DESTINATION Red Mountain No. 3 1 Photoset
2009-06-17 | | -
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| Hiking | 5.50 Miles |
2,282 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.50 Miles | 3 Hrs 20 Mns | | 1.65 mph |
| 2,282 ft AEG | | | | |
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| partners | | Reviewing our options over a hotel breakfast in Ouray, my brother Ryan and I abandoned our plans for the Lizard Head Wilderness, and decided upon Telluride Peak, near Red Mountain Pass. It looked do-able on the map, but upon reaching Red Mountain Pass, there looked to be way too much snow. We opted to give Red Mountain #3 a try, as it looked to be relatvely free of snow, and there was some sort of road leading up it, according to our map. With a late start of 10:50 am, we closely watched the skies as we hiked up the closed road to Red Mountain, thankful that the land owner was friendly toward hikers  . Reaching the saddle at 12,100 feet, the wind picked up, and it grew noticably colder. We began to feel the altitude climbing up the south slope. Rest stops grew frequent, and I was glad I had done some acclimitization in the previous weeks. The skies were still safe when we arrived at the snow capped, 12,890 foot summit, where I promptly sank up to my waist in snow  This was the highest Ryan and I had ever been. What a peak! Although scrawny by Colorado standards, it felt like the top of the world. I took a ton of pics and sent a text to a friend in Phoenix to torture him with our location. With thunderstorms starting to build to the west, we sadly began the hike down, where we ran into a group of local hikers who were just below the peak. With gravity working for us, we reached our car quickly.
After the hike, Ryan humored me as we explored the overgrown grade of the Silverton Railroad (not to be confused with the Durango & Silverton RR, which still exists), on a mountainside just west of the Red Mountain townsite. Coal fragments, a couple of ancient ties, and a rusty spike confirmed that it was indeed the old RR route. Train passengers would have had an impressive view of Red Mountain where we were.
Red Mountain was definitely the highlight of our Colorado trip, and was a hike Ryan and I will long remember. 
The video: https://www.youtube.com/user/PrestonTheYeti?feature=mhw4 |
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| "…you never know when a hike might break out" -Jim Gaffigan |
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