Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks • Hike • Colorado • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

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Sep 13 2023

LindaAnn

Guides 110
Routes 2,246
Photos 8,982
Triplogs 2,600

45 female

Joined Dec 24 2007
Ahwatukee, AZ

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Hiking		Sep 13 2023
		LindaAnn • Triplogs 2,600

Hiking	12.09 Miles	4,670 AEG

Hiking	12.09 Miles	9 Hrs 11 Mns	1.46 mph
	4,670 ft AEG	55 Mns Break

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Route Recorded on Route Scout | Pop | Map | Popup | MapDEX

Got started around 0630. Cloudy, no breeze, temp was 42. The first half mile was uphill right away, then leveled off slightly after that. The trail was wet, but overall in decent shape, some rocks. The first few miles paralled Silver Creek.

Once I finally reached a basin of sorts, above 11,500’, the views got better, and it started to rain, which quickly turned to graupel. Added a rainjacket and gloves. Pleasant climb through this section, up to a saddle at 13,000’. Crossed paths with one hiker.

At the saddle, the hike quickly changes from relatively easy, to a steep grind up to the summit of Redcloud. In addition to being very steep, the trail surface has a lot of loose dirt and rock, and the “official” route gets lost in a maze of social trails. The graupel also turned to snow. I eventually reached the summit of Redcloud (temp was 28) and debated whether or not I really felt like continuing over to Sunshine, which was shrouded in clouds. Had I actually been able to see how far away it was, I would have turned around, but instead I headed over, losing 550’ of that hard earned elevation.

At the saddle between the two peaks, I again debated, but figured since I’d come this far, and the snow had stopped, I might as well get the summit. It was a steep 500’ gain up to the top, where I had a snack and took some pics, sunny for a few minutes and the temp reached 30! Descending Sunshine was fine, but I was dreading that climb back over Redcloud.

At the saddle between the two, I ran into another hiker and his dog. He tried to persuade me to take the shortcut off the west side of the saddle, directly in front of a sign saying not to descent off that side. It looked steep as hell, with no obvious route, so I told him I was sticking to the trail.

Climbing back up Redcloud sucked, but the grade is reasonably gentle. Heard a distant rumble of thunder at the summit, which encouraged me to keep moving. Started snowing again during that crappy 1000’ drop from the summit to the saddle, then graupel below the saddle. The hiking got easier below the saddle, but the lightning was getting closer, with a few flashes/simultaneous thunder way too close for comfort. Rained for the final two or three miles. 43 degrees at the finish.

Other than the steep section just below Redcloud, I liked this hike a lot. Nice way to spend the day. Saw one moose on the drive in, the hike itself only had pikas and marmots.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Redcloud Peak San Juan Mountains Silver Creek Sunshine Peak Uncompahgre Peak

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Stop crying and just go do the hike.

1 archive

Sep 07 2019

DixieFlyer

Guides 99
Routes 1,484
Photos 16,072
Triplogs 1,374

male

Joined Jan 07 2017
Fountain Hills,

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Hiking		Sep 07 2019
		DixieFlyer • Triplogs 1,374

Hiking	12.90 Miles	4,708 AEG

Hiking	12.90 Miles	7 Hrs 39 Mns	2.17 mph
	4,708 ft AEG	1 Hour 43 Mns Break

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This hike gives you 2 peaks for the price of one.

We hiked from the Silver Creek TH, which is right across the road from the Grizzly Gulch TH, which goes up to Handies Peak.

There was a bit of avalanche debris on the early part of the trail, and there was a decent amount of snow left in places along the trail -- we had to walk through some snow a couple of times, but it wasn't bad.

A mile or so into the hike a rainstorm started, and we got pretty wet. There was no ligntning or thunder though, and the storm passed by us, with clear skies behind it.

This was a nice hike, but it was my least favorite of the 4 hikes that I did in the San Juans. We got up to Redcloud, and then had to descend to a saddle between Redcloud and Sunshine, and then regain the lost elevation by hiking up to Sunshine. Then we had to descend Sunshine, and hike back up to Redcloud from the saddle between the two. From there it was mostly downhill back to the TH.

There were more people on the trail than there were on the other hikes that I did this week -- presumably because it was a Saturday and the TH was relatively easy to get to.

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Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there

Jul 30 2015

toddak

Guides 13
Routes 38
Photos 1,651
Triplogs 577

60 male

Joined Nov 15 2005
Jackson, CA

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Hiking		Jul 30 2015
		toddak • Triplogs 577

Hiking	9.50 Miles	4,100 AEG

Hiking	9.50 Miles	6 Hrs	1.58 mph
	4,100 ft AEG

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Another fantastic peaks hike. Returned via the Class 2/3 scree slope dropping down into the South Fork drainage to make a nice loop, probably saved an hour of hiking time.

