The view of San Luis saddle and peak, from around mile 7.
Looking back down lovely Cochetopa valley, from the San Luis saddle.
Standing atop San Luis saddle, looking towards Creede. Even in late July, the tundra was scattered with flowers.
Jagged, alien cliffs surround the alpine valleys through which you pass, after San Luis peak.
This stretch of the trail is a tough one for resupplies. The hitch into Creede later on, at the end of segment 21, is a difficult one -- and 33 miles long, to boot. Creede is temptingly close here, at about ten miles away, but over roads infrequently traveled. What to do?
Most hikers who passed me had good luck hitching with people climbing San Luis peak. Peak baggers hike on weekend mornings, so if you get to the end of the segment by the early afternoon, you should be able to make friends and catch a ride back to town.
Another option, if you have a satellite phone, (or if you can get cell reception atop any ridge -- unlikely, alas) is to call Debbie. She'll pick you up from the San Luis trailhead, about 2 miles from the pass. She will also take you back up there. She charges between $8-20/person each way, depending on how many of you there are.
Also, if you just start walking towards town in the early/midmorning, you stand a fair chance of just running into Debbie when she takes hikers up, especially on Monday mornings. I did. She'll take you back down to town for free, since she's headed that way already.
To walk towards town from San Luis Pass, first head left, downhill, alongside a small stream for about 1 mile. When you come to a tall post, take a right along an old jeep track, which fords the now-medium-size stream a couple of times. You then come to a parking area, with a good dirt road. This is where Debbie will drop you off, or pick you up if you called her. You can follow this road about two more miles, crossing the stream a couple of times, to a fork. Head right, fording the stream again, and continue on this road all the way down, past amazing old mining ruins. You will almost certainly start seeing more traffic in a mile or two.
The cheapest rooms in Creede are at the Snowshoe inn -- a night will set you back eighty bucks, but you get a microwave and fridge and breakfast and free internet (wireless and via a netbook in the office.) You could easily put four hikers in a room, too.
To get hold of Debbie, call: 719 850 8715 (cell) or 719 658 2705 (home.) She will also drive you elsewhere in Colorado for about a dollar a mile.
Thistles in bloom on San Luis saddle.
Fantastic cliffside campsite, just before the stream at mile 10.9. A great spot for an early morning trip into Creede, and there's plenty of firewood. Unfortunately, as there was plenty of dry firewood, I built a nice big fire....
... and ended up doing this to my cooking pot. Yep, my campfire melted fairly high grade cooking-pot aluminum. Whoops.
Suggested updates to the guidebook:
0.0
From the Eddiesville Trailhead register, walk *right* along the dirt road, past some campsites and out to another larger dirt road. *Then* head left, over Stuart creek, past a sign for the Eddiesville Corral, past a big locked gate. The road ends here; the trail continues on past the register.
0.5
Follow along the fence line, with the fence to your left.
1.0
There's a gate to your left -- this is not the gate you're looking for.
1.3
This gate is directly in front of you -- pass through.
1.5
There's a weathered sign here stating that taking horses over the next ten miles of trail his highly inadvisable -- impossible, even. As I was standing there reading, a lady on horseback passed me, headed back the way I'd come. She was confidently mounted, was leading two packhorses, and was accompanied by several energetic and happy dogs. So much for the warning.
1.7
The rocky climbs and boulder fields mentioned in the guidebook are mainly filled with dirt now; the path isn't smooth in places, but it certainly isn't bad, either.
5.0
Starting here and extending for perhaps the next two and a half miles, the trail can be exceedingly muddy in places. Astoundingly muddy. So muddy, you may begin to wonder whether to laugh or cry while digging your sandal from another sucking mudpit. If you encounter such mud, make sure to take you time and poke apparently-solid spots with a pole before stepping.
7.5
The 'Stewart Creek trail' signpost here doesn't, oddly, seem to point to any trail. Perhaps the Stewart creek trail was just very overgrown, for I couldn't find it. Not to worry if you can't either -- just continue straight/left on the well-trod CT.
7.6
The campsite here, after you cross Cochetopa fork, does indeed have a commanding view of the valley, and you're sure to see early morning animal traffic across the pass. There is not much firewood or treecover here, though.
9.2
The snow-fed spring here was not running -- not a huge deal, as the creeks at 10.5 and 10.9 had water.
10.5
Spring Creek Trail may now be called 'Bondholders Meadows' and there's not much trail to spot. There's good water a couple days after rain, though, which isn't mentioned in either book.
10.6
Enter trees. Good campspots here, especially a bit further in, just before the next stream.
10.9
Another small stream, then a steep climb over one last saddle.
12.7
A signpost points the way to Creede (left) and the CT (straight.) To get to Creede, see below.
The elevation profile is roughly correct.
----> Onward, to segment 21!
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