SUNLIGHT PEAK 7/24/89
SUNLIGHT PEAK 14,059'
Mountain........Sunlight Peak
Elevation.........14,059
Rank...............39th
Range..............San Juan
Trail length......9 miles (from train)
Elevation gain..5,900' (from train)
Difficulty..........***
Comments........Last 10 feet are the hardest
TRIP REPORT
7/24/89
The year after my first backpacking adventure in the Needles, I once again flew into Durango and checked in at the General Palmer Hotel. There I was recognized and welcomed by wonderful clerk Steffi, who had helped provision us for last year's trek. This time I was going solo. I had Honey Duck for dinner at the Palace Grill next door (excellent!) and packed for another foray into the Needles.
Next morning I was up at 5:30, checked out at 6, had breakfast at McDonalds, and caught the Rockwood train to Needleton (7:30-8:40). The conductor thought it was a good day to look for bears on the tracks but we didn't see any. I hiked into Chicago Basin by 11:40 under cloudy skies and headed on up to Twin Lakes by 1:30 in intermittent showers. Some idiots (not the word I used in my journal) were rolling rocks down the hillside; I managed to avoid getting clobbered. I set up camp and spent the rest of the afternoon in the tent as the skies opened up.
My tent, used for many of my Colorado adventures: nylon, purchased circa 1965 ($20), orange & blue, small for 2 people but roomy for one. No rain fly, very thin walls & floor, fat plastic stakes, snap side vents. I put a thick tarp underneath, but in this weather the roof dripped and the floor got wet. Doesn't retain heat at all, so it was chilly.
Around 5:30 p.m. it cooled down and the rain tapered off but was still threatening. I had dinner, joined at my rock table by a marmot. I selfishly refused to share - he didn't seem to care and kept me company for a while. My attitude improved immensely when I added a layer of clothes (long johns) and the rain finally stopped.
I was the only person out of about 20 from the train who had come as far as the lakes. However, there were some people up here already. They had brought dogs, who were barking and running around free (not a good idea - there are goats and lots of little animals up here). With the noise, the cold, the rain, and the altitude adjustment, I didn't get much sleep that night.
I got up at 5, had a Chunky & banana for breakfast, packed and took off for Sunlight at 5:30. The trail was hard to find in the dense fog, and there was some interesting but tough climbing near the top - especially the last 10 feet up a couple of boulders. Carrying both a regular camera and a movie camera did not make bouldering any easier. I settled for putting my hand on top of the highest point instead of my feet. Sunlight Peak was there; sunlight was nowhere to be found.
I hiked back down to camp and had another Chunky bar for lunch. Then I headed for Eolus.
Mountain........Sunlight Peak
Elevation.........14,059
Rank...............39th
Range..............San Juan
Trail length......9 miles (from train)
Elevation gain..5,900' (from train)
Difficulty..........***
Comments........Last 10 feet are the hardest
TRIP REPORT
7/24/89
The year after my first backpacking adventure in the Needles, I once again flew into Durango and checked in at the General Palmer Hotel. There I was recognized and welcomed by wonderful clerk Steffi, who had helped provision us for last year's trek. This time I was going solo. I had Honey Duck for dinner at the Palace Grill next door (excellent!) and packed for another foray into the Needles.
Next morning I was up at 5:30, checked out at 6, had breakfast at McDonalds, and caught the Rockwood train to Needleton (7:30-8:40). The conductor thought it was a good day to look for bears on the tracks but we didn't see any. I hiked into Chicago Basin by 11:40 under cloudy skies and headed on up to Twin Lakes by 1:30 in intermittent showers. Some idiots (not the word I used in my journal) were rolling rocks down the hillside; I managed to avoid getting clobbered. I set up camp and spent the rest of the afternoon in the tent as the skies opened up.
My tent, used for many of my Colorado adventures: nylon, purchased circa 1965 ($20), orange & blue, small for 2 people but roomy for one. No rain fly, very thin walls & floor, fat plastic stakes, snap side vents. I put a thick tarp underneath, but in this weather the roof dripped and the floor got wet. Doesn't retain heat at all, so it was chilly.
Around 5:30 p.m. it cooled down and the rain tapered off but was still threatening. I had dinner, joined at my rock table by a marmot. I selfishly refused to share - he didn't seem to care and kept me company for a while. My attitude improved immensely when I added a layer of clothes (long johns) and the rain finally stopped.
I was the only person out of about 20 from the train who had come as far as the lakes. However, there were some people up here already. They had brought dogs, who were barking and running around free (not a good idea - there are goats and lots of little animals up here). With the noise, the cold, the rain, and the altitude adjustment, I didn't get much sleep that night.
I got up at 5, had a Chunky & banana for breakfast, packed and took off for Sunlight at 5:30. The trail was hard to find in the dense fog, and there was some interesting but tough climbing near the top - especially the last 10 feet up a couple of boulders. Carrying both a regular camera and a movie camera did not make bouldering any easier. I settled for putting my hand on top of the highest point instead of my feet. Sunlight Peak was there; sunlight was nowhere to be found.
I hiked back down to camp and had another Chunky bar for lunch. Then I headed for Eolus.
posted by JansStores at 6:29 AM
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