MILE 0
ELV 9,260

START: SILVERTON VISITOR'S CENTER
HEAD EAST FOLLOWING RAILROAD TRACKS TOWARDS ANIMAS RIVER.

0.2

FORD RIVER.  FOLLOW 4WD ROAD NORTHEAST TO KENDALL MTN ROAD (NOT ACCURATELY SHOWN ON MAP. I'LL HAVE THE ROADS CORRECTLY DEPICTED ON THE MASTER MAP SO BE SURE TO ADJUST YOUR MAP ACCORDINGLY BEFORE THE RACE)

0.3

TURN RIGHT ONTO KENDALL MTN ROAD AND HEAD UPHILL FOR 3/4 OF A MILE.

 

1.0

LEAVE ROAD TAKING OLD (BARELY VISIBLE) MINING TRAIL TO THE LEFT IN AN OLD AVALANCHE PATH.  THIS PATH SWITCH BACKS A COUPLE TIMES THEN DISAPPEARS.  FROM HERE WE'LL HEAD PRETTY MUCH STRAIGHT UP TOWARDS THE TREES ON THE RIGHT AND MAKE OUR WAY TO TREELINE AND A SOUTHWEST RUNNING RIDGELINE.  JUST ABOVE TREELINE THERE IS A COMMUNICATIONS TOWER OF SOME KIND THIS IS THE CORRECT RIDGLEINE FOLLOW IT STRAIGHT UP HILL TOWARDS THE TOP OF THE MTN.

2.5

KENDALL MTN RD. TURN LEFT AND FOLLOW IT AROUND TO A SADDLE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF KENDALL NO. 2.

3.0
13,066

KENDALL MTN NO. 2
DROP DOWN TO THE SOUTH EAST ON A ROUGH TRAIL TO THE KENDALL MTN ROAD AND GO LEFT FOR LESS THAN 1/4 MILE TO THE FIRST NOTCH IN THE RIDGE

3.3

GO NORTH EAST THRU THE NOTCH AND DROP DOWN TO THE SWANSEA GULCH BASIN FOLLOWING THE ABANDONED MINE ROAD.  CONTINUE DOWN ABOUT 1.6 MILES, PASSING A SMALL LAKE IN THE BASIN AND DROPPING DOWN OUT OF THE BASIN TO THE END OF THE ROAD.

4.9
11,300

FROM THE END OF THE ROAD CLIMB FOLLOWING ELK TRAILS TO THE NORTHEAST MAKING YOUR WAY UP AND OVER THE RIDGE THAT SEPARATES SWANSEA AND BLAIR GULCH.  CONTINUE NORTHEAST UNTIL YOU HIT THE TOP OF THE LACKAWANNA ROAD (NOT ACCURATELY SHOWN ON MAP. I'LL HAVE THE ROADS CORRECTLY DEPICTED ON THE MASTER MAP SO BE SURE TO ADJUST YOUR MAP ACCORDINGLY BEFORE THE RACE)

5.3

FOLLOW ROAD DOWN TO THE ANIMAS RIVER (I'LL HAVE MORE SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS BY RACE DAY)

8.1
9400

AID # 1 LACKAWANNA/ANIMAS
FOLLOW ROAD TOWARDS HWY 110 AND THE CEMETERY. CROSS 110 AND HEAD NORTH WEST ON GRAVEL ROAD. TAKE FIRST RIGHT THEN THE FIRST LEFT AND THEN RIGHT AGAIN AT THE NEXT JUNCTION. THIS ROAD WILL CONTOUR ABOVE THE CEMETERY AND WILL END AT A SMALL FOOT BRIDGE CROSSING BOULDER CREEK. (AGAIN THESE ROADS AREN'T CORRECTLY SHOWN ON THE QUADRANGLE. CONSULT THE MASTER)

10.1

FROM THE BOULDER GULCH TRAILHEAD FOLLOW TRAIL STEEPLY UPHILL FOLLOWING THE CREEK.

11.7
11,450

CROSS BOULDER CREEK JUST ABOVE THE UNNAMED CREEK COMING DOWN FROM STORM PEAK BASIN. FOLLOW CREEK .  THE TRAIL SOON SWITCHBACKS BACK TO BOULDER CREEK, LEAVE TRAIL HERE AND CONTINUE FOLLOWING UNNAMED CREEK TO AN UNNAMED LAKE. FROM HERE CLIMB STEEPLY UP TO THE UNNAMED PAIR OF LAKES JUST BELOW STORM PEAK.  FROM THESE LAKES FIND THE GOOD ELK TRAIL HEADING SOUTHWEST TO THE SADDLE (HANCOCK PASS) ABOVE HANCOCK GULCH.

