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| Hiking | 35.00 Miles |
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| | Hiking | 35.00 Miles | 4 Days | | |
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| no partners | | | I lead a Venture troop of 7 into the Chicago Basin area of the Weminuche wilderness northeast of Durango, CO. We left Phoenix Monday at 430am and arrived at the trailhead (8400') directly across from the entrance to the Durango Mountain (Purgatory) ski area at 1500. Monsoon season was upon us and we hiked in a steady drizzle. The first section follows Purgatory creek through aspen groves down to a series of meadows along Cascade creek. The vegetation is lush and thick. After several miles, the canyon narrows and you hike above Cascade creek, finally dropping down 1/4 mile of switchbacks into Cascade Wye where the creek empties into the Animas river (7800'). A sturdy footbridge crosses the Animas river and there are numerous campsites. This area is also used as a picnic area for the Durango-Silverton railroad so there are some tables and signage. 1/4 mile upstream from the footbridge is the railroad trestle. Four trains go up to Silverton and back everyday. Two stop here and at the Needle Creek stop (7 miles upstream) to load and unload hikers. We continued up the Animas trail on the east side of the river for another mile where we found a nice campsite. The next day we continued 6 miles along the Animas trail to the Needle Creek trail which leads to Chicago Basin. Our intent was to hike to a point just short of Chicago Basin, however the clouds were looming and we had an occasional sprinkle. We met Bob the Forest Service ranger on the path and he suggested that we camp along New York creek, about 2 miles up from the Needle Creek bridge. The site was very nice, alongside the creek and a large cascade. Bob warned that Marmots and goats would attempt to eat into pack material, but we had no visitors in camp. In the late afternoon we saw Bob again trotting down the trail. He told us that a climber had been injured when the goats kicked rocks down on them from above. We later saw a life-flight helo enter and exit the valley. Wednesday we day-hiked into Chicago Basin (11,000 feet) amid cloudbursts, lightning, and hail. We saw goats high on the rocks above. There were lots of trailside flora, including wild strawberries which were just ripening. Thursday we packed up and hiked down to our first night's campsite. Enjoying the nice rain-free afternoon, we decided to continue another mile or so back to Cascade Wye so that our hike up to Purgatory would be shorter on Friday. I lagged behind to get pictures fo the trains along the river. The rest of the troop an the other leaser continued into Cascade Wye. After an hour or so I entered camp and one of the scouts ran up saying "did you pack your pistol? we have a bear in camp!" I trotted into camp and a large black bear was hovering around in an attempt to steal an unguarded pack. We placed everything we could high in the trees and discussed whether we should stay of finish the hike. I ran my pack high into a Ponderosa and left to go filter some water. A few minutes later there was a ruckus in camp and I high-tailed it back. Seems mr bear leapt into the tree and played piñata with my pack. He was met with a volley of rocks and sticks and jumped down, luckily without my pack. He managed to pop a few stitches, but the pack suffered no major damage. We escorted the bear away from our camp and across the footbridge... minutes later we heard yelling and the clanging of pots and pans - seems he found another campsite to inspect. Knowing that the bear would be around all night long, we opted to take on the night on our terms, so we packed everything up and finished the hike, enjoying a rising full moon as we ascended to the Purgatory trailhead. |
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