Boulder County Wandering
  • Home
  • Climate Change and Colorado Wildfires
  • Trip Reports
  • Skills/Gear
    • Intro, External Sources and Misc.
    • Food and Water
    • Shelters
    • Backpacks
    • Sleeping
    • Clothing
    • Winter Camping
    • A Shoe Odyssey
    • Foot Care
    • Maps, Navigation and Weather
    • Off-Trail Route Planning
    • The Perfect Headlight/Flashlights?
    • Misc Small Stuff
    • Photography/Camera
    • Gear Repair and MYOG
  • Places
    • Flatirons
    • Rocky Mountain National Park
    • Indian Peaks Wilderness
    • Lost Creek Wilderness
    • Gore Range
    • Glacier National Park
    • Wind River Range
    • Utah
  • Plants and Wildlife
  • Contact
  • To Do
  • About

TriP Reports

Crestone Needle (Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado)

1/25/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Looking south from the summit of Crestone Needle.
Trip date: Sept 14, 2019
Caltopo map here: caltopo.com/m/PLL3
This trip was more "by the books" than normal.  A friend wanted to do the South Face of the Crestone Needle (Class 4 variation) so I obliged.  

Ultimately, this trip reminded me of why I avoid 14ers in the first place: they attract tons of inexperienced people who see mountains as something to conquer instead of something to love.  

That said, the scenery is stunning and the rock quality is spectacular.  It is very likely the best rock quality I've scrambled anywhere.
Picture
We had to park at the 2WD but 14ers are so popular it's easy to find a ride. Getting a ride each way saves a total of 4.2mi and +/- 1120'.
Picture
Picture
The first glimpses of the Crestone Needle
Picture
Picture
Picture
Humbolt Peak above South Colony Lakes
Picture
Humboldt Peak
Near South Colony Lakes I was dismayed at the dozens of tents I saw.  And the piles of human feces and toilet paper on the ground.  I think the entirety of 14ers culture is fundamentally misguided.  The adherents seem to view mountains as an athletic event to be conquered and this seems to attract bad behavior.   

As we worked up the gully to Broken Hand Pass we were greeted by about 40-50 (seriously) Air Force Cadets from Colorado Springs coming down.  Their bloviating "leader" talked about the importance of getting them out of their comfort zones.  There is surely a time and place for that but is it really the best idea to put 50 inexperienced people in a gully full of loose debris?  It would have been so easy for them to knock loose rocks down onto their friends...or us.  I waited out of the way until the last of the group had passed.  
Picture
The last of the Air Force cadets.
Picture
Picture
Cottonwood Lake
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Wildfire that started on Sept 08, 2019:  ​https://www.outtherecolorado.com/wildfire-burns-with-0-containment-near-mountain-town-in-colorado/
Picture
This fire blew up fast. I was sure it was man made due to no lightning being in the area that day but it was apparently natural. It apparently was started by lightning 6 days prior on Sept 08, 2019.
Picture
Picture
As we were coming down we heard other hikers tell us about a small group of 2-3 that had reached the summit of the Crestone Needle but had made a wrong turn.  They had called search and rescue and were apparently freaking out.  They said they were all wearing shorts and muscle tank tops...why am I not surprised?
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Travis Briles

    Subscribe

    Archives

    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016

    Categories

    All
    2017
    2018
    2019
    2020
    Backpacking
    Big Bend National Park
    Black Ridge Canyon Wilderness
    Boulder
    Boulder Foothills
    Boulder OSMP
    Boulder Reservoir
    BURL
    Bushwhack
    Cache La Poudre Wilderness
    California
    Calwood Fire
    Canyonlands National Park
    Car Camping
    Colorado
    Colorado National Monument
    Colorado Trail
    Comanche Peaks Wilderness
    Coulson Gulch
    Day Hike
    Desolation Wilderness
    Eldorado Canyon
    Estes Park
    Fairview Peak
    Flatirons
    Glacier Gorge
    Glacier National Park
    Golden
    Golden Gate Canyon State Park
    Goosenecks State Park
    Gore Range
    Grand Junction
    Grand Teton National Park
    Great Sand Dunes National Park
    Gross Reservoir
    Hall Ranch
    Hawaii
    Heil Valley Ranch
    High Route
    Indian Peaks Wilderness
    Island In The Sky
    James Peak Wilderness
    Jefferson County Open Space
    Lake Tahoe
    Lefthand Canyon
    LIGANN Traverse
    Lost Creek Wilderness
    Lyons
    Mauna Loa
    Middle St. Vrain
    Mohling Traverse
    Montana
    Monument Valley
    Mt Evans Wilderness
    Mummy Range
    Natural Bridges National Monument
    Needles District
    Never Summer Wilderness
    North Table Mountain
    NYC
    Off Trail
    Off-trail
    Palo Duro Canyon
    Pfiffner Traverse
    Rabbit Mountain
    Ralph Price Reservoir
    Rawah Wilderness
    RMNP
    Sangre De Cristo
    Scramble
    Scrambling
    Snowshoeing
    Snowy Range
    South Platte
    St. Vrain
    Ten Mile Range
    Texas
    Urban
    Utah
    Valley Of The Gods
    Vasquez Wilderness
    Walker Ranch
    White Ranch Open Space
    Wild Basin
    Wild Basin High Route
    Wildfire
    Wind River Range
    Winiger Ridge
    Winter
    Winter Backpacking
    Winter Camping
    Wyoming
    Year In Review
    Yellowstone National Park

    RSS Feed


Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Climate Change and Colorado Wildfires
  • Trip Reports
  • Skills/Gear
    • Intro, External Sources and Misc.
    • Food and Water
    • Shelters
    • Backpacks
    • Sleeping
    • Clothing
    • Winter Camping
    • A Shoe Odyssey
    • Foot Care
    • Maps, Navigation and Weather
    • Off-Trail Route Planning
    • The Perfect Headlight/Flashlights?
    • Misc Small Stuff
    • Photography/Camera
    • Gear Repair and MYOG
  • Places
    • Flatirons
    • Rocky Mountain National Park
    • Indian Peaks Wilderness
    • Lost Creek Wilderness
    • Gore Range
    • Glacier National Park
    • Wind River Range
    • Utah
  • Plants and Wildlife
  • Contact
  • To Do
  • About