A friend and I attempted this horseshoe hike in reverse last weekend (Aug 14). The four debris fields we crossed we scary enough. As crappy as the weather has been all day, I havent seen any lightning yet. Sarah is the primary creator at Champagne Tastes. Very nice trip report! Before reaching the trails down to Kite/Eldorado Lakes, we had to hike over a 100ft rocky ridge, just as the clouds looked their worst. We stayed up a little later tonight due to the fire, and ended up going to bed around 11pm. There were many stream crossings and several large waterfalls that we passed, but due to the weather and number of miles we had to cover, we didnt spend any time checking most of them out. To close the loop I have to get from Needleton fo Elk Park (6.5mi). It has a mesh frame that holds the weight of the pack slightly off your back. Really helpful report! Small amounts of debris from avalanche on the Needles creek trail but easy to navigate. That's $100 bucks round-trip for a train ticket! There was only one truck by Kite Lake, and we saw no people. They didnt seem to concerned with our presence though. Seating is only guaranteed if you book a seat in advance. Lisa just made it up over the last rocky ridge on the CDT, giving way to views of Eldorado Lake. The trial follows the 44 road by Kite Lake. Youll be hiking in a wilderness area. Elk Park to Needleton Backpack Loop 5,560 views Aug 5, 2008 9 Dislike Share Save Elizabeth Black 394 subscribers From the steam engine train we backpack for 6 days on a 40 mile loop out in. San Juan National Forest. Since youll be hiking in the Rocky Mountains, you should be Bear Aware. Amherst and Organ mountains in the background. There were a bunch of waterfalls along Needle Creek though. It looked like a nice spot, close to the water, but the views werent excellent. As another hiker had told me earlier today, there were a lot of rodent holes in this area, and I could see mice running around everywhere. Have a good hike! Highly recommend. I was mainly happy to dry out my boots. Hiking through Vallecito Basin on our way up Columbine Pass. At the bridge over New York Creek, there was a waterfall right there along the trail.. Animas River, from the bridge at the Needleton train stop. There is no cover up here by Eldorado Lake, which sits well above the treeline at 12,300ft. A really incredible trip with unbeatable views! We didn't want to risk going up and over Hunchback, down Vallecito, up Johnson Creek, over Columbine Pass and into Chicago Basin. It felt good to be hiking today its amazing what a little sunshine can do. drops you off in the middle of the wilderness (no car access) and do a loop that is absolutely beautiful. The map in my trip report is generated from a wordpress plugin, where I uploaded my GPX file of the hike. After staring me down for a minute, they decided to move in my direction. Lisa really wanted a fire, and although I knew we could get one going, but I didnt want to go through the effort of gathering wood only to have it rain again . Would you advise camping at Columbine Lake? 5h 16m. The Elk Park to Needleton backpacking loop near Silverton, Colorado, covers over 40 miles and features stunning mountain vistas. We set our packs up on a rock ledge with rain covers on, hoping thats be enough to keep them dry. This is when the fog really started growing. If youre doing the whole Elk Park to Needleton loop, take the Durango-Silverton diesel train north from Durango to Elk Park. I headed up and made good time moving through here as it was pretty easy. Success! Fog billowed from distant peaks, and it was pretty dark around me as well now. There were cairns here and there marking the way as well, which could be seen since the Twin Lakes. I purified some more water for todays hike and ate breakfast, a Metrx bar and some granola & almonds. It was slippery and a little scary in the rain. Once I gained a few hundred feet in elevation, I could see that there wasnt any threat of getting soaked and I took off the extra layers. The trees down are no joke - this probably added an hour to our day. It was filed under Backpacking Trip Reports and was tagged with backpacking trip report, cdt, chicago basin, colorado backpacking, colorado hikes, colorado photography, colorado summer hikes, colorado trail, continental divide, durango train, eldorado lake, elk park needleton, hiking 2013, loop hike, mountain photography, multi day hikes, san juan, san juan mountains, san juan national forest, weeklong loop hike, weminuche wilderness, windom peak. The weather was holding out all morning, shine shining and blue skies. We passed many more campsites along the trail shortly after leaving our camp this morning. I saw maybe 10 people on day 5, and probably about 60 on day 6. Seeing the fog rise from the mountains and engulf the peaks around us was incredible. Definitely recommend to bring waterproofs shoes and pants to be comfortable. Comment * document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a9fc6034fcd46f19ce6730fcccb725d8" );document.getElementById("b86db021e5").