Wiminuche wilder - shuttle/resupply

imported
#1

I am planning a 2 week trip from approximately wolf creek pass to Spring creek pass on the CDT. Do you know of any shuttle service to/from these terminuses? Also has anyone done any resupply between Wolf Creek Pass and Silverton?

I was thinking about going from WCP to Needleton, hop the train and get resupply at Silverton P.O., then go back on the train or somehow out Elk Creek trailhead back to the CDT and head up to Spring Creek Pass.
Got any other ideas for resupply, shuttle?
Thanks!
Bonnie

Bonnie

#2

Bonnie-

I thought that was the finest stretch of trail I have seen in many miles. Just north of Silverton is truly stunning! There are some secret places out there, like waterfalls and mines, so keep your eyes peeled. What a great stretch! I’ll dig out my CT data book and see what I can remember.

THA WOOKIE

#3

this isn’t what you want to hear, but… the hitch into lake city from spring creek pass is bad. many people have had problems heading into lake city from here. i waited for 1.5 hours for a ride in and walked perhaps 3 miles up the road on the way out. wolf mentions that there is NO public transporation between creede and lake city. i think your needleton plan is a good one. don’t plan on buying any food in silverton, there isn’t much in the way of groceries.

d-low

#4

When we did this in 1997 we looked into shuttles and struck out completely. You might try the outdoor stores in Creede and Pagosa Springs to see if anyone there has set up shuttle services in the meantime, but don’t hold your breath. The problem is the distances. I think it took us about 5 hours to get from Durango to our starting point on Co 114. We looked into buses, and that would have taken us two days, given the schedules of the time. Best bet is to find someone who is planning to hike out there who will have a car and is willing to drop you off at the trailhead and then hitch to town when you are ready to leave. (Be sure that you know bailout points just in case you need to leave before you expected – elevation can do nasty things to some people.) Lake City and Creede really are in the middle of nowhere. When we thruhiked, we thought we needed to go from Creede to Lake City to pick up a maildrop that was supposed to be there (fortunately it wasn’t) - we were told by the B&B where we were staying that it would cost us about $50 to make the trip between the two towns - which aren’t all that far apart (70 miles or so?) We generally had pretty good luck hitching in that area – but it really is a matter of luck. And we got so anything less than 3 hours was okay.

Ginny

#5

Sure the hitch is tough from Spring Creek Pass, but why limit yourself? Although it was our intention of going into Lake City we used a Tyvek ground cloth and wrote Lake City on my side and Creeded on the other and hitched both ways! Finally got a ride into Creede after about two hours.

If there’s anyone there, you can also ask at the parking area.

Sly

#6

OK, i wrote all of this but it didn’t go through from this cyber cafe i am in in northern Thailand so i’ll try again. Last time i did the Wiminuche, i saw some hikers using the train to go into Silverton to resupply and think it is a good idea. Wolf Creek pass is not a tough hitch. The tyvek idea above is a good idea also. Your resupply options if you are not into the big miles you will have to do to make it to the train from Wolf Creek pass are tough as for all of them, you need to go all the way down to civilization of at least a trailhead and they are usually a days hike back up! So, either do the big miles, or (not a pleasant one) resupply from the south side somewhere. I don’t have a map with me now but there are some towns way down there that are hitchable from a trailhead with luck. Anyway, enjoy perhaps the most scenic hiking in the USA (the Sierras probably is more picturesque but has too many other hikers enjoying it also) You won’t see many others because of the resupply problems. Enjoy, fh

fiddlehead