Starting up Cinnamon Pass from Lake City (near Creede, CO)
The trailhead for Redcloud, Sunshine, and Handies peak are all off of Cinnamon Pass, which connects Lake City to Silverton. The pass would take about 2 hours to drive non-stop, whereas the drive between those two towns via paved roads would be about 4 hours.
Photo by Shari Post
6-30-2007 3:49 pm
Lake San Cristobal and the Continental Divide in the distance
6-30-2007 3:51 pm
Brad driving on the shelf road
Overall, this shelf road wasn"t too narrow - however we did have to pass someone in a spot that really wasn"t wide enough for passing, which made for a little excitement
6-30-2007 4:19 pm
Redcloud Peak (on the left) and a ridge of Sunshine Peak
Sunshine peak is not visible from the trailhead, nor the lower portion of Cinnamon Pass. This is merely a connecting ridgeline at 13,432 feet.
6-30-2007 4:44 pm
An old miners cabin at the trailhead with Carson Peak in the distance
6-30-2007 4:52 pm
Our camp perched atop a small hill
Lonny"s tent is not visible because it"s in the "forest of solitude"
6-30-2007 7:13 pm
Lisa, Tracy, Lonny, and Shari working on dinner
6-30-2007 7:13 pm
An old rusted boiler sticking up above our camp (from an old mine)
6-30-2007 7:21 pm
Chefs Lonny and Lisa (with Supervisor Shari)
6-30-2007 7:46 pm
Tracy and Brad
We"re all so used to backpacking that whenever the opportunity to car camp appears, we pack everything we can think of: camp chairs, portable tables, awnings...it"s great! Compared to backpacking, it"s like the Ritz Carlton!
6-30-2007 7:46 pm
"Joan" and "Jay" showing off the new JetBoil that "they" bought for Brian and Lisa for Christmas
Check out the Christmas 2006 photos for a bit more context on these...
6-30-2007 8:35 pm
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How to be seen!
6-30-2007 8:55 pm
Morning sun hitting the ridgeline above the valley
7-1-2007 6:44 am
Lonny signing in at the trail
Photo by Shari Post
7-1-2007 7:01 am
Hiking up the river valley
The trail to ascend Redcloud required us to hike all the way around it and ascend the back side of the peak.
7-1-2007 7:30 am
A columbine on the trail
7-1-2007 7:31 am
Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-1-2006 7:32 am
A cairn marking an alternate trail up Sunshine (with an old coffee pot on top)
Photo by Lisa Davis
7-1-2007 7:40 am
Whitecross Mountain (far right) and Handies Peak (center) up Grizzly Gulch
7-1-2007 7:41 am
Silver Creek
Photo by Lisa Davis
7-1-2007 7:44 am
Tracy and Brian, with Handies and Whitecross in the distance
Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-1-2006 7:58 am
Tracy, Shari, and Brian
Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-1-2006 7:58 am
Lonny, taking a flower/water shot
7-1-2007 8:04 am
...The photo Lonny was taking
Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-1-2006 8:05 am
A gnarly looking side wall of Redcloud Peak
7-1-2007 8:19 am
The lush green cirque below Redcloud
The trail wraps around to the right and eventually ascends to the ridge of Redcloud.
7-1-2007 8:24 am
Taking a break on the trail
Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-1-2006 8:31 am
Lisa ascending
7-1-2007 8:38 am
Tracy and Shari ascending towards the ridgeline with Redcloud in the distance
7-1-2007 9:07 am
The Bent Creek basin (southeast) from the ridge crest
7-1-2007 9:23 am
Ascending the steep and scree-laden ridge towards the summit
We"re now behind Redcloud after ascending out of the lush green valley below. This ridgeline was loose and unpleasant, but the views were breathtaking.
7-1-2007 9:23 am
Ascending the steep scree slope
Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-1-2006 9:29 am
Wetterhorn (14,015 ft, left) and Matterhorn (13,590 ft, right) Peaks
Photo by Brad Post
7-1-2007 9:41 am
Looking down on the ridge crest
The trail drops down into the valley on the left
7-1-2007 9:47 am
Lisa, cresting the scree slope with Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre peaks in the distance
Photo by Brad Post
7-1-2007 9:56 am
People on the summit of Redcloud
Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-1-2006 10:10 am
Lisa and Brian summiting Redcloud, Lonny already on top
Photo by Brad Post
7-1-2007 10:22 am
The summit of Redcloud
Click the image to see the full summit panorama in a separate window.
