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| Hiking | 7.66 Miles |
3,281 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.66 Miles | 5 Hrs 32 Mns | | 1.79 mph |
| 3,281 ft AEG | 1 Hour 15 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Engineer Pass on the Alpine Loop is easiest coming from Silverton through Animas Forks. Going this way avoids the hardest part of the Engineer Pass segment in Mineral Creek between Animas and Ouray. It also makes it easy to see who's descending the road on the westside switchbacks above you, making passing on the shelves easier than if you were descending. Bottomed out once on the way up and once on the way down from the pass, but it's certainly avoidable. Doable this way in a pickup with decent clearance and tires; I was a witness to this fact. Matterhorn Creek TH has camping room for several people or groups. The last road to the 4wd TH was the roughest road we drove. Did okay going up, more scraping on the way down (again, my fault - inexperience and impatience). The only other cars we saw at the TH were 3 OHVs, but they came and went; everyone hiking Wetterhorn came from the lower TH. Everyone had helmets for Wetterhorn, but I thought after much ado, and an admonishing by a descending (and for what it's worth unsuccessful) Wetterhorn hiker the day before, that the climbing was upper c2/lower c3, and easier climbing than Brown's Peak of Four Peaks fame for instance, with moreover less rock fall hazard. Although I really don't know anything about climbing, and I'm scared of ropes.
All that said long drive in from PHX. We left at 2:30am on the 30th, set up camp by 2:30 pm just below the Matterhorn Creek TH. Engineer Pass has such beautiful scenery that I couldn't believe we were driving it. It almost started to make sense why overlanders etc call the roads trails.
4:45ish start only dark in the first woods. By the time I was in the lower meadows no need for a headlamp. A couple guys were ahead of me and had hiked in from the lower TH. In the rocks on the Wetterhorn Trail after breaking from Ridgestock Driveway the wildflowers were sweet, and there were about a dozen pika I saw.
Onto the ridge just started slowing down. Nearing 13k or so as it steepens up. The route is obvious enough, though I made the mistake of ascending too early on the rib. The crux was in the easy Four Peaks range of scrambling, and the views all around the whole time are astonishing. The cat walk and above for the finish are just the best.
Had a half hour or more and then back down. Much better time. Lots of marmots out sunning. Saw 5 hikers on the day and 2 dozen or so marmots and pika. After, it was a 5.5 hour drive to Denver outskirts and hotel for a night. Had tickets for Red Rocks same night, and I insisted we not just drive up for the show. In the end it all worked out. |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
Substantial higher up - here and there lower |
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