the higher peaks became visible.
And eventually, the route to our destination became visible and we ventured off-trail.
According to his genetic profile, Max is nearly 1/3 Husky.
As we climbed to our destination, the views across and back down the valley were stunning.
Our destination, Groundhog Basin, is a rugged horseshoe-shaped area, surrounded by high ridges, with rolling terrain.
On a previous visit, I explored the northern fork so this time I went south. The wet bottom is covered in willows, so we tried to stay higher along the walls, skirting the patches of snow. It took quite a while to cover maybe half a mile. Eventually we reached the end of the basin and set up camp. Max enjoyed watching deer and marmots traversing above us, and in the morning the sun poured in, lighting up the surrounding peaks and ridges.
As we retraced our steps through the basin, I took this photo, which I think gives a good sense of the terrain.
As we made our way back down the valley, I captured Max next to this boulder made of S de G “conglomerate,” a distinctive feature found throughout this range.
After passing the original trail junction, we headed east, up another valley towards our destination for the second night.
The waterfall in the center of this photo is the drainage from N Crestone Lk, our destination at 12,000 feet.
After a rocky approach, we were rewarded with an alpine lake surrounded by high peaks.
Given high winds, willows, steep cliffs, and buried drainages, it was surprisingly difficult to find a good campsite, but we found a room with a view.
Unfortunately, the winds were unrelenting, and it was one of those nights where you don’t sleep much, and one of those blustery mornings where you really don’t want to get out of the tent. Eventually, Max insisted on getting breakfast, so we emerged and made our way back down the valley and through the forest to the trailhead.
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