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| Hiking | 6.50 Miles |
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| | Hiking | 6.50 Miles | | | |
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| no partners | | BLAST FROM THE PAST. This is a hike from my Durango trip that occurred way back in August. I am surprised that I had to enter this trail in as a generic name. The trail is well established, signed, in a populated area that is easily accessible and is listed on the trail map for the Durango area. This being my third visit to Durango area, I am slowly becoming more comfortable with the area and doing different trails.
The Elbert Creek Trail wasn't too much of a stretch. The TH is right off the 550 about 2 miles south of Durango Mountain Resort, just to the south of a gas station. The entry gate to the trail is next to horse corral and I had to walk down a fenced corridor (private property on both sides) for a 100 yards or so. The map shows this as a difficult trail because of the elevation gain, but I did not find that to be the case for the most part. After I left the fenced corridor I traversed a series of switchbacks that made the initial part of the climb very gradual. This area is wooded so the views were limited. The one thing I remember from this portion of the hike were the spiderwebs. I always seemed to be walking through them. I found myself waving my arms in front of me as I walked forward.
About 2 miles in, I came across an abandoned cabin, still in pretty good condition. Just past the cabin the trail split. The official Elbert Creek Trail continues west going deeper into the interior. The other branch headed north. I don't think this is an official trail, so it doesn't have a name but it was well used and easy to follow. This spur was probably the steepest part of the trail and led to the top of the butte that borders highway 550. The views from the top were great and if I got to close to the edge, a little nerve racking. There were drops of hundreds of feet straight down for much of this section as the trail skirts along the edge. This spur trail eventually runs into dirt road that led back to the Purgatory Ski where I was staying.
Didn't see anyone for entire hike. Saw some deer as I got close to the resort and also a grouse (or something like it). This is an old hike, so some of the details may be off a bit. I would love to download this hike, but currently my gps and computer are not speaking with each other  |
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