Backpacking Colorado’s Uncompahgre Wilderness

When you wrap around that final bend on the descent into Colorado’s Arkansas River valley while driving south on US-285/24, it’s impossible to keep your eyes on the road. They’re naturally drawn to the towering Collegiate Peaks to the west, Mounts Princeton and Yale towering at over 14,000 feet tall above the town of Buena Vista, which sits at just 7,965 feet above sea level.

The entire drive between Buena Vista and Leadville along US-24 produces a similar vibe, with Mounts Elbert (14,440 feet) and Massive (14,429 feet) – the two tallest peaks in Colorado and second & third tallest in the continental US – rising in epic fashion from the valley below. At times, there’s some 6,500 feet of rise from top to bottom, all visible to the naked eye as you see these mammoths flexing in the clouds above.

Height and elevation are their own animal. In terms of sheer mass, those peaks of the Sawatch Range stand as broad-shouldered offensive linemen blocking the wind and weather behind them. Further southwest in Colorado’s Uncompahgre Wilderness, you’ll find height and elevation in the San Juan Mountains that can go toe to toe with the Sawatch, but in a much, much different presentation.

Picture, if you will, the Collegiate Peaks as a group of big, outdoor candles lined up side by side. Their wicks – pardon the extended candle metaphor this entire site projects – top out at over 14,000 feet, and their own individual mass lets them look like whole, indepedent beings next to one another.

The peaks of the northern San Juans – 14ers like Wetterhorn Peak (14,021 feet) and Uncompahgre Peak (14,321 feet) in the Uncompahgre Wilderness – are more like birthday candles on a cake. Their wicks still top out at over 14,000 feet, but the bulk of what got them to those heights is a shared, rolling plateau – their ragged summits looking like they knifed their way out of the surface towards the sky.

It’s that base plateau and the numerous, finger-like alpine basins and drainages that flow off the shoulders of those peaks (and their numerous 13,000+ foot neighbors) that makes the Uncompahgre Wilderness one of the most beautiful spots in all of Colorado to do some backpacking. With over 102,000 acres of designated Wilderness area nestled within the larger Uncompahgre National Forest and some 110 miles of established hiking trails, it provides both a platform to climb the 14ers within the area as well as camp with endless views of the San Juans along the east, middle, and west forks of the Cimarron River.

The Cimmarron’s forks also provide some pretty epic fly fishing opportunities, as does Big Blue Creek as it flows out the northeast side of the Wilderness.

The 14ers

Wetterhorn Peak and Uncompahgre Peak sit roughly 3 miles from one another towards the southern edge of the Uncompahgre Wilderness. Access to trails that will take you to their summits comes from either the Uncompahgre Peak Trailhead or Matterhorn Creek Trailhead, both of which can only be reached by heading west on County Road 20 out of Lake City in Hinsdale County, Colorado.

If you’re aiming for each summit individually, each is roughly a 7-7.5 mile round trip hike. For Wetterhorn’s southeast ridge route, direct access comes from the Matterhorn Creek Trailhead, while the most direct route up Uncompaghre’s south ridge comes from a start at the Uncompahgre Peak Trailhead further east.

It should be noted that the climb up Wetterhorn requires several Class 3 moves, while the route up Uncompahgre is graded as Class 2. I’d advise anyone looking to summit these mountains to brush up on exactly what those ratings entail before embarking on a trip to the area.

Class 3, for instance, requires use of hands due to the steepness of the climb.

A great way to explore both of these peaks is to backpack into the Wilderness area and set up a base camp out of which you can further explore the higher reaches over the course of the next day, or days. While the initial climb into the Wilderness is relatively steep, once you reach the more rolling portions of the plateau you’ll find numerous incredible options to camp – since the plateau is near treeline, there are ample trees to help block wind and provide some natural cover, but they’re thinned out enough that you still get incredible views in most every direction.

If You Go…

• Permits are required upon entry to the Uncompahgre Wilderness, though the only requirement is that you fill out your name and information yourself and leave it in a drop-box.
• For my money, National Geographic’s Trails Illustrated #141 (Telluride/Silverton/Ouray/Lake City) is the go-to map for the area. If backpacking in, establishing base camps, and summiting 14ers is your thing, this map covers each of the Lizard Head Wilderness (including 14ers Wilson Peak, Mount Wilson, and El Diente) and the Mount Sneffels Wilderness (with its namesake 14er), too.
• As always, practice Leave No Trace principles when camping and recreating in Wilderness areas (or anywhere, for that matter).