Weminuche Wilderness

July 2005

PDF topo map of our trip

left: Car camping on Friday night
on BLM land, near Montrose.
right: The mountain town of Ouray
below: Packing in from the
Cunningham Gulch trailhead, we
spent the first night at Highland
Mary Lakes, at 12600 ft.

Above:We set up base camp at the Verde Lakes,
which were ripe with fish. Arrow and Vestal peaks
loomed in the background (left).
Just West of Verde is Lost Lake (right).
From there I tried to climb one mountain (below left)
but was chased down by a storm (below center).
I waited out the hail, and then climbed up to
the adjacent ridge (below right).

When the Continental Divide Trail
wasn't covered in snow, it was pure slop.
But it still offered some nice views
allong the way to Hunchback Pass (below).

The hike out along the CDT was spectacular (left).
On the way down we reached the very distinct
boundary that is treeline (right).
The trail was poorly maintained.
It took some real bushwhacking to make it
back to the trailhead (far right).

On the drive back, we encountered some
scenery near Grand Junction which I never imagined
existed in Colorado.

A big panoramic shot of the Weminuche Wilderness facing West.
The Highland Mary lakes are visible on the far left, then a
sliver of the Verde lakes, and Lost Lake is center. Arrow and
Vestal Peak are the two prominant peaks in the Grenadier Range
to the right of the picture.