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Hi, I'm Sarah! We didnt take the train so we started at Molas Lake and walked to Needlestop. Generally considered a moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 20 h 6 min to complete. The trail follows Elk Creek, and I believe it was called the Elk Creek Trail. Cell service is highly unlikely. Your email address will not be published. Great hike! For your monthly pledge, at various tier levels starting at $5, you receive perks and benefits in return. Otherwise, you can order a big map from mytopo.com. When we stopped for lunch, two deer wandered into our resting area. Not cheap by any means, but it was a cool way to enter and leave the wilderness. There were also a lot of flowers alongside the trail, and there were tons of butterflies on them. This was after 10 minutes of having rocks thrown at them. It was a dream and once in a lifetime trip! Lisa had a bit of trouble last year in the Maroon Bells when we hiked the Four Pass Loop, and I may have had a slight headache that first day as well. Another option (which you should probably do anyway!) Since cell service is unlikely, the Garmin InReach Mini 2 became our lifeline. Alternatively, if you feel you have any information youd like to share with others regarding this hike, please feel free to leave that below in a comment as well. I didnt want to go crazy on day 1 anyways, so it worked out that it was a shorter day. El mejor momento para visitar esta . Finally, it was time to start this hike. From above, I spotted a deer down below on the trail to Kite Lake. Carry a comfortable pack with a water reservoir. Obviously I skipped this route on our way up here, opting to go the traditional way up the switchbacks to the CDT, but I was curious if it was doable. Expect to pay for the train tickets, a baggage fee (for your backpack, which goes in the boxcar train), and an overnight parking fee. For that reason, a small cart follows the train to check for any fires started by the train alongside the tracks. It was raining up here and quite cold. Really, it shouldnt be called a creek, but a river instead. We estimated ~100 trees that we had to go over, under, or around - felt like a tough mudder. Awesome, glad it was useful to you. Also, because I sunburn easily, I brought UV protective shirts (the BALEAF womens UPF50 quick-dry shirt). Vallecito Basin, which lies below Columbine pass, was pretty nice. Did this route from July 28 to August 3. Venchka. We did the Elk Park Train Stop to Needleton Loop which was 36 miles. Everywhere along the horizon, fog could be seen rising from the mountains. With about five minutes to go before arriving at Elk Park, one of conductors gather all of the backpackers and ask you to head to the front of the train. There were at least 5 if not 6 avalanche debris fields on the Elk creek trail. This satellite powered device is able to track your location on a digital map, share your location with friends/family, send basic text messages, and (most importantly) it has an emergency SOS button to get help. A Garmin InReach is one of the pricier emergency options, but there are also less expensive satellite emergency locator beacons (with less functionality). This seemed pretty pointless though, because we just stood around until about 7:50. Prueba esta ruta de punto a punto de 37,3-millas cerca de Silverton, Colorado. After realizing that, I looked around and could see where the trail picked up again, and started hiking directly towards the trail in the distance. We got off the train at elk park ~11:45am and hiked ~6 miles uphill the first day. Go figure, good weather on the last day. It was well worn and looked much less difficult than I had imagined. I modified my workout regimen before this hike to try and strengthen certain parts of the leg muscles that support the knee function, some intense stair climb sessions (45lb pack), as well as doing a lot more stretching. The mountain goats I saw on the rocks earlier were in the same general spot on my way back. You would think that they would just find another place to hang out with no people nearby, but they kept trying to make their way down to our area. We made it to Chicago Basin and I made it to the "saddle" of Sunlight peak before talking myself out of going up the rest of the way (regretting it to this day). we get old because we stop hiking" on the back. Back up on the CDT, it was evident that the weather was not going to cooperate today. I dont like to sit in the tent if I dont have to. I hung out up here a while longer before deciding to head down around 10am. This time, we were sure to be acclimated to the elevation. If youre boarding the train at a flag stop, you need to alert the conductor. Elk Park Train Stop to Needleton is a 36 mile moderately trafficked point-to-point trail located near Silverton, Colorado that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate. I dont know why these animals are so persistent about going to a specific location when there are humans there. All in all beautiful scenery and a great hike. There is no road access to either the Elk Park or Needleton trail access points. The train moves very slow, around 18 MPH max speed. Everything was still pretty wet from the rains overnight, and it was cold. It was extra sunny during the day, and there were thunderstorms most evenings. You take a train from Durango that. This is where Eldorado Lake drains off the mountainside and down to the Miners Cabin area we passed earlier today, Looking up at 13,627ft White Dome from the Eldorado Lake drainage. It was eerie and mesmerizing at the same time. Also, this area of the Weminuche has quite the rodent population. I learned this the hard way when hiking around Snowmass Lake last year. Wed been in Colorado a week now, doing other cool stuff like the Colorado National Monument, Mesa Verde National Park, Denver & Boulder, Rocky Mountain National Park, Telluride, etc.