Post by trinity on Sept 1, 2019 16:46:56 GMT -8
Spent August 20th-25th backpacking the Elk Creek/Valle Victoria semi-loop in the South San Juan Wilderness. I’ve spent a fair amount of time in the area, car camping and fishing the Conejos River, but this was my first overnight trip into the back country. I headed up on August 20th, a fairly mellow ascent up the Elk Creek valley. I hiked around 7 or 8 miles to the upper end of the Second Meadows, an area that is deservedly famous for the large trout that inhabit its long slow pools. The fish are very spooky, but I managed several, ranging from about 12-14 inches. It was a beautiful area with a nice campsite, so I spent an extra night there, giving me time to really fish the area. Only drawback was the mosquitoes and biting flies, which were quite horrible.
After 2 nights at Second Meadows, I hiked further up the creek, stopping to fish from time to time. The higher up I got, the better the fishing. Third and Fourth Meadows get very little fishing pressure. The fish were a bit smaller, but they were plentiful and eager to hit a dry fly. As I moved up Elk Creek, the fish went from mostly browns to exclusively cuts.
Heading up the Elk Creek Trail
First Meadows
Second Meadows
A nice Cutthroat
After slowly hiking and fishing my way upstream, I finally put up the rod and began hiking in earnest, with the goal of climbing up onto the divide to spend the night at the Dipping Lakes. The mileage wasn’t too great, but it turned out that the section of trail climbing up out of the Elk Creek valley was poorly maintained and littered with deadfall (the beetle kill in this area is horrific). The trail was boggy, overgrown, and very difficult to follow, with faint detours around the deadfalls. I lost the trail for quite a while at one point, and it took me a ridiculously long time to climb a couple miles to the CDT. Eventually I made it, and spent the night beside the smaller of the Dipping Lakes. Not a particularly scenic lake, but the campsite was nice. I broke my rule about camping under widowmakers, but I was too exhausted to find any alternative.
Dipping Lakes Campsite
The following day took me along 5 or so miles of the CDT, heading north. This was, for me, the most enjoyable and spectacular part of the hike. The trail stays around 12k, traveling through beautiful alpine meadows and rock fields, with incredible views and a few lingering snow fields. The track is faint in many places, but extremely well marked with rock cairns. I followed the CDT to Trail Lake, then headed off to the east on the Valle Victoria Trail. Here the trail became very difficult to follow. The track remained extremely faint, and the rock cairns were much less frequent. I was able to follow the trail for several very slow miles, but eventually it just disappeared. I spent quite a bit of time carefully checking in all directions, and could not find it. Not having any brighter ideas, I struck off cross-country, knowing that if I headed due east, I would eventually hit a trail or a recognizable landmark. Luckily this was an area without too much deadfall, and I was able to move without too much difficulty through the pine forest. Ideally I shouldn’t have been traveling OT without a larger scale map (I was using the Nat Geo map, 1:63,360), but I was confident that, even if I got lost, I would not get into any real trouble. In fact, it did take me quite a while to refind the trail, and involved slogging through some really large boggy areas. It was probably 6:00 by the time I refound the trail, but it became fairly easy to follow for a while, and I made good time getting to Lake Alverjones, where I spent my final night. I was treated to a herd of elk on the far side of the lake at dusk, and was serenaded by coyotes at night.
Along the CDT
Alpine Meadow
Alverjones Campsite
Lake Alverjones
The final day was another tough one. Partly just because of circumstances, partly because of some poor decisions on my part. For the first time I can remember, I really lost my appetite due to altitude (luckily I did not suffer any other ill effects). So I didn’t eat anything for breakfast, and only had a very small snack during an 11 or so mile day. I also did not pack enough water, and as the temps climbed during my descent to lower altitudes, I became pretty severely dehydrated. I had also been hiking for days with wet feet, and developed blisters like I have never seen before. So, all in all, that final day just about killed me. I was severely undernourished for this level of activity, but not at all hungry. I have never been truly thirsty as I became that afternoon, yet by the time I got back to Elk Creek, I was too exhausted to climb down to the creek and fetch water, so I just kept on hiking. I can’t remember ever being so completely shot at the end of a backpacking trip. But, of course, I eventually made it out.