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Jul 18 2015

jrousoshammond

Routes 30
Triplogs 186

37 male

Joined May 15 2015
Tucson

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Hiking		Jul 18 2015
		jrousoshammond • Triplogs 186

Hiking	11.40 Miles	4,669 AEG

Hiking	11.40 Miles
	4,669 ft AEG

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Met up with a friend in Lake City for my first hike in the San Juans. The drives were great, the trailhead was beautiful, and the weather was really nice. Lots of weekend campers at the TH, but the vibe was pleasant (until I was trying to sleep at 10:30, when seemingly half of Denver arrived at the parking lot...). Hike started around 4:30; the weather was good, despite the bad reports. Made good time to tree-line and to the first major ridge. The climb up Redcloud was a bit eroded, especially in one section that was just shin-deep sand.

The ridge to Sunshine was longer than I expected, especially on the way back, but all in all it was a manageable hike. The view north to Coxcomb, Wetterhorn, Matterhorn, and Uncompahgre was amazing, and the other directions were not too shabby either. We made it back to the TH just before the storms started.

We tried Handies the next day, but the weather was just too soggy for me. It probably would have been fine, but with a newlywed killed by lightning just two days earlier on Mt. Yale, I didn't feel like hiking above treeline.

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Aug 02 2014

iborrego

Triplogs 348

32 male

Joined Oct 13 2012
Tucson, AZ

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Hiking		Aug 02 2014
		iborrego • Triplogs 348

Hiking	11.80 Miles	4,800 AEG

Hiking	11.80 Miles	4 Hrs	2.95 mph
	4,800 ft AEG

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Aug 21 2012

fricknaley

Guides 93
Routes 397
Photos 4,984
Triplogs 4,124

49 male

Joined Jun 20 2003
Tucson, AZ

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Hiking		Aug 21 2012
		fricknaley • Triplogs 4,124

Hiking	11.77 Miles	5,030 AEG

Hiking	11.77 Miles
	5,030 ft AEG

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PrestonSands

big first day in colorado. preston and i hiked redcloud and sunshine peaks from the silver creek trailhead. we had perfect weather all day.

trail starts off in the forest and within about a mile drops you down to hike along lovely silver creek. after that you climb up steeply to a hidden inner tundra-like inner basin...the secret lair of the marmots. squeaking filled the air as we were told off by numerous marmot enclaves. pikas ran wild as well. this inner basin is amazing to hike through and gives you a breather before a sharp climb up to a prominent ridge that thus leads to redcloud. the climb up redcloud is pretty steep. from there we decided to go straight to sunshine, which looks sooo cool sitting out there at the end of the ridge. we chilled at sunshine for a while, then came back and had lunch at redcloud.

a beyond perfect first day in the san juans. :y:

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hi

Aug 21 2012

PrestonSands

Guides 170
Routes 148
Photos 5,914
Triplogs 2,097

48 male

Joined Apr 12 2004
Tucson, AZ

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Hiking		Aug 21 2012
		PrestonSands • Triplogs 2,097

Hiking	11.77 Miles	5,030 AEG

Hiking	11.77 Miles
	5,030 ft AEG

no routes

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fricknaley

Colorado Trip, Day 2:

Nick and I left the comfort of the cabin in Lake City before dawn, and retraced our previous night's drive in, past Lake San Cristobal and up the stomach churning route of the shelf road.

We departed Silver Lake Trailhead in the chill of morning shadows, with only the peaks above bathed in warm sunlight. Into the forest we went, moving quickly. In a short time we were at timberline, where the cascading waters of Silver Creek grew louder and closer.

Climbing steadily into a broad, sloping alpine basin, our first goal, Redcloud Peak, came into view. The high pitched squeaks of skittish pikas and the steady whistles of numerous marmots greeted us.

Wrapping around the northern base of Redcloud, we ascended to a high saddle at 13,000 feet, where our first fourteener of the trip loomed directly above. Our switchback ascent of Redcloud Peak's colorful and rocky northeast ridge was punctuated by frequent stops to catch our breath, our bodies not yet having been acclimated. The climb eased as we reached the summit ridge, and we were soon on top of Redcloud Peak's vivid red summit. After a brief moment of celebration, Nick and I continued south toward Sunshine Peak along the magnificent mountain crest. The views were amazing.

We were soon pushing our oxygen starved bodies up one final ascent, having dropped nearly 500 feet of elevation along the mountain crest since Redcloud. The weather forecast had held true, and the sky was clear upon our arrival at the summit of Sunshine Peak. Here we spent quite a bit of time, taking in the views, shooting photos, and enjoying the entire experience.

Eventually we made the return trek to Redcloud Peak, where we stopped for lunch before descending. An assortment of classic San Juan peaks were briefly visible to the north as we began our descent, and a lone biker pushed his bike up the trail past us.

Silver Creek and the area's marmots were our companions as we hiked the last few miles back to my truck under bright, sunny skies.

