Guided Llama Treks in the San Juan Mountains & Weminuche Wilderness

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Guided Llama Pack Trips

SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS and
WEMINUCHE WILDERNESS

In the high Rockies above Durango, Colorado, the months of July and August offer the high altitude hiker some of the finest, mountain top views in the world. From trailheads at 10,000 feet, our routes ascend as high as 13,000 feet, well above the tree line. For the hearty trekker, the daily thunderstorms, occasional snow flurries, and wet feet from crossing perennial snowfields and rushing mountain streams, only enhance the experience of hiking on the top of the world. From every ridge, views of the Needle and Grenadier ranges, referred to as the "Switzerland of the Rockies", grace the horizon. The high alpine tundra contains unique flora and fauna as well as elk herds numbering in the hundreds, mule deer, and Rocky Mountain big horn sheep. The sharp observer may be rewarded with a view of a golden eagle or the more prevalent species of smaller birds. The modern traveler marvels at the perseverance of early gold and silver miners whose abandoned equipment and mine shafts pepper these high elevations. Both our three day and five day routes are loops with little back tracking and include one camp site near pristine, highland lakes.

Our three day route leaves from the trailhead near Silverton on Cunningham Creek and ascends to Highland Mary Lakes. We travel along the Continental Divide the second day and descend to the trailhead by way of another route on the third day.

The five day route leaves from the Camp Creek drainage behind Missionary Ridge and ascends to 12,800 feet. From this elevation we travel one day along Mountain View Crest to the upper reaches of Chicago Basin. Depending on the fitness and ambition of the group, 14,087 foot Windom Peak is a possible day-hike activity. The final leg of this route descends to tree line at 11,000 feet where a day and night is spent among the pines and aspens. An alternate ending to this route is to descend Needle Creek in Chicago Basin to the Animas River where our guests can leave the llamas and board the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad at Needleton Junction.