13.1
13,030

HANCOCK PASS
DROP DOWN INTO HANCOCK GULCH (SOUTHWEST) FOLLOWING ELK TRAILS AND DRY DRAINAGES. AS THE BASIN OPENS AT ABOUT 12,200 FEET CONTOUR WEST AND DROP DOWN INTO THE UNNAMED CREEK DRAINAGE BETWEEN HANCOCK AND ILLINOIS.  HEAD DOWN TO A LARGE MEADOW AND FOLLOW UNTIL YOU GET TO THE AID STATION AT APPROXIMATELY 10,800 FT.  (ON THE MAP IT LOOKS LIKE A DOG LYING ON IT'S BACK WITH IT'S FEET IN THE AIR :)

14.4
10,800

AID #2 HANCOCK GULCH 
CONTOUR NORTH TOWARDS ILLINOIS GULCH ON AN UNMAPPED TRAIL

14.9

AT ILLINOIS TRAIL (PROBABLY UNSIGNED) DROP DOWN SWITCH BACKING IN AN OVERALL WESTERLY DIRECTION DOWN TO THE GOLD HUB MINE AND THE CEMENT CREEK ROAD (HWY 110)

15.6

TURN LEFT AND FOLLOW CEMENT CREEK ROAD SOUTH (DOWNSTREAM) FOR ABOUT A 1/2 MILE TO AN UNSIGNED AND UNMAPPED ROAD JUST ABOVE THE NIAGARA GULCH.

16.1
9,800

FOLLOW ROAD UP THE NIAGARA DRAINAGE. AFTER ABOUT 8/10^TH OF A MILE THE ROAD BECOMES A GOOD TRAIL (ALSO UNMAPPED) THAT CONTINUES UP ALONG THE NIAGARA TO THE OLD IRENE MINE SITE.  FOLLOW ELK TRAILS UP TO THE RIDGELINE TO THE WEST. FOLLOW RIDGELINE TO ANVIL PEAK (12,537)

18.6
12,537

ANVIL PEAK
TAKE THE SOUTH/SOUTHWEST RIDGELINE DOWN TO TREELINE. FOLLOW ELK TRAILS DOWN TO THE SOUTHEAST TO ZUNI GULCH. IN ZUNI GULCH FOLLOW THE SWITCHBACKING OLD MINING TRAIL DOWN TO HWY 550.

20.6

CROSS HWY 550. PARALLEL HWY ON OLD ROAD BED HEADING SOUTHEAST (LEFT).  THIS OLD ROAD BED ENDS AT SOUTH MINERAL CREEK ROAD. TURN RIGHT THEN IMMEDIATELY LEFT DOWN TOWARDS THE CREEK.

20.8
9,400

AID #3 SOUTH MINERAL CREEK
FORD CREEK. MAKE YOUR WAY SOUTHEAST TO THE BEAR CREEK TRAIL.

21.8

FOLLOW BEAR CREEK TRAIL UPSTREAM (SOUTHWEST/RIGHT) ABOUT 2 MILES

23.8
10,688

CROSS BEAR CREEK AT THE SPOT MARKED 10,688 ON THE MAP. FOLLOW ELK TRAILS SOUTHEAST TOWARDS THE UNNAMED CREEK THAT COMES DOWN FROM THE BASIN BELOW SULTAN AND GRAND TURK. YOU'LL WANT TO PARALLEL THIS CREEK BUT STAYING MORE ON THE HILLSIDE TO THE NORTH OF IT ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU GET ABOVE TREELINE.  THE ROUTE WILL CONTINUE ON ELK TRAILS ON THE HILLSIDE ABOVE THE POSSIBLY WET LOWER AREAS. AFTER GRADUALLY (RELATIVELY) GAIN ALTITUDE TO ABOUT 11,800 FEET YOU'LL COME TO A DRY DRAINAGE. WELCOME TO THE "ELEVATOR". CROSS DRAINAGE AND HEAD STRAIGHT UP, YES STRAIGHT UP ABOUT 1500 FEET IN 7 TENTHS OF A MILE TO SULTAN PEAK!

25.3
13,368

SULTAN PEAK
CONTINUE OVER THE PEAK AND DOWN THE RIDGE TO THE SOUTH FOR A 100-200 YARDS OR SO AND THEN FOLLOW THE NORTH EAST RUNNING RIDGE STAYING ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF IT.  AT THE SADDLE ABOUT 12,360 FEET DROP DOWN THE STEEP HILLSIDE INTO THE BASIN TO THE SOUTH (RIGHT). FOLLOW ELK TRAILS INTO THE TREES AT THE EAST END OF THE BASIN. CONTOUR TO THE NORTH AROUND THE RIDGELINE.  THIS WILL TAKE YOU TO THE BELCHER BASIN.

27.8

THE TRAIL IS JUST BELOW TREELINE NEAR WHERE IT CROSSES THE SOUTH FORK OF THE BELCHER CREEK AT ABOUT 11000 FEET.  THE TRAIL SWITCHBACKS DOWN TO HWY 550 JUST ABOVE THE HAIRPIN TURN JUST OUTSIDE SILVERTON.

29.3

CROSS HWY 550. AND FOLLOW THE POWER LINES NORTHEAST THEN SOUTH EAST TO AN UNMAPPED DIRT ROAD. TURN LEFT ONTO THE ROAD AND TAKE IT TO HWY 550 JUST ABOVE THE BRIDGE. TURN RIGHT ONTO HWY 550 AND CROSS BRIDGE. FOLLOW 550 TO THE VISITORS' CENTER.

29.9

FINISH: VISITOR'S CENTER