Your Cart is Empty
Mon - Sat 10AM to 6 PM - Sunday 12PM-5PM
Last year we had the pleasure of volunteering for San Juan Mountains Association at the spectacular Ice Lakes Trailhead. This area saw an unprecedented number of visitors in the last few years and the SJMA trailhead ambassadors did their part to encourage responsible use and leave no trace ethics. We were happy to be a part of the effort to increase awareness and conservation.
In October of 2020 a fire damaged large sections of the trails (although not the lakes themselves) leaving it quite hazardous to hikers this year. The USDA Forest Service has deemed it unsafe and decided to close the trail for the summer months. For now, Ice Lakes basin gets a chance to breath, restore and regrow without human impact.
USDA Forest Service- San Juan National Forest
NEWS RELEASE: The Ice Fire area closure on the San Juan National Forest Columbine Ranger District has been extended until September 15. Post-fire hazards resulted in the need to extend the closure order time frame. Hazards include falling trees and boulders, and also the potential for debris flows during monsoon rains.
The closure order extends the original closure area to include South Mineral Campground and the lower Ice Lakes Trail. The closure applies to all public entry, including hikers, mountain bikers, and all motor vehicles.
See the news release for more details: Ice Fire Closure Extended; Ice Lakes Trail Remains Closed
If you are camping in bear country, or in any place where food storage is a concern, you should strongly consider using a bear canister–a storage system that is built to keep bears out of your food. And in some places, particularly parks in California, Montana, Colorado, and Washington,backcountry campers are required to have and use bear canisters.
While you may get lucky by hanging your food in a sack from a tree, this is not permitted in many areas and virtually impractical in many alpine anddesert backpacking zones. Bear canisters are the preferred method for storing food and other smelly items, but there are many kinds to be aware of. Let’s look at them in more detail.
For many hikers, summiting one of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks is a lifetime achievement. Others make it their entire personality, working for years and even decades to climb all of them. Some make a goal of climbing them all in a single season while others try to ski them all.
The problem with climbing 14ers for many people is that they are difficult–and we’re not just talking about the thin air. Of the 58 in Colorado, about one-third entrail considerable exposure and require skilled route-finding and ascent/descent skills. About half have either moderate or considerable challenges. Just eight are considered “easy.”
Hikers looking to summit a 14er near Durango will find four that rank generally as easy or the easy end of moderate. They are all in the same two canyons and can be climbed by someone with decent fitness, good shoes, and a penchant for waking up early. The roads to access all these peaks are part of the Alpine Loop and can be driven from Silverton in a four-wheel drive such as a Tacoma, but are generally not in all-wheel drives like Subarus.
Ready? Here goes!
