We started by going up Canyon Creek, which was pretty easy outside of the first climb. The Waunita trail started off as a steep hike-a-bike, so our first thought was “oh boy, looks like another one of those days…”. But just as quickly, it started heading downhill. Not only that, it was a sweet downhill,
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This summer, I have been focusing a lot of my time and energy to the bike. But now that summer is over and I’ve accomplished many of my biking goals, it’s time to make some time for the slower things in life, like hiking. Hiking and biking have different feelings to me. On the bike everything happens just a little faster. You cover more terrain, but you notice the small things a little less. The benefit of hiking is that you can take time to soak in the scenery just a little more. You take more pictures. You notice that little flower sticking through the leaves…
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We’ve been exploring a lot this summer. Sometimes, we haven’t exactly been planning our next visit to certain trails. But this route? It’s on our list, hopefully every summer.
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Yep, we’ve been hinting at it for a long time. We have been writing a guidebook. After 2 seasons of research, and one year of a lot of writing and editing, Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Routes: Colorado, published by Mountaineers Books, is finally done!
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When my buddy Jon and I looked at this trail, we assumed it would be a giant downhill from near treeline all the way down to the Rocky Brook road which connect Spring Creek and Taylor Park. That is not how the Star trail works, however. This is one of those trails that somehow seems to go up more than it goes down. When we were done after a long, long day, Jon dubbed the route “The Crippler”.
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My birthday is at the end of September. In the Colorado high country, that means that my birthday usually occurs when the aspen leaves are at their peak. Since early August, I knew the very hike I wanted to do on my birthday – Dark Canyon – all 13 miles of it – or what turned out to be more like 14.5 miles. Though the leaves had peaked a bit early this year, the timing for the hike was actually perfect, with brilliant colors from beginning to end.
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When the calendar flips to September, most avid skiers start thinking of white fluffy snow. Admittedly, we’re among them. But, at the same time, fall is one our most favorite times in Crested Butte. From mid-September to early October the mountains are glowing in gold, and as the leaves fall, riding them becomes nearly as fun as skiing in blower pow, as leaves swirl around you on every corner. Simply said, Crested Butte can be epic in fall and the riding can be too.
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South of Crested Butte lies the town of Gunnison. Although mountain bikers typically gravitate toward Hartman Rocks, good riding also exists at Signal Peak. Northeast of the Western State Colorado University Campus, Signal Peak is a great area for beginner riders. Yet, it can entertain expert riders as well.
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It was Susan who came up with the vision of how to complete this hike. We drove to the bottom of Mount Owen and approached the edge of Scarp’s Ridge. From there, we dropped into the basin between Purple Peak and Afley, and then climbed Afley. After, we continued to Oh-Be-Joyful and Hancock and then descended the Oh-Be-Joyful Pass trail and followed that to the Blue Lake trail. When the Blue Lake trail split, we headed toward Star Pass and then traversed our way over to the high point on Scarp’s Ridge. From there, we followed along Scarp’s ridge until the bench that lead us back to our car at the bottom of Mt. Owen.
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