July 28th, 2016 Like many of the trailheads in the San Juans, this one was a long ways from the last one. We spent a whole day getting to it although there were some lengthy delays at the library gathering beta and catching up, sheep, construction, groceries, jumping in a lake, etc. Google suggested I drive up over 2 4wd passes to get there but fortunately I researched and determined that wasn't a good idea. The last bit up to where we parked was pretty sketchy though, and it was dark. We white knuckled it up to the road split and then I walked up the road to the trailhead to make sure there was somewhere to park before it too became 4wd. We drove up to a spot, leveled the cars, and cooked up some tasty but later than I wanted stew.
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7-29-16 We got up earlier than we wanted. There was a porcupine trying to chew on something under my car. I heard it before I got out of bed and was able to jump out and see it amble slowly down the hill. In hindsight I wonder if it chewed partway through one of my belts. I made coffee and woke up Nalumon. Raquel had been on her case to climb some 14ers and this was one of the easiest, so we were both going up. I wanted an early start to maximize our chances with the weather. Nalumon doesn't like to get up early. We compromised with 5:30 coffee delivery to the green turtle and departure when we were ready after that - today around 6:20. It was quite cold that morning - Nalumon had her Selk' bag on before we left. We started up the road towards the trailhead. There were a few more vehicles parked along the way. We saw a moose grazing in a willow thicket and then passed the trailhead and headed on up the trail. This is a popular trailhead and there were plenty of others heading up. Most were going faster than us, but not all. Once we were in the sun heading uphill we had to remove a few layers but as the wind picked up higher they went back on. There were quite a few Aggies up here. We made it to the 14,048 foot top around 9:20 - Nalumon's first 14er. As usual we spent some time up there eating, taking photos, and talking to others.
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The descent was pretty straightforward with a stop at Sloan Lake for more food. We were back at the cars a bit after noon. Then we headed down the hill a relatively short way to the next trailhead. I had spotted a nice pullout a few hundred feet from the trailhead parking lot and we pulled in there. This let us be a little bit away from the very dusty and busy road and more secluded than cooking in the parking lot. We set up Nalumon's 3 person bug-proof tent for the afternoon. It was big enough to cook and hang out in without mosquito and fly induced madness. We appreciated being able to get to bed at a more reasonable hour - especially with the early morning wake-ups. There was a lot of wildlife today with sightings of porcupine, moose, weasel, deer, marmot, and pika.
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Summary of July 29, 1 14er, about 7.5 miles, 2,800 feet of elevation gain, porcupine, moose, and Nalumon's first 14er.