This One's Not So Short, But It's Worth It

Okay, today I finally did the Sneffels Highline Trail I mentioned a few days ago and it was amazing. Best SH ever! It's always a great day hike with spectacular views and challenging terrain, but today was extra fun for a very specific reason I'll get to in a minute. Oh yeah, don't be mislead by the title of this post, the length is mostly due to pictures and video.

I left the house at 10:15 and was at the trail head by 10:20 without ever setting foot in a car. I love this place. I was psyched to try out my new trekking poles. I'd never hiked with poles before, I I got them on sale from Black Diamond's website this winter. I have to say they make a huge difference by letting your upper body do a percentage of the work, taking a little stress off your legs.

So the views all along the trail (it's between 12 and 14 miles long, I think) are spectacular in virtually every direction, walking through the forest and over creek beds, looking up ahead at the San Sophia range,
for looking back at the ski resort and the Wilsons.

When I had climbed up into Pack Basin at around 11,000ft the snow started getting really deep and finding the trail became increasingly difficult. There was one set of tracks in the snow that helped me find my way for a while, but eventually I lost it and unfortunately had to strike out on my own. Don't tell anyone, it's very bad mojo to leave the trail. You're not even supposed to walk on the fringes to avoid muddy spots, because that just increases the scope of the fringes and leads to trail erosion and greater human impact. You're always supposed to be mindful of your impact on the area. Still, I did the best I could to stay with the trail but eventually it was completely obscured so I went where I thought I remembered the trail went.

Eventually I made my way over to the south facing aspect where there was less snow and I found the trail where it began zigzagging in the final push to the summit. Shortly after I had returned to the official trail I looked up and saw something amazing. For anyone who thinks I'm hardcore even a little, I tell you, you've seen nothing! A hundred yards or so above me I saw a runner sliding down the scree on his bum. He was wearing a t-shirt, shorts, socks, running shoes and nothing else. No backpack or hydration system, no cell phone, no hat, nothing.

When we passed each other he asked about the snow conditions. I explained where it got deep and mentioned that there were some tracks he could follow, and he told me he knew where the trail was and was used to the deep snow. Wow, okay. As he descended I watched him jog right up to snow fields and just casually walk through them, slipping down up to his knees, pulling himself out, and proceeding on as if he had just artfully dodged a manhole cover on a city street. Now that was impressive. It's also worth noting that the spot where he had been sliding down the scree, just below where he had summited from the other side, meant that he had come over a significantly higher point than where I would soon go over. This guy was something.


Anyway, here's the really fun part. Now, normally the immediate descent into Mill Creek Basin from the trail's highest point is a very steep, ill-defined scree field that takes a lot of very careful navigation while slowly and deliberately picking one's way down. Today, it was covered in snow. This is how I got down:

Now that was fun. Albeit rather cold and wet.

Okay, well, there isn't really much else to say about the rest of the hike. I got back a little after 5pm. I guess I'll just let the photos do the rest of the talking. Enjoy!

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