Continued...
Kroger Via Ferrata
Locally known as the Kroger Via Ferrata, Eric and I had done this route the
previous year and found it great fun. Following our glowing report, Steve was
interested in giving it a try, so we made plans to do it again this year, early
on Tuesday morning. by 7:30a had several advantages - in
addition to being for the duration, we had
virtually to ourselves. It wasn't until we had nearly
finished the route that we ran into a solo climber going in the opposite
direction. It turned out he was the local photographer, setting up shop at the
of to take pictures as the
guided groups went through. After finishing the route in the standard south to
north direction, Eric declined to join Steve and I as we reversed the route.
This was partly to save us having to climb back up the road to the car, but
mostly because it was more fun than taking the trail and road back. We crossed
paths with 4-5 in reversing the route, but none of it
caused us any real delay. We had gotten past the
before running into the first group. Good fun, this one.
Hawn Mountain
Wanting to get more exercise in, I suggested an outing to Hawn Mountain, off
the Last Dollar Road northwest of town, to which both Eric and Steve readily
agreed. I expected the hike to be short and miserable, a 1,500-foot climb
over less than a mile horizontal distance, up loose talus slopes. I didn't
really express this before we drove out that way, but it became clear as we
neared the peak and could see acres of talus covering the southwest side of
the mountain, nearest the road. There was a spur road forking off the Last
Dollar Rd that looked to head higher, so we started up there. Unfortunatly it
looked to be an upscale subdivision and I turned around before we got too far,
choosing to park down at the junction where two other cars were parked. Eric and
Steve weren't too happy about this - after all, I was the guy who normally
doesn't worry much about trespassing. But as I explained, I wasn't too
interested in trespassing in another state where retrieving a towed vehicle
could be more problematic. Eric decided to do a google search for
"Hawn Mtn Trail" almost as a joke, and surprised us all when it found a hit.
Not only was there a trail going to the summit, it had the idyllic name of
"Stairway to Heaven." Even better, the online report had a picture of
which was right where we parked. There are private equestrain/hiking trails in
the development that are signed for "use at your own risk", one of them where
we parked. So it seems we'd have stumbled upon the trail with or without the
internet search.
is quite deluxe, as it turns out. It appears that thousands
of man-hours have gone into its construction, particularly the numerous
switchbacks traversing on the west side of the
mountain. Great care was taken to find the largest and flattest talus rocks to
place as the main stepping stones for , fitted nicely into
place with little movement. We spent the better part of an hour and a half
hiking the trail steadily uphill through the switchbacks as it climbs up towards
the summit crest. There is partway up the hill,
showing there are two routes which can be combined to make a loop. We passed by
a on their way down, undoubtedly the occupants of the
other cars we'd seen at the trailhead. The trail ends somewhat abruptly as the
summit crest is reached though there is still more than half a mile remaining
to the highpoint. The trail is replaced by which
offer a reasonable route through forest with talus underfoot, eventually finding
our way to the unremarkable highpoint towards the northeast. We found
just off the summit looking south and took a break lasting fifteen minutes
or so. After we'd rested, we resumed the hike heading northeast, intent on
completing the loop. The trail on
of the mountain goes down mostly
through forest with few views but easy hiking. There are several more junctions
encountered on this descent. The first returns to the switchbacks where we'd
seen a junction earlier. Another, which appears to head up towards
to the north, is "Stairway to Heaven" (it
appears that the online description of the
Hawn Mtn Trail with this name may have been incorrect). We eventually
reconnected with our ascent route very near the roadway, making for a nice,
large loop for the 5mi outing. Done by 2:45p, we then headed back to Telluride
for our last evening together in town, marking the end of an ten days spent in
the San Juans. With the Sierra Challenge starting in a few days, it was time
for me to head back to California...
Continued...