DISTANCE FROM DENVER: AROUND 6 HOURS
moN, August 26, 2024
We’d been planning to hike Mount Sneffels for a minute, but weather and other issues (a giant blister on my heel from hiking 20 miles in the Grand Teton National Park) had us continually pushing this hike. We were holding out hope that this would finally be the right weekend and had both taken Monday off in the event that it was the best weather that day (it was). Mount Sneffels is in the Ouray area among the breathtaking San Juan Mountains. This part of the state had been getting a lot of rain lately and we did not want to get caught in anything. We’d spent the weekend bopping around Durango, Silverton, and Ouray. On Sunday night, we made our way as close as we could get to the trailhead. We passed what appeared to be a house (how wild to have a home here), as well as a road called McNutty Ln.
After getting everything ready to go to bed and hike in the morning, we crawled into the tent and went to sleep. In the middle of the night, I heard rain. I was struggling to get back to sleep and had no idea what time it was. (Jon later mentioned it had been around 1:30 am). For all I knew, it could already be close to 4 am. Would we move the hike yet again? I got a little more sleep and the alarm went off at 3:30. It was time to get going. Luckily, it was no longer raining.
We quickly got ourselves together and ate our pre-hike nanners. Yuck-ily, the bananas were not quite ripe and pretty husky. But they did the job! The hike began on a road, which we spent a lot of time on. It was weird to be hiking an incredible mountain and spend so much time on an ordinary 4WD that cars could go up. We were excited to eventually ditch this dratted road and for the vibes to become more hike-like.
At one point, we saw glowing eyes. Could it be coyotes? (Reminder to bring your bear spray)! They were very still, but they started to move eventually. We exhaled when we discovered they were just deer. Ah, a suburb animal! Deer are still wild animals, and you shouldn’t approach them since they can be unpredictable, but I feel like their main thing is getting hit by cars. Phew, this was a relief.
As we climbed, we noticed a fresh dusting of snow on the ground, and I snapped a picture. I’ve hiked in snow before—sometimes remnants of winter snow or being dusted on as we go—but it’s always a cool experience, even if it makes things more challenging.
At a certain point, Jon spotted a fox. Foxes are one of my new favorite animals. They’re just so cute and small and cool. I was awestruck by the fox and the way it so effortlessly moved around the scree and overall choppy and technical terrain. While this was a planned adventure for us, it was every day for that little guy. I wished I was a fox.
The fox and the deer weren’t the only animals we encountered. We also saw some sweet little pikas! A pika is a small furry mammal with a plump body and short limbs that often lives in high alpine environments. Pikas are so freakin adorable but they’re also so resilient. Again, it’s so impressive how these animals just exist in a habitat like this. The world blows my mind. You will often see pikas collecting grass and flowers, and spotting one is the cutest sight.
The amount of snow increased quite a bit as we continued our ascent. It was also getting very steep. Jon thought we might make it to the top before sunrise at the pace we were keeping. I wasn’t sure when we would summit, but I knew the steeper terrain was the first thing that happened before things got a little… McNuttier. Can’t get too excited! Of course, we had researched the hike beforehand, and Jon had downloaded all the details from 14ers.com. So, we knew we weren’t just facing a steep trail.
After working our way through a scree-covered slope, we got to a steep and rocky gully. I started to get nervous. I was taking it slow on my hands and knees, but it was going well. I was getting myself up with no issues with my ability, but I just couldn’t shake the thought of getting back down, despite trying to keep my focus on the task at hand. It was also freezing and windy.
Jon took this video as we were making our way up the gully. If you look closely when he moves the camera down, you can spot me taking a little break.
When we finally reached the top of the gully, we arrived at what’s known as ‘the notch’. The view was absolutely insane, but I was too scared to take a picture or to fully appreciate it. I looked up at the notch and felt like I couldn’t make it. I watched Jon climb through and climb back again, testing it out. He comforted me, told me nothing bad would happen, and reassured me that if I didn’t feel comfortable summitting, that was perfectly fine. After talking for a bit, he went through again. I felt better and approached the notch to take another look at it. It didn’t seem so bad. I worked my way through, with his help, and it wasn’t so bad! But that wasn’t the end of the hike. We still had a bit of scrambling to do before reaching the summit.
We pushed on a bit longer and finally reached the summit. We were also the first ones to do so that day! The top had a smaller place to stand versus the other 14ers I’ve done where it almost feels like a big party at the top. Jon said this one actually felt like the top of a mountain peak, unlike many others that often feel more like plateaus. We were both shivering because it was so cold and our hands were wet from all the snow. (We had brought gloves, but not quite the right type). I looked around and saw the box I’d known was up there from Instagram. With shaking hands, I opened it. It had a sign with “Mt. Sneffels 14,155 f”t on it, as well as a logbook. I quickly signed, “Jon + Lai So Cold So Scary”.
We weren’t there long before heading down. I got through the notch pretty smoothly, with Jon’s help again, and we started going down the gully. Once I started descending, I realized it wasn’t actually that hard, just tedious. I pretty much sat down and used my arms to help me. I took it slow and cautiously, and I was A-Okay, (just a little over it). Then, we made it to the scree field, which was also totally fine but required caution. I didn’t feel like I was in danger, but I was tired of all the scree. We found ourselves wishing for that now not-so-dratted-sounding road.
We love a scree field! *sarcasm*
We finally made it past the scree field and back toward the road. We saw gorgeous views that we hadn’t gotten to see on the way up. It’s always fun to come back down a 14er and see what scenery you missed in the headlamp light. It’s also more relaxing knowing you’ve made it past the hard part, allowing you to savor the sense of accomplishment and take in your surroundings with greater ease.
As always, remember to do your research. It’s important to know what you’re getting into before doing something like this. While the route we took was considered an “easy class 3”, and some people even do it as their first 14er, it’s not for everyone. It was something within my ability (with the help of my partner), but we are all different. On the flip side, it may not be that intimidating for you, especially if you’re used to harder climbs. We also wore helmets to protect ourselves from loose rockfall, which is typically recommended for more challenging hikes. Neither of us was attacked by rocks and we saw many hikers without helmets, but I’m glad we had them.
If you find yourself in a situation where you’re uncomfortable completing a hike or other challenging adventure, try not to feel bad about it. If you have to stop, you have to stop. I almost did on this hike. It would have been disappointing and difficult to accept, but if it felt like the right decision for me, then that’s just how it is. I recently saw a girl online (I wish I remembered the account) who talked about multiple times she’s had to turn back, and it was really comforting to see. It can be hard to treat ourselves kindly if we don’t accomplish something we set out to do, but we should all practice self-love and compassion. Sometimes, this may mean bailing on something.
Takeaways:
- Not everything is actually as scary as it looks.
- If you do have to bail, try not to feel bad about it.
- This hike had me in absolute awe of nature (especially foxes and pikas).
To view more images from our Sneffels journey, check out the gallery below.