7-1-2007 10:25 am
The summit of Sunshine from Redcloud
Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-1-2006 10:26 am
Brad and Shari summitting Redcloud
Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-1-2006 10:32 am
The martian-like surface of Redcloud
The rock up top was incredibly red...
7-1-2007 10:36 am
Handies Peak - our conquest for the next day
7-1-2007 10:36 am
"Jay" and "Joan", summitting their first 14er
7-1-2007 10:42 am
Lonny, dutifully pointing out where we camped
7-1-2007 10:44 am
Lisa and Brian
7-1-2007 10:46 am
"Joan", heeding the warning of the sign
The saddle between Redcloud and Sunshine may look like an appealing descent route (rather than re-summitting Redcloud), but it"s ill advised.
7-1-2007 11:25 am
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Remember that at this altitude (13,900 ft), there"s not that much air!
7-1-2007 11:50 am
Lisa, summitting Sunshine (Redcloud is in the background)
7-1-2007 12:01 pm
Sunshine summit panorama
Click the image to see the full summit panorama in a separate window.
7-1-2007 12:24 pm
Redcloud summit from Sunshine
Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-1-2006 12:31 pm
Lonny, Brad, Shari, Brian, Lisa, and Tracy on Sunshine Peak
7-1-2007 12:39 pm
Lonny, cooling himself in a snow bank
7-1-2007 1:06 pm
A view of Cinnamon Pass as it winds through the valley floor
7-1-2007 1:37 pm
Shari, Brad, and Lonny back on Redcloud (Brad and Lonny seem unhappy)
7-1-2007 1:52 pm
Descending Redcloud
Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-1-2006 2:20 pm
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Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-1-2007 3:09 pm
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Photo by Brian Davis
7-1-2007 3:09 pm
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7-1-2007 3:09 pm
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7-1-2007 3:09 pm
Lisa, glissading down a snowfield
Photo by Brad Post
7-1-2007 3:09 pm
Tracy, enjoying herself
Photo by Brad Post
7-1-2007 3:10 pm
Descending down the trail (Handies and Whitecross mountains visible across the valley)
7-1-2007 3:32 pm
7-1-2007 4:08 pm
Down from the trail, Lonny decides to take a dip in the stream to cool off
Mind you, this water is snow runoff from just a few hundred feet up...it"s probably about 35 degrees.
Photo by Shari Post
7-1-2007 5:11 pm
The 4Runner and Land Cruiser, perched atop some mine tailings below our camp site
7-1-2007 5:11 pm
Entering the American Basin off of Cinnamon Pass
7-2-2007 7:27 am
Brad, fording the stream to the trailhead
7-2-2007 7:32 am
Lisa, crossing the stream in the 4Runner
Photo by Brad Post
7-2-2007 7:39 am
Lonny, Shari, Tracy, Lisa, and Brian before setting off on the trail
Photo by Brad Post
7-2-2007 7:56 am
Some of the few flowers in the American Basin
Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-2-2006 8:14 am
Brad, Lisa, and Lonny heading up the trail
7-2-2007 8:19 am
A mountain stream
7-2-2007 8:20 am
Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-2-2006 8:31 am
Further back in the American Basin
The trail contours around the edge of this basin, crossing the snow fields at the very end of the basin before ascending up the shoulder of Handies Peak.
7-2-2007 9:03 am
Shari and Brad (Handies in the background)
7-2-2007 9:24 am
Sloan Lake, nestled in the basin at 12,900 feet and still frozen
7-2-2007 9:24 am
Tracy, Shari, and Brad, crossing one of many snow fields in the Basin
Notice how the trail sweeps up the side of the mountain
7-2-2007 9:33 am
Descending a snow field a short bit
Photo by Lisa Davis
7-2-2007 9:35 am
The American Basin, from eastern corner
7-2-2007 9:42 am
Lisa and Brian, ascending the switchbacks out of the basin
You can see the switchbacked trail on the far side of the basin behind Lisa and Brian
Photo by Brad Post
7-2-2007 10:09 am
Lisa, pressing on to the summit about 0.5 miles ahead and 1000 feet up
7-2-2007 10:09 am
Boulder Gulch, below the slopes of Handies Peak
7-2-2007 10:11 am
Brad, trying to figure out which peaks surround us
7-2-2007 10:14 am
The last steep push up towards the summit
7-2-2007 10:31 am
Tracy, Lisa, and Brian high above the American Basin
Photo by Brad Post
7-2-2007 10:44 am
Tracy, Shari, and Lonny summitting
Photo by Brad Post
7-2-2007 10:47 am
Lisa and Brian summitting
Photo by Brad Post
7-2-2007 10:48 am
Handies Summit Panorama
Click on the image to see it full screen.This is probably the most isolated and beautiful summits I"ve ever been on. From the top, you can see no signs of civilization in any direction, except for Cinnamon Pass - just fantastic mountains in every direction!