Heading out
Overall, this was a great trip, but in many ways the most difficult hike I’ve taken, which was not what I expected. Mostly this had to do with extensive overgrown boggy areas which meant difficult slogging and hiking for days with wet feet, and poorly maintained trails, especially the Valle Victoria Trail. But I had the solitude which is always a primary goal (I saw 3 backpackers and 3 day hikers in 5 days), great fishing, beautiful scenery, and just enough challenge to make it feel like an adventure. A great destination, but be prepared for lots of dead trees, and I do not recommend the Valle Victoria Trail.
After 2 nights at Second Meadows, I hiked further up the creek, stopping to fish from time to time. The higher up I got, the better the fishing. Third and Fourth Meadows get very little fishing pressure. The fish were a bit smaller, but they were plentiful and eager to hit a dry fly. As I moved up Elk Creek, the fish went from mostly browns to exclusively cuts.
Heading up the Elk Creek Trail
First Meadows
Second Meadows
A nice Cutthroat
After slowly hiking and fishing my way upstream, I finally put up the rod and began hiking in earnest, with the goal of climbing up onto the divide to spend the night at the Dipping Lakes. The mileage wasn’t too great, but it turned out that the section of trail climbing up out of the Elk Creek valley was poorly maintained and littered with deadfall (the beetle kill in this area is horrific). The trail was boggy, overgrown, and very difficult to follow, with faint detours around the deadfalls. I lost the trail for quite a while at one point, and it took me a ridiculously long time to climb a couple miles to the CDT. Eventually I made it, and spent the night beside the smaller of the Dipping Lakes. Not a particularly scenic lake, but the campsite was nice. I broke my rule about camping under widowmakers, but I was too exhausted to find any alternative.
Dipping Lakes Campsite
The following day took me along 5 or so miles of the CDT, heading north. This was, for me, the most enjoyable and spectacular part of the hike. The trail stays around 12k, traveling through beautiful alpine meadows and rock fields, with incredible views and a few lingering snow fields. The track is faint in many places, but extremely well marked with rock cairns. I followed the CDT to Trail Lake, then headed off to the east on the Valle Victoria Trail. Here the trail became very difficult to follow. The track remained extremely faint, and the rock cairns were much less frequent. I was able to follow the trail for several very slow miles, but eventually it just disappeared. I spent quite a bit of time carefully checking in all directions, and could not find it. Not having any brighter ideas, I struck off cross-country, knowing that if I headed due east, I would eventually hit a trail or a recognizable landmark. Luckily this was an area without too much deadfall, and I was able to move without too much difficulty through the pine forest. Ideally I shouldn’t have been traveling OT without a larger scale map (I was using the Nat Geo map, 1:63,360), but I was confident that, even if I got lost, I would not get into any real trouble. In fact, it did take me quite a while to refind the trail, and involved slogging through some really large boggy areas. It was probably 6:00 by the time I refound the trail, but it became fairly easy to follow for a while, and I made good time getting to Lake Alverjones, where I spent my final night. I was treated to a herd of elk on the far side of the lake at dusk, and was serenaded by coyotes at night.
Along the CDT
Alpine Meadow
Alverjones Campsite
Lake Alverjones
The final day was another tough one. Partly just because of circumstances, partly because of some poor decisions on my part. For the first time I can remember, I really lost my appetite due to altitude (luckily I did not suffer any other ill effects). So I didn’t eat anything for breakfast, and only had a very small snack during an 11 or so mile day. I also did not pack enough water, and as the temps climbed during my descent to lower altitudes, I became pretty severely dehydrated. I had also been hiking for days with wet feet, and developed blisters like I have never seen before. So, all in all, that final day just about killed me. I was severely undernourished for this level of activity, but not at all hungry. I have never been truly thirsty as I became that afternoon, yet by the time I got back to Elk Creek, I was too exhausted to climb down to the creek and fetch water, so I just kept on hiking. I can’t remember ever being so completely shot at the end of a backpacking trip. But, of course, I eventually made it out.
Heading out
Overall, this was a great trip, but in many ways the most difficult hike I’ve taken, which was not what I expected. Mostly this had to do with extensive overgrown boggy areas which meant difficult slogging and hiking for days with wet feet, and poorly maintained trails, especially the Valle Victoria Trail. But I had the solitude which is always a primary goal (I saw 3 backpackers and 3 day hikers in 5 days), great fishing, beautiful scenery, and just enough challenge to make it feel like an adventure. A great destination, but be prepared for lots of dead trees, and I do not recommend the Valle Victoria Trail.
