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The La Platas by wheel and boot

4WD to Kennebec trailhead; foot from there to peaks

The La Plata Mountains encapsulate the rapidly evolving story of the American West. Miners paid the unromantic price of severe hardship with little reward. Vestiges of their presence linger and enthrall us today. We marvel at their grit, ingenuity, insistence and their courage. The La Plata range remains a magnet of great force for those who thrive upon the multiple gifts these mountains continue to yield. For some, driving up a hardscrabble road cleaved in the 1800s is benefit enough. For others, it is the physical and mind-elevating experience of peak climbing.

What follows is a wheel and boot tour for children and adults that typifies the essence of our hometown range.

4WD adventure: Mayday to Kennebec trailhead

Travel to the Kennebec Pass Trailhead requires a four-wheel-drive vehicle with moderate clearance and sturdy tires. From the U.S. Highway 550/160 intersection in Durango, travel 11.0 miles west to Hesperus. Turn right/north on La Plata Canyon Road (County Road 124). Zero-out your trip meter. After passing the hamlet of Mayday, the road transitions to dirt at 4.6 miles. From here, the corridor is maintained seasonally by the La Plata County Road and Bridge crew based in Marvel. They try to free the road of snowslides by Memorial Day. As for smoothing the passage to Kennebec, they do not have the funds, and most folks like it just the way it is.

Starting up the canyon, fans of the lively La Plata River frequent established campgrounds that bustle all summer. Potable water is available only at Kroeger Campground. Private property and public land frame the north-trending road.

Watch on the left for the disintegrating Green Bus of mysterious origin at mile 6.7. Picturesque mining shacks adorn the historic township of La Plata City. Miners flocked to the range in the 1870s in search of silver and lead. While a gold strike in the 1930s brought one flash of prosperity, the mining district was never a large producer. Isolated camps and La Plata City were abandoned.

In 8.5 miles the roadbed deteriorates. There are steep pitches with sharp, melon-size rocks. At 8.9 miles, park on the right and duck a few feet into the woods for an airy look at a powerful waterfall. Around the corner stands The Chimney, the lone remnant of a miner’s home built audaciously on a cliff.

At 9.4 miles, County Road 124A veers off to the right. It crosses the river and crawls steeply up the north side of Lewis Creek, passing substantial mining sites on its way to Eagle Pass.

At 10.6 miles, Forest Service Road 798 hooks to the left. Experienced four-wheelers with short wheel-base vehicles may drive (if they dare) 1.5 miles into Tomahawk Basin and visit the famed stamp mill.

At 12.1 miles the road splits at a “4WD Only” sign. An optional right turn will take you via Forest Service Road 498 into Columbus Basin on a nonmaintained track where more 4WD challenges and mining ruins, including a pretty log cabin, await. The left spur, Forest Service Road 571, leads to the Kennebec Pass trailhead.

At 12.6 miles Forest Service 571 hangs a hard right as it crosses the La Plata River. Challenges increase the farther you go. The track steepens and narrows, turns tighten, the surface is rutted and rocky. Emerge from the timber into a high basin harboring the Cumberland Mine ruins. The roadbed, relieved of rocks, is prone to swales and mud. Reach the generous trailhead parking lot at 11,600 feet, 14.2 miles from U.S. 160. Without stops, this journey will take one to 1½ hours from Durango.

While locals commonly refer to the parking lot as Kennebec Pass, it is in reality a trailhead for a prominent point along the Colorado Trail, and a myriad of other hikes. To reach the actual pass, follow directions to Peak 12,101.

A popular 4WD destination is The Notch, a landmark blasted out by miners, visible from the parking lot. Drive 0.8 mile southeast on a no-pass track; be sure it is free of vehicles before starting out. The road is a little exposed, but the surface is good. The rift in the ridge between Cumberland Mountain and Snowstorm Peak affords a superb view of the eastern flank of the La Platas. This bizarre cutout is easily located from Durango itself, especially from the college mesa. Turn around in The Notch as the road degenerates to a single track on the east side.

Peak 12,101

If you are gnarly enough to drive to the Kennebec Pass trailhead, don your boots and muster the moxie to walk to Peak 12,101, the most northerly and the easiest crest in the La Plata range. The view is unparalleled. Look across a voluminous, yawning space to the San Juan Mountains.

Children will adore this glorious, short hike up a gently rising ridge. It is 2.8 miles round-trip with 500 feet of climbing. Allow 1½ to 2½ hours. Take plenty of snacks and water.

From the trailhead, walk east 0.7 mile on the Colorado Trail to Kennebec Pass, 11,750 feet. Mid-summer, there is an astonishing array of wildflowers. The tundra is dazzling with Indian paintbrush in variegated neon hues, and there are patches of the ultra feminine queen’s crown. I have documented 67 flowering plants on just one hike in this region.

Upon reaching the pass, turn left/north and begin the 15- to 30-minute, 0.7-mile climb to the peak.

The initial 200 feet is rather steep and off-trail, requiring a little effort. Then, follow a social trail west of the ridge through a brief, rocky section.

Back on the curve-top, experience the euphoria of a simple walk up the broad ridge to the crest.

Be sure to continue a few paces past the summit to a stone bivouac. Look north across folds of green velvet to Engineer Mountain. The San Juan arc extends from Lone Cone to Mountain View Crest. Swing around for an expansive display of La Plata’s west massif peaks.

Return to the trailhead as you came.

Muldoon Mine and Cumberland Mountain

If you are excited for more, make it a two-mountain day, adding almost two miles and 650 feet of climbing.

From Kennebec Pass, walk southeast on the Colorado Trail for 0.2 mile. Leave the CT as it makes a sharp swing left. Continue southeast another 0.2 mile on the historic road to the Muldoon Mine. Cluttered with railroad track remnants and buildings, this site is famous for a two-seater outhouse perched on a cliff. Out of order!

From the mine, climb (off-trail) the green, rather steep slope 588 feet to the crest, favoring the east ridge. The ascent yields startling and revealing views of Lewis Mountain (12,681 feet). What appears to be a broad, hulking eminence when seen from Durango, is actually an almost three-mile curved knife ridge.

The panorama from the top affords an incomparable perspective. Crimson Snowstorm Peak (12,511), adjacent to the south, is separated from Cumberland by The Notch.

To return, locate Cumberland’s northwest ridge. Social trail fragments will assist your direct descent on talus and dirt, a drop of 788 feet. The ridge runs out within feet of the parking lot.

http://debravanwinegarden.blogspot.com

Debra Van Winegarden is an explorer and freelance writer who lives in Durango.



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