Kilpacker Trail

Kilpacker Trail is an alternate route leading to Navajo Lake from the south side of the Lizard Head Wilderness, near Telluride in southwest Colorado.

The Navajo Lake Trail head is about 1.2 miles to the west. The two trails run parallel to the north for about three miles. The Kilpacker Trail provides access to the Kilpacker Creek Basin for those attempting to climb El Diente, at 14,159 feet, one of the Colorado 14ers. El Diente is a tooth shaped peak just to the north of Mt. Wilson, also a 14er.

I started my hike about 1.5 miles east of the trail head, to view the wide expanse of The Meadows. Continuing on the first section of the Kilpacker Trail gives a longer view of this spectacular area.

The trail is mostly through thick spruce and fir forest with occasional views of Dolores Peak to the west. The nearby Navajo Lake Trail travels more through open meadows and the mountains are more visible. After about one hour and about 2.3 miles, I arrived at Kilpacker Creek.

A little before the creek I noticed a sign and a trail to the right that said "El Diente Peak Route". This is the route that climbers take up the basin to get into position to climb the "Big Tooth".

The Kilpacker Creek had a small waterfall in the vicinity of the trail crossing. There wasn't an easy way to cross the creek without getting my feet wet.
I back tracked from the falls to the El Diente Peak Route and followed that route for 15 minutes uphill until it also reached the Kilpacker Creek.

There was a better glimpse of El Diente here. Looking at some climbers reports on El Diente later, I saw that there are two waterfalls further up the basin.

My hike on Kilpacker was about 1:00 hours to the Creek, another 0:30 to go up and back the climbers route, and another 1:00 back to the trail head for a total of 2:15. I spent an additional 1:00 hour walking along the Meadows road as part of the same hike.

The Meadows at Lizard Head Wilderness

The Meadows is an area along Forest Road 535 in the San Juan National Forest just south of the Lizard Head Wilderness in southwest Colorado. The expanse of green sits below one of the famous Colorado 14ers, Mount Wilson at 14,246 feet. Another 14er, El Diente is just out of view behind Mt. Wilson.

I arrived from the south, driving up the West Fork of the Dolores Road and parked at the junction with Forest Road 471 which leads back to the south to the Calico and Winter trailheads. This area can also be accessed on the Dunton Road south of Lizard Head Pass from Highway 145. I hiked to the west toward the Kilpacker Trail, about 1.5 miles away.
 

Gazing to the west there is a glimpse of Dolores Peak, no slouch at 13,290 feet, and an oddly placed cabin site.

 Looking back to the east is the mountain group that overlooks Lizard Head Pass and the Trout Lake area. The Groundhog Stock Driveway Trail leads that way and connects to the Cross Mountain Trail, part of the Lizard Head Trail System.

The old cabin sits along Meadows Creek. The low areas of the meadows area are often a little mushy, but it appears possible to walk along the edges all the way around.
 

There is a dirt road turnoff leading to the Kilpacker Trail Head. Looking back to the east, there is a full length view of the meadows and the mountains to the east of Lizard Head Pass. I continued on the Kilpacker Trail, hiking around the area for 3:15 hours.

Ghost Town on Alta Lakes Trail

One of the several highlights of hiking the Alta Lakes Trail is the ghost town of Alta, about 0.6 miles from the lakes. Alta Lakes Road turns east off of Highway 145 between Telluride and Lizard Head Pass, just north of Ophir in southwest Colorado.

The site appears to be well protected, apparently on private property with fences deterring any poking around inside the old structures. They certainly had a good view from up here, around 11,000 feet up.

Water for the mining activity was probably managed using the Alta Lakes which appear to have been engineered using small earthen berms. The Alta town site was the center of mining activity in the Alta-Gold King area from 1877 to 1948. A fire in the mill ended the activity here. It is about four miles along the steep Alta Lakes Road to the town of Alta.
Alta was one of the first Industrial sites to use alternating current electricity. A long distance transmission line was completed from the Ames power plant on the San Miguel River on June 21, 1891.


The Ames power plant still operates using water from nearby Trout Lake. Some of the pipework is visible along the Galloping Goose Trail.

Alta Lakes Trail

The Alta Lakes Trail follows gravel Alta Lakes Road east off of Highway 145 in southwest Colorado between Telluride and Lizard Head Pass and is about a 4.5 mile walk. This road is normally easily driveable and most visitors will be driving.

The road climbs steeply through thick Aspen and Spruce Forest. The walking is easy enough on the smooth road.

The lower part of the road provides spectacular views to the east and south to the San Miguel Mountains and the Lizard Head area, and it gets better the higher you go. As the road gets higher the mountains to the east become more visible.

Some of these peaks have the look of "needles" that a few other sites in the region have. Higher still and the famous "Lizard Head" comes into view back to the south.

After 1:45 and about 4 miles the ghost town of Alta appears. This site is fairly well preserved and was active from 1877 to 1948.  (use the labels to see separate post on the ghost town.)

From Alta, a hiker can continue on the road or take a short trail that starts at the back of the ghost town site. In the vicinity of the trailhead there is an alternate route coming up here from Telluride called Boomerang Road, and Lift 10.

There are three Alta Lakes and they have an engineered look to them, some constructed berms and flow control valves, but the setting is spectacular. 

It took me 2:00 hours to arrive at the Alta Lakes including a short stop at the Alta ghost town. I spent about 1:45 hours hiking around and between the lakes before returning. This appears to be a popular camping and fishing spot and is also a popular back roads 4WD destination.

Telluride Bike Trail

The Telluride Bike Trail runs along the north side of the Valley Floor west of Telluride in southwest Colorado, and connects to the Galloping Goose Trail and the River Trail near the junction with Highway 145.
Normally, a paved trail next to a highway wouldn't be a hikers choice, but the views in the Telluride Valley Floor are worth it and the Bike Trail completes a six mile loop with the River Trail on the south side of the canyon. The Bike Trail includes a tunnel under the spur route into Telluride town. Towards the west end of the trail the San Miguel River starts to come more into view.

The Valley Floor area was the subject of a development vs. conservation controversy that appears to have been settled in favor of conservation. I spotted a small group of elk along the trail that were taking a dip in the wetlands.
There is a bridge at west end that gives a good view up the canyon and over the river. My hike started here at the west end near Highway 145 and followed the 3 mile River Trail into town, then on to the free Gondola to Saint Sophia Station with the 2 mile hike down into Mountain Village on the Ridge Trail.
I returned to Telluride on the Gondola and hiked the 3 mile Bike Trail back to my starting point. This trip of about 8 miles took me about 4:45 hours.