7-2-2007 11:10 am
Tracy, Brian, Lisa, Lonny, Brad, and Shari on the summit of Handies
7-2-2007 11:15 am
Tracy, taking it all lying down...
7-2-2007 11:18 am
Brian and Lisa
Photo by Lisa Davis
7-2-2007 11:28 am
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7-2-2007 12:31 pm
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7-2-2007 12:31 pm
Lisa, glissading down a lengthy snow field to save time on the descent
7-2-2007 12:31 pm
Brian glissading
Photo by Lisa Davis
7-2-2007 12:32 pm
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Photo by Shari Post
7-2-2007 12:32 pm
Lonny and Tracy, glissading a short stretch
7-2-2007 12:49 pm
Looking back at the American Basin
Photo by Lisa Davis
7-2-2007 1:21 pm
Lonny, Brad, and Brian's Army Corps of Engineer work on the trail
Whenever Brad encounters water on the trail, he attempts to improve or place a dam to reroute the water. It never quite works, but it does help.
Photo by Lisa Davis
7-2-2007 1:24 pm
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7-2-2007 2:10 pm
Handies from Cinnamon Pass
7-2-2007 2:30 pm
The 4Runner, about to ascend a rough bit of rocks
Photo by Shari Post
7-2-2007 2:38 pm
Cinnamon Pass
7-2-2007 2:38 pm
The western side of the Cinnamon Pass summit
7-2-2007 2:47 pm
Lisa and Brad - the helmsmen
Photo by Shari Post
7-2-2007 2:52 pm
Descending Cinnamon Pass down into the ghost town of Animas Forks
7-2-2007 3:04 pm
Abandoned cabin and mine at Animas Forks
7-2-2007 3:29 pm
A waterfall over an old abandoned cabin
Photo by Brad Post
7-2-2007 3:52 pm
Mountains down at the end of the valley
7-2-2007 3:53 pm
Brad, Tracy, and Lonny, checking out the sheer drop of 150 feet down to the Animas river below
7-2-2007 3:54 pm
An old aerial tramway heading back into the basin between Little Giant Peak (left) and Round Mountain (right)
There are a number of old abandoned aerial tramways heading back to mines. These lead to the Mayflower mine.
7-2-2007 4:10 pm
The Durango & Silverton railroad
Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-3-2006 9:23 am
Lisa, Shari, Brad, Tracy, and Lonny aboard the train
7-3-2007 10:01 am
A horse riding along the tracks
Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-3-2006 10:45 am
Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-3-2006 10:47 am
The train, rounding a corner high above the Animas river
Photo by Lonny Jacobson
7-3-2006 11:00 am
Blowing off steam
Photo by Brad Post
7-3-2007 11:18 am
The Animas River
7-3-2007 11:49 am
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...churning out a pressed penny with an engravement
7-3-2007 4:49 pm
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7-3-2007 4:49 pm
Our hotel in Silverton
Photo by Shari Post
7-4-2007 8:26 am
Brad, Shari, and Tracy's return trip over Engineer Pass
Photo by Brad Post
7-4-2007 10:32 am
Brad, Shari, and Tracy's return trip over Engineer Pass
Photo by Brad Post
7-4-2007 11:03 am
Brad, Shari, and Tracy's return trip over Engineer Pass
Photo by Shari Post
7-4-2007 11:14 am
Mt. Sneffels, from Ridgeway
7-4-2007 11:24 am
Brad, Shari, and Tracy's return trip over Engineer Pass
Photo by Brad Post
7-4-2007 11:36 am
Brad, Shari, and Tracy's return trip over Engineer Pass
Photo by Brad Post
7-4-2007 12:26 pm
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