Six Days in the Weminuche Wilderness

I recently returned from my grand summer adventure...a six day backpacking tour of the Weminuche Wilderness involving a circumnavigation of the Grenadier and Needles ranges. I was accompanied by an old bud who flew out from Minnesota and, embarrassingly, the flatlander kicked my butt on the trail despite having to deal with minor acclimation issues.

The chosen route was fairly standard...the Durango & Silverton train dropped us at Elk Park where we followed the Elk Creek drainage to the Continental Divide and back down the Vallecito Creek drainage to its junction with Johnson Creek. From there it was up and over Columbine Pass to Chicago Basin where we then followed the Needle Creek drainage back to Needleton and our train ride back to Durango. All in all, it was a 40 mile trip. Not a real hardship for anyone in good shape when spread out over 6 days. Unfortunately "good shape" wasn't a term that applied to me!!

As anyone visiting the San Juans over the last week of July can attest, the weather was very soggy. Wave after wave of thunderstorms stalked us the entire trip. Hail, sleet, rain, lightning and wind were frequent companions, but at least the crappy weather was intermixed with sunny breaks to keep us from going insane. Only the last day was dry. We were very storm weary by that point so it was a welcome change to walk out of the wilderness in beautiful weather.

Photographically speaking, the trip wasn't overly successful. While the stormy weather provided a few nice opportunities, they were few and far between. I really got an appreciation for what the Brauers, Griggs, Speers, etc of the photographic world do on a regular basis! I was so exhausted after most days and found it very difficult to motivate myself to pull out the camera and try to get those late day and early morning shots. Gotta try to get in better shape!! But despite the photographic shortcomings, the trip will forever be etched in my memory as a fantastic experience shared with a great friend.

Anyway, enough rambling and on to the pics. Starting with our first sunrise with Vestal Peak reflecting in a beaver pond along the Elk Creek drainage.

A waterfall along Johnson Creek...

Some wildflowers up near Columbine Pass...

Sunset along Johnson Creek on the east side of Columbine Pass. It was the only two minutes of sun we had that evening.

Filtering water on a beautiful morning (at the same beaver pond as the first shot).

Walking amongst wilderflowers on the way up to the Continental Divide.

And finally, my buddy fording mineral-stained Rock Creek (along the Vallecito drainage). The creek's orange coloration was so beautiful and I really wanted to shoot the creek more extensively, but heavy rains soon followed this shot and we were forced to move on.

Those are some incredible mountains. I actually like the one of your friend filtering water quite a bit. And there are a few other nice ones, inspite of the couldy conditions.

Some time ago I did a similar trip and it remains one of the most outstanding moutain memories I have. Thanks for the reminder of things!

This looks like it was a great trip Guy, and despite the cloud cover and rain you came away with some great images. Out of the landscapes I like #3 & #4 the best with the flowers, out of the man & nature ones I like #6, it has a great sense of scale!.

Awesome! The Weminuche is fantastic, even when soggy.

Wonderful trip and shots. I've always wanted to do that trek. Thanks Guy.

RichieV

Congratulations on a HUGE circuit, Guy! I love the photos, and find myself most enamored of the one of your buddy hiking up the trail up Elk Creek toward the Divide. Funny, I almost decided to head up Bear Creek to Kite Lake, then drop over the Divide to Elk Creek last week. Would've been a trip running into you, although you had probably already gone through.

To make you hopefully feel better about your less-than-intended photo output, here's a story for you: Several years ago a friend of mine and a buddy did this exact circuit. Like me in my bulky Mamiya RB67 days, he lugged a Pentax 6x7 camera and several lenses with him. He told me the first photo he took was when he got back to Needleton and a couple tourists asked if he'd take their picture. He did the entire loop without taking a single frame! I incredulously asked him why and he said, "I just wasn't feelin' it." Gut punch. Man. And this was a very talented photographer. I sure would've liked to have seen what he could've brought home.

Oh, and I also LOVE the Johnson Creek waterfall shot, with the bouquet on top, and the classic shot looking down Johnson Canyon towards Oso and Irving.

Thanks for the comments everyone. Todd, that would've been a kick to see you come strolling down the trail! As it was, I didn't see anyone else with a tripod the entire trip. Pretty much all climbers. I guess all the photogs were at the more flower-centric areas. One question to you...according to my maps those two peaks looking down Johnson Canyon were listed as Organ and Amherst. Do you still think they are Irving and Oso? Given your knowledge of all things Colorado, I'm more tempted to believe you. I just want to be sure to get the names right when keywording my images.

WOW!!! If I came back from that trip with pics like these, I would consider it a homerun photographically speaking. I think these are all great.

Wonderful shots and great story. looks like a fun trip.

Mount Oso and Irving Peak, I'm 95% positive. I think I'll look at GE, and if I see anything that changes my mind, I'll let you know.

Well, I think it was worth hauling that camera and tripod around!
I especially like the waterfalls, the Columbine Pass flowers and Johnson Creek sunset.
If you walked nearly seven miles a day in that wonderful, rugged country, I'd say you were 'in shape'.

Congratulations on completing the journey and getting some good images to boot!

Wow, I'm not infallible. Who knew?!

Having never been up this canyon (Sunlight Basin? Yes. Johnson Canyon? Walked right on by.), I was going by recollections of similar photos by both Fielder and Muench. And you know what? They both got it wrong! You are absolutely right, Guy. It always bugged me the way the canyon turned, but I never looked at it on Google Earth before. Apparently neither have Fielder or Muench. Of course, they have an excuse, since their shots predate GE by a few decades!

This is a great series. I hope you post a link with more photos from your trip. I hope to be able to do the circuit some day. Thank you for sharing.

Glad you survived, I know I wouldn't. Superb work!

Guy,

Fantastic set! They are all great...love the man and nature shots too.

Sounds like an awesome trip despite the bad weather conditions. I like #2, #4 & #6 the best, especially #4.

Wow, what an adventure Guy--im so jealous! Great stuff here, but shot #4, the Johnson Creek, is an absolute classic!

Great stuff, Guy. This area is high on my list. I've wanted to spend a few days back there for the last two years. Maybe this year. It's great seeing your shots and descriptions - nice motivation. congrats on a memorable trip!

Two and four are killer. Thanks for sharing.

Kane

Wow, those are awesome. Thanks for sharing your experience and images.