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:

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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:

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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:

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

The summit plateau on Uncompahgre is huge:

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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:

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

The view to the west is dominated by the Wetterhorn:

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

To the south was once again the Handies Group:

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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:

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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:

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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

Picture from Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado

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!

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