Backpack – ADV BKP: Holy Cross Wilderness

TBD

This is an “advanced” backpack trip for people who enjoy long days, off-trail hiking, bushwhacking, scrambling, big elevation gains, and are 100% self-sufficient. For your safety and the safety of others, you must have the experience, skills, nutrition, and fitness to be successful as we will be hiking in a very remote and isolated area.

My goal is to have a safe and fun trip. This means we need to be prepared as individuals and aligned as a group. Please take a few minutes to read the information below before registering.

This type of backpacking isn’t for everyone, and that’s ok. But if you enjoy passing through extensive landscapes in relatively short periods of time, and enduring the physical and mental challenges that accompany these trips, then maybe it’s for you!

Prerequisites:

Skills: You must be self-sufficient in the backcountry and follow LNT principles. This includes, but is not limited to, having the ability to find an acceptable campsite, pitch your tent, cook, and pack in the morning. You also need to be proficient with navigation and have personal first aid skills to take care of common injuries like blisters, bug bites, cuts, and scrapes.

Nutrition: Meal planning is critical for success. Do you know your caloric needs while backpacking? Do you tend to pack just enough or do you pack for an extra day or two “just in case”? If you have questions then let’s discuss.

Gear: We will review gear before the trip, but from your experience you should already have a good idea what you will need based on the location and anticipated conditions. A light pack allows us all to move more quickly and to cover more ground, so your pack and gear (without food, water, and fuel) should weigh around 15 lbs or less, and you should carry few, if any, luxuries (e.g., no camp chair). Let me know if you do not have the ability to follow a GPS track in the field using a smart phone, Garmin, or other device. Also, you must expect and prepare for temperatures mid-20F to 75F, wind, and precipitation.

Fitness: You must be comfortable hiking 2.5 mph on a relatively level trail, climbing over 1,000 ft/hr (at a slightly slower pace), gaining up to 4,500’ in a day (for three days in a row), traveling off-trail, and moving for 8 to 12 hrs/day (some days might be less than 10 miles and some might be more than 15 miles, depending on the terrain and conditions). You should know how your body reacts after hiking 15 miles and climbing up to 4,500' in a day, for three days. All of this with your backpacking gear.

Daily Routine:

We generally will meet for breakfast at 7AM and begin hiking before 8AM. To make this happen, you will need to be mostly packed before breakfast. Over breakfast we will discuss the day’s plan. During the day we will hike as a group and take time to rest, eat, and manage gear. At night we will cook and eat as a group, and review the day. Prohibited: we will have no campfires for LNT, and no alcohol or recreational drugs for safety.

About this Trip:

The area around Mount of the Holy Cross has a storied history. Long before the 123,409-acre wilderness area was established in 1980, it was home to the Ute Indian tribe. After discovery by whites, the peak itself became a destination for religious pilgrimages starting in the 1870’s. In 1933 it was designated a National Park however the number of visitors declined significantly during WWII leading to the area’s eventual decommissioning in 1950. Holy Cross National Monument had been a national park for just 17 years.

This wilderness is characterized by rugged ridgelines and glacier-carved valleys, spruce-fir forests, cascading streams and dozens of lakes. Elevations range from 8,500 feet to 14,005 feet. Our route starts with a short road walk to a popular trailhead, however we will leave the crowds behind as we camp at a high alpine lake the first night. Day 2 will see us off-trail most of the day as we cross a 1-mile section of blowdown and then traverse high alpine ridges before setting camp at another alpine lake. Total mileage for the loop is 29 miles with 7,830’ of elevation gain/loss.

The general itinerary is:

Day 1 – Drive from Denver and hike 11 miles to Camp 1. We start with a 3-mile road walk (necessary for the loop) before heading up to Missouri Lakes and past Treasure Vault Lake. Elevation gain is approximately 3,296’
Day 2 – Hike 13 miles with about 8 miles off-trail to Camp 2 at Lonesome Lake. We will deal with off-trail navigation, forest blow-down, thick bushwhacking, high alpine ridges, and a bit of Class 2+ scrambling. Elevation gain for the day is approximately 4,400’
Day 3 – Hike 5.2 miles and return to Denver. Elevation gain is just over 100’ with 1,706’ of descent.

Registration:

If this sounds like it might be fun, please email me three of your recent hike/backpack trips including your objective/destination, distance hiked, elevation gain, and time to complete. Also let me know your anticipated base weight and confirm you have all the necessary gear. If you aren’t sure then let’s discuss. Please feel free to email me before registration opens as I will pre-populate the roster pending Leader approval.