On Walkabout On: Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado via the Nellie Creek Trailhead – Part 2

Prior Posting: Uncompahgre Peak – Part 1

As my friend Dave and I continued to hike up the 14,309 foot Uncompahgre Peak in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado the August snowfall was noticeably melting pretty fast until we got to the west side of the peak.  Though a lot of snow had melted down below, on the west side of the peak the trail became very icy because of the peak’s shadow cast over the area:

This section of the trail was the crux of the whole hike as we very carefully made our way up a icy section of rock to reach the final summit plateau:

We made sure of every step that we made and very slowly ascended up the mountain.  After about 10 minutes of careful climbing we reached the broad plateau that leads to the summit of Uncompahgre Peak:

As we walked up the plateau we had outstanding views of the surrounding mountains:

Here is a panorama photo that shows Wetterhorn Peak on the right and the Handies Group of peaks on the left:

After a short walk we reached this cluster of snow covered rocks that represented the 14,309 foot summit of Uncompahgre Peak:

The summit plateau on Uncompahgre is huge:

Something even bigger is the mountain’s north facing cliff.  The drop off from that cliff to the valley below was vertigo inducing:

It was easily a thousand foot drop straight down into the lush green valley below from the cliff:

There was a total of 8 people on the summit during our time there and everyone made sure to lay down and hang their heads over the side of the cliff.  Even though there was no danger of falling off by just hanging your head over the cliff it still created a very uneasy feeling because of the huge drop off.

Here is a picture of the various thirteen thousand foot peaks that rise across the valley to the north of Uncompahgre:

Here is a panorama of this view with the summit rock cluster visible on the far right:

The view to the west is dominated by the Wetterhorn:

Here is a closer look at this shark fin shaped mountain:

Further out to the west I could make out the shape of the 14,150 foot Mt. Sneffels:

To the southwest I could make out the rugged shapes of the Needles Mountains:

To the south was once again the Handies Group:

Here is a closer look at Handies Peak on the left and the various mountains that compose American Basin that extend from it:

Here is the view looking towards the northeast which also featured a beautiful, green valley below:

Here is a panorama picture from the summit of Uncompahgre Peak centered on the Wetterhorn that rises to the west:

Before beginning our hike back down the mountain, Dave and I made sure to ask someone to take a summit picture of us together with the Wetterhorn in the background:

After taking a few pictures together we then proceeded to begin our hike back down the mountain.  On the way down I took more notice of the various wildflowers that the snow had melted enough to uncover:

After a couple of hours of hiking we found ourselves approaching the treeline again:

Down below us we could see the headwaters of Nellie Creek again:

Here is the final shot of Uncompahgre Peak that I took before entering back into the treeline:

Before reaching the trailhead we spotted a couple of dear that were grazing near the trail:

They must be used to people hiking in the area because they were not frightened by our presence at all:

They just kept a close eye on us as they went about their business and we went about ours:

After about three hours we exited the Uncompahgre Wilderness and were back at the trailhead to complete our hike:

Conclusion

Ultimately our hike was 8 miles long and took us 8 hours total to complete.  It was a 4 hour hike to the summit, followed by spending one hour hanging out on top, and then about 3 hours to hike back down.  We kept a moderate pace the entire way with little breaks, so for people who need to stop more to rest it will take a little longer.  I estimate that 7-10 hours is a good timeframe for most people to complete this hike in.  For those starting at the two-wheel drive trailhead this hike becomes an epic 16 mile round-trip walk.  I would expect such a distance would take most people 10-14 hours to complete.  Now that is a long day, however if I had to I would hike that distance to experience this peak because it is worth it.

Of the mountains I have hiked in Colorado I consider Uncompahgre my second favorite mountain behind Pikes Peak.  The views from Uncompahgre are without a doubt better and the mountain has a very unique and impressive profile to it.  However, Pikes Peak rising out of the plains all by itself is quite impressive in its own right.  Additionally Pikes Peak is so easy to access, has so many awesome hikes on it, and many other things to do that I think it will always be my favorite mountain in Colorado.  However, Uncompahgre Peak is an awesome mountain that I highly recommend that all serious hikers make the long drive to the San Juans to check out.  It truly is a classic Colorado hike!