Today I’m taking off for a 7 day backpacking trip through the Needle Mountains south of Silverton, Colorado. I’ll be doing a similar route as last summer’s trek, except that this time I’ll be hiking up the west side, and then down the east side of the range (last year I just did the west side).
So, I’ll be taking the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to the Needleton stop, hiking over several high passes to the remote and beautiful Balsam Lake, then I’m going to cross over the range and head down the east side over several passes until I get to the popular Chicago Basin, then back to the Needleton stop to catch the train 7 days later. According to the map the route is only 25 miles, but I know from experience that it’s a very strenuous 25 miles. There are so many epic campspots along the way that I will have plenty to see and photograph for 7 days.
I’ll back on Monday the 18th.





















