CDT out towards Mt Hope
Lobo Overlook
- 7/20/2026
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Distance: 12.09 Miles
Duration: 6 hours, 59 minutes
I hiked along from CDT, starting from near the antenna station adjacent to the Lobo Overlook, out towards Mt. Hope. I felt good, the weather was beautiful, and the wildflowers were in full bloom so I hiked out to a big meadow/park near Spruce Lakes in the vicinity of Mt Hope. Along the way, I stopped at beautiful Rock Lake (about 4.5 miles in) and had lunch while enjoying the scenery and tranqulity.
CDT to Treasure Mountain
Treasure Mountain
- 7/18/2026
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Distance: 8.45 Miles
Duration: 5 hours, 19 minutes
I hiked along the CDT toward Alberta Peak, but right behind Wolf Creek Ski Resort there is a cut-off trail (Treaure Mountain Trail). I took this trail and switchbacked all the way down to a OHV road (Wolf Creek Road). I hiked along this road a bit to find a good place to go off trail and hike up to the ridge close to Treasure Mountain. From there, I bushwacked through a lot of blowdowns until I reached the base of Treasure Mountain. From there, it was a 40 degree slop climb up to the summit. The views from the top were nice, but I didn't stay long because the weather started to turn with rain, graupel, and thunder.
CDT to Alberta Peak
Alberta Peak
- 7/13/2026
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Distance: 6.52 Miles
Duration: 6 hours, 52 minutes
My wife and I hiked a portion of the Continental Divide Trail from Wolf Creek Pass out to Alberta Peak. Our pace was slow because of my wife's pulmonary issues, so this was a physical therapy hike to hopefully help improve her lung capacity. The first 2 miles of the trail was up all the way via a lot of switchbacks. The trail eventually leveled off a bit for the next mile as we hiked above and behind Wolf Creek Ski Resort. Alberta Peak is more of a small hill to ascend, not a mountain, but I climbed it nonetheless as I love to bag peaks. Because of our slow pace, we ended up at Alberta Peak much later than I would've liked, so we had to deal with a lot of developing bad weather, including rain and lighting/thunder. Consequently, I didn't get to spend much time on the summit as it became necessary to get back down into the treeline to safety. Several blowdowns on the up/down portion of the trail, but trail was esy to follow.
Lots of Blowdowns
Pagosa Peak
- 7/10/2026
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Distance: 3.99 Miles
Duration: 5 hours, 53 minutes
Pagosa Peak is a prominent mountain near Pagosa Springs. It is ~12,640 ft in elevation. Getting to the top is challenging, however, because the informal trail is not a US Forest Serice Trail. As a result, there is no signage, cairns, blazes, etc. Furthermore, there is a lot of deadfall that you have to contend with. There must have been a hundred blowdowns that I had to go over, under or around, which made it much more difficult. The ascent to the top includes several false summits and there are no switchbacks to the summit. It's just a frontal assault. Pretty much a walk-up, but there is some Class 2 srambling required to get up over some rock ledges on the last false summit. From there, it's another 100 yards or so across an exposed ridge.
Handies Peak via American Basin
Handies Peak
- 6/22/2026
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Distance: 5.70 Miles
Duration: 5 hours, 22 minutes
Handies Peak is a 14er. You can hike up it via the American Basin (Class 1) or via Grizzly Gulch (Class 2). I opted to take the standard route from American Basin. It was extremely beautiful with wildflowers and a short side trip to Sloan Lake, a natural, high alpine lake with pristine water from the snow melt. The views from the top of the peak were amazing. You could see for 100 miles in every direction.