La Garita Wilderness

burntfoot has also spent some time down there. I believe absarokanaut may have spent some time here as well.

In short, it's a beautiful area, less visited than many, with some amazing vistas and a fair amount of wildlife, including Elk, Deer, Turkeys, and Moose. I would suggest getting a copy of Nat. Geo. Trails Illustrated #139.

Most of the roads do not require 4WD, but I'd strongly encourage a high clearance vehicle like a pickup truck.

I've spend a fair amount of time car camping on the North Side, and there are some nice spots along Chavez and Pauline Creek. The Cebola and Stewart Creek trails both nice and provide access to the Wilderness. There's one 14er, which is not difficult, but a long slog, but there are plenty of nice camping spots along the way.

From the east or south side, Wheeler Geologic Areas is worth a visit, and there are plenty of loop possibilities. I'm afraid I don't have much experience west of Creede of on the west side.

On some trails, I suspect you could go a long ways...perhaps several days without encountering any other people...the CDT being the Exception, or the Stewart Creek trail to San Luis Peak.

Hydration, hydration, hydration.

I was able to just "tough it out" when I was younger, but as I've aged (my 56th Bday is later this month), I've lost the ability to do that.

In addition to acclimation time, the single most effective thing I have found is *massive* pre-hydration, beginning several days before the hike will begin. It's quite inconvenient, of course, because traveling when you have to pee every 6 minutes is a pain.

During your pre-hike acclimation days, I recommend the old climber's adage "climb high, sleep low." Ideally, you might follow a schedule something like this:

Day 1: hike to ca. 10,000 (you want an easy, low-key hike this day)
Night 1: sleep at ca. 7,000 ft

Day 2: hike to ca. 12,000 ft
Night 2: sleep at ca. 9,000 ft.

Day 3: begin your BP trip.

Also, the most common symptoms of mild AMS are headache, vomiting, and loss of appetite/inability to eat. If you're a coffee drinker, don't try to go without coffee (it will just make the headache worse), and consider packing foods for your BP that you'd be able to eat (and keep down) when your stomach is queasy. I do well with bland crackers and the like.

I've done many of the trails and peaks in there.
Loops involving Mineral Creek, Cascade Creek, Rough and Tumble Creek.
Peaks including Organ Mountain, San Luis Peak, Stewart Peak, Baldy Alto and Baldy Chato.
And, of course the Colorado Trail/Continental Divide Trail/La Garita Skyline through there.

On the south side I've been in to Wheeler Geological Area (former national monument).
On that one, you need high clearance 4WD to get in there.
And, wait for dry conditions.
That place is like a miniature Bryce Canyon, but with white formations instead of orange.

About the only area I haven't explored much is the Machine Lake area to the east and on the north side of the divide.

My last trip to the La Garitas was my favorite.
I started at Eddiesville Trailhead and hiked west via the La Garita Skyine Trail almost to highway 149, and then doubled back via the Cebolla Trail. Took me 6 days, with side trips up Organ Mountain and San Luis Peak. And, only once in 6 days did I meet anyone else. The Cebolla Trail was lower elevation, but actually harder than the Skyline Trail due to the up and down in and out of those drainages. Plus, it is hard to follow in places. I didn't need a compass, but was glad I had good map reading skills. Once I climbed up and out of Cascade Creek drainage on my last day, I had 3 or 4 hours of cross-country hiking avoiding the willows until I met up with the road heading back into Eddiesville.

There are several options out there for watches with barometric altimeter functions. They can give you fairly accurate readings as long as you calibrate to a known altitude at least once a day. (More frequently in changing weather.)

Here is a fairly recent thread on the topic.

Thanks for this suggestion. I'm wondering if you this that this watch probably has the same sensor. I happen to like the analog part.

It's getting closer to my trip and I'm thinking about taking a different sleeping pad but I'm wondering what kind of night time temps can I expect at 10 or 11,000ft?