Backpacking in the Oh-Be-Joyful Valley

Lisa and I wanted to go backpacking over 4th of July weekend, so we turned to the most spectacular place in Colorado: Crested Butte. I'd settled on the Raggeds Wilderness as our location, but picking a trail was problematic. After numerous books and web searches, I decided that we should start at the Oh-Be-Joyful trailhead, hike in about 6 miles to below Oh-Be-Joyful pass (and Blue Lake), camp, then the next day hike over an unnamed pass into Peeler Basin, following the trail down to Gunsight Pass road and back out to the car.

It was an aggressive 17 mile loop (6 miles on day 1, 11 on day 2), but it was spectacular! The wildflowers were not yet at peak (unfortunately) but the surrounding glacial valleys (with the lush green colors and countless waterfalls) were amazing.

You really can't go wrong in the Raggeds as far as I'm concerned!

View these photos and their locations in Google Earth or in Google Maps.

Die hard Crested Butters

Just when we thought our packs were awkward, these guys were saddling up at the trailhead

 

7-3-2010 3:22 pm

 

Leading up the trail

 

7-3-2010 3:44 pm

 

Tell me this doesn't look totally artificial...

 

7-3-2010 4:06 pm

 

A glimmer of Democrat Basin ahead

 

7-3-2010 4:40 pm

 

Looking up the Oh-Be-Joyful valley

 

7-3-2010 4:44 pm

 

Flowers against the Dippold Basin in the distance

 

7-3-2010 5:03 pm

 

Oh-Be-Joyful Peak

 

7-3-2010 5:32 pm

 

Brian

 

Photo by Lisa Davis

7-3-2010 5:41 pm

 

The layered ridge of Garfield Peak

 

7-3-2010 5:44 pm

 

Peeler and Garfield Peak

 

7-3-2010 5:53 pm

 

Not a bad view from our campsite

Purple Peak visible in the distance

 

7-3-2010 6:11 pm

 

 

7-3-2010 6:21 pm

 

Lisa

 

7-3-2010 6:22 pm

 

Lisa and Brian

 

7-3-2010 6:23 pm

 

A globeflower

 

7-3-2010 6:25 pm

 

Globeflower

 

7-3-2010 6:25 pm

 

Brian, shooting some photos

 

Photo by Lisa Davis

7-3-2010 6:34 pm

 

[PAUSE THE SLIDESHOW BELOW TO WATCH THE ENTIRE VIDEO]

Setting up camp

 

7-3-2010 6:34 pm

 

Brian and Lisa

 

Photo by Lisa Davis

7-3-2010 6:47 pm

 

Our campsite

 

7-3-2010 6:49 pm

 

Garfield Peak and our pass to climb the next day

 

7-3-2010 6:54 pm

 

mmm...dehydrated food

 

Photo by Lisa Davis

7-3-2010 7:15 pm

 

Lisa plays with my camera while I pump water...

 

Photo by Lisa Davis

7-3-2010 7:16 pm

 

Purple Peak

 

Photo by Lisa Davis

7-3-2010 7:17 pm

 

Brian

 

Photo by Lisa Davis

7-3-2010 7:24 pm

 

Brian

 

Photo by Lisa Davis

7-3-2010 7:26 pm

 

Flowers and Garfield Peak

 

7-3-2010 7:28 pm

 

The view from our campsite in the morning

 

7-4-2010 8:18 am

 

Sunlight on our tent

 

7-4-2010 8:19 am

 

Lisa mixes up some coffee in the Nalgeen

4

 

7-4-2010 8:32 am

 

 

7-4-2010 9:34 am

 

Looking back on our campsite

We pitched our tent just below the stand of trees in the center of the frame

 

7-4-2010 9:40 am

 

 

7-4-2010 9:48 am

 

 

7-4-2010 9:51 am

 

Just a few waterfalls come down from Blue Lake

 

7-4-2010 9:54 am

 

 

7-4-2010 10:03 am

 

Lisa crosses a stream

 

7-4-2010 10:24 am

 

A panorama at Blue Lake

 

7-4-2010 10:25 am

 

Looking across the basin at our trail

Our trail cuts diagonally from lower left to the notch in the ridge

 

7-4-2010 10:25 am

 

Lisa at Blue Lake

 

7-4-2010 10:28 am

 

Brian photographs the valley

 

Photo by Lisa Davis

7-4-2010 10:30 am

 

Blue Lake, perched up on a basin shelf

 

7-4-2010 10:32 am

 

 

7-4-2010 11:02 am

 

Brian on the pass

 

Photo by Lisa Davis

7-4-2010 11:09 am

 

Lisa on the pass

 

7-4-2010 11:09 am

 

Brian and Lisa

 

7-4-2010 11:34 am

 

Looking down in Peeler Basin from the pass

 

7-4-2010 11:35 am

 

An ant carries of a piece of cheese that Lisa dropped

 

Photo by Lisa Davis

7-4-2010 11:45 am

 

Lisa hikes down the Peeler Basin side of the pass

 

7-4-2010 11:57 am

 

Lisa crosses a stream in Peeler Basin

 

7-4-2010 1:40 pm

 

Brian crosses the stream

 

Photo by Lisa Davis

7-4-2010 1:40 pm

 

Parry's Primrose

 

Photo by Lisa Davis

7-4-2010 2:11 pm

 

Not a bad view of the Elk range

 

7-4-2010 2:26 pm

 

A perfectly natural color for a stream...below a mine....

This was in Redwell Basin below the Daisy Mine

 

7-4-2010 2:53 pm

 

The Daisy Mine in Redwell Basin below Gunsight Pass

 

7-4-2010 3:03 pm

 

Looking along the northern flank of Oh-Be-Joyful valley

 

7-4-2010 3:04 pm

 

If you squint real hard, you can see most of our ascent trail in the Oh-Be-Joyful valley 2000 feet below us

 

7-4-2010 3:09 pm

 

Lisa

 

7-4-2010 3:15 pm

 

The view from Wolverine Basin

(I swear - I"m not making these names up)

 

7-4-2010 3:42 pm

 

 

7-4-2010 3:49 pm

 

Mt. Crested Butte from the trail

 

7-4-2010 4:14 pm

 

An old rail car at an abandoned mine

 

7-4-2010 4:54 pm

 

Just to top it off, a light dusting of snow on the top of Cottonwood pass on the drive home

 

7-5-2010 10:58 am

 

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