Clare the Trip Leader Ensuring All Aboard!
Erin Riding the Narrow Gauge
Tom Leading the Pack into Ruby Lake Basin
As part of the CMC Centennial Celebration, I led a trip into Ruby Lake basin to climb Pigeon and Turret Peaks. Most people access these reclusive peaks by riding the Durango and Silverton narrow gauge train to the Needleton station which is the trailhead for Chicago Basin, Needle Creek Drainage, Ruby Lake Basin, and Noname Creek.
I was very excited to be taking Linda & Tom, Georgia, Jeffrey, Steve, Nancy, and Erin into this secluded and remote location. Steve was coming from the East Coast, but had spent several weeks in Estes Park acclimatizing. Jeffrey was coming from Telluride and participated in one of my trail runs as preparation. Erin had been hiking and climbing with me all summer. Everybody else had participated in the Tenmile Peak trip, so I knew we had what it takes to do the climb. The question was, would we prevail with weather and route finding?