After lounging at the trailhead for a bit, we drove back to Lake City, stopping along the way to see the Alferd Packer Massacre Site. Back in Lake City, we gorged on pizza at Poker Alice's restaurant and poured over maps, finalizing the next day's plan. A perfect day, for sure! :y:

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Marmot (Yellow-Bellied) Pika (American)

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Redcloud Peak Sunshine Peak

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"…you never know when a hike might break out" -Jim Gaffigan

2 archives

Aug 12 2008

Davis2001r6

Guides 6
Routes 40
Photos 887
Triplogs 214

44 male

Joined Dec 06 2003
Bordeaux, France

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Hiking		Aug 12 2008
		Davis2001r6 • Triplogs 214

Hiking	11.80 Miles	5,458 AEG

Hiking	11.80 Miles	7 Hrs 45 Mns	1.52 mph
	5,458 ft AEG

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Redcloud Peak - 14,034'
Sunshine Peak - 14,001'

The drive from Colorado Springs to Lake City where my next trailhead was near was absolutely amazing. Part of the drive took you through the Royal Gorge, then up to Gunnison were Western States College is, then finally down what is possibly the most scenic road I've ever driven. Colorado 149. Once I made it to Lake City I found a place to eat. It's called Cannibal Grill and Packer Bar. The place only holds about 30 people, but they are absolutely friendly. Everybody was on a first name basis in there, it was like an episode of Cheers. Had a great 1/2lb buffalo burger that hit the spot.

After dinner I headed up the road to the Trailhead, it's a shelf road that one lane wide with thousand foot drop off all over the place. I made it in the Honda without too much problem, did bottom out once or twice. I slept in the car again, had a great idea of folding down the back seat and sleeping with feet in the trunk, well great idea, uncomfortable an as all heck. I did have a great window seat to view the meteor shower though. Woke up and it was cold out, didn't bring that much cold weather gear, just rain gear. So I slept another hour and risked getting chased off the mountain by the daily afternoon thunderstorms.

Once on the trail the effects of playing softball all weekend were really taking there toll on my. I was sluggish, tired, sore and this was the beginning of the hike. I just kept at slowly and took a lot of breaks, the weather seemed to be cooperating although a bit windy. The goes from forest to meadows next to flowing streams with wildflowers and marmots everywhere to finally climbing the switchbacks up to the ridge. First you climb up to Redcloud Peak at 14,036' then you go off the backside of that down to a saddle and climb Sunshine Peak at 14,001'. Once I was up on the ridge I actually felt a bit better. It took me about 45 minutes to get over to Sunshine from the summit of Redcloud. The views were amazing to say the least. I took about 30 minutes on the top of Sunshine and had the place to myself. For that matter only saw about 10 people the whole day and always had the summits to myself.

The climb back down to the saddle made the climb back UP to Redcloud seem tall again. If I was counting it would be 3 14'ers in my book. I didn't spend anytime back up top and just headed down this time. Once back down in the basin I took another break and just soaked in the views. It was a great day. Made it back to the trailhead in a roundtrip time of 7 hours 45 minutes for 12 miles of hiking.

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Sep 26 2003

MtnGeek

Guides 9
Photos 134
Triplogs 75

48 male

Joined May 01 2002
Denver, CO

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Redcloud & Sunshine Peaks

West, CO

Backpack		Sep 26 2003
		MtnGeek • Triplogs 75

Backpack	10.00 Miles	3,471 AEG

Backpack	10.00 Miles	3 Days
	3,471 ft AEG

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6th and 7th 14ers
After hiking the 14ers, Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre we showered up and restocked some supplies in Lake City and headed over to RedCloud and Sunshine. We took 3 days to do these peaks. Day one, we backpacked in about 1.5 miles and camped along the ridge of Sundog at about 11,200 feet. The following day we hiked up the 14ers. About 2 weeks before our trip, the San Juan's got a major snow storm and there was a bit of snow left. The deep red dirt of Redcloud stained the path in the snow, leading to the summit, that looked like a blood streak.
After we ascended Sunshine we decided not to head back over Redcloud. At the saddle, there was a sign that read, "Dangerous descent head back over Redcloud." We decided to take the "dangerous descent." The upper parts of it was sort of iffy, pebbles on rock. Further down the slope got really steep and the scree was deep. We were basically scree skiing down the slope and the scree covered my boots. Gravity took us down and there was no stopping. I crotched down and jabbed my pole in the ground to slow my descent. Honestly, I thought it was fun and I really enjoyed this descent. The route then headed over a rock glacier and finally onto dirt and grass. There is a trail we found that leads into the upper part of that valley and took it down, back to camp.
The last day of the trip, we packed up, headed back down to the trail head and left back to Flagstaff. The following day I was back into Phoenix.
Moved to Denver 8 months later. :y:

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Mountains are there to be hiked!

WARNING! Hiking and outdoor related sports can be dangerous. Be responsible and prepare for the trip. Study the area you are entering and plan accordingly. Dress for the current and unexpected weather changes. Take plenty of water. Never go alone. Make an itinerary with your plan(s), route(s), destination(s) and expected return time. Give your itinerary to trusted family and/or friends.

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