Hut to Hut Hike in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, June 25-29, 2023.

Back in late-2022, our sister-in-law Mandy called to see if we'd be interested in a 5-day backpacking trip in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. San Juan Huts offers a Hut-to-Hut hiking experience, The Sneffels Traverse, which starts at Last Dollar Pass above Telluride, CO and ends in Ouray, CO. Hikers trek through the Sneffels Wilderness area and spend one night at each of four remote, rustic huts. Five to nine miles of alpine hiking trails a day provide some of the very best views in the state. For all the hiking we've done, neither Scott nor I had backpacked overnight. The Sneffels Traverse was a great opportunity to backpack a little lighter (no need to carry a tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad or cooking utensils, as they were all provided at the huts). We were in!

Day 1 - Sneffles Wilderness, Last Dollar Trailhead (Alder Trail No 422) to North Pole Hut

We met Kelly, our San Juan Huts shuttle driver, at the Timberline Cafe in Ouray at 7am. This was also our first introduction to the rest of our hiking crew. We learned that two people had cancelled the night before, so there would be 6 of us in the cabins each night. Sleeping in a one-room hut with strangers isn't for everyone, and we were a little nervous about who would be joining us. We hoped that the backpacking community would produce cool roommates, and we hit the jackpot! Reggie and Charissa, a married couple from Portland, and Charissa's 24-year old daughter Zoey, turned out to be wonderful companions, and it didn't take long for us to become fast friends!

Helpful hint: If at all possible, allow yourself a few days in Ouray to acclimate before starting the trip, especially if you are coming from low elevation!

We arrived at the trailhead at 8:45 and began hiking at 9:00 am. We had a total of 9.5 miles ahead of us with a 1,433 foot elevation gain.  According to AllTrails, we started at 10,160 ft elevation and our highest elevation of the day was 10,852 ft.

The story of the day was not the distance or the elevation, but the downed trees!  We had been warned that the severe winter of 2022-23 had resulted in significant tree damage in the Sneffels Wilderness Area. They were not kidding!!  And because it is designated wilderness, no chainsaws can be used to clear the trails. The result was a lot of crawling under trees, climbing over trees, balancing along long lengths of trees, and generally having our legs get more and more wobbly with each passing mile!

We had a curious little buck peak around the corner when we were stopped for a snack break, and saw lots of bear scat on the trail, one of which was the largest we’d ever seen. We were also pretty certain we heard a baby mountain lion mewing...we didn't stick around to find out!

After about mile 2, there were plenty of streams to filter water, which was important as we were each only carrying about 1 liter of water each. We were able to refill water at convenient intervals, and no one ran out of water during the 5 days. One thing we learned was for each person to have their own filtering system. Throughout the trip, everyone had troubles with their filters at one time or another, and we were able to share equipment with each other the insure we each had fresh water.

We made it to hut around 4:15pm, so it took  a little over 7 hours.

This hut, as well as all the others, was well stocked with cooking equipment, first aid supplies, sleeping bags, mattresses and 4 bunk beds to accommodate 8 people. (Note to others: you can pay to reserve the other beds if you have a group smaller than 8 and don't want to share the cabin). The outdoor, elevated composting toilet room also well stocked with TP, hand sanitizer, and garbage can for wipes and sanitary napkins.

The view of the Sneffels Range from the hut was amazing!  Each hut has a "nearby" water source, and several 5 gallon jugs are provided to haul water. Once you get the water back to the hut, just use your filters if you are drinking or cooking with it. It did seem like every stream was downhill from the huts, meaning it was an uphill carry to bring the jugs back. We found it was generally a two-person job and we switched off each night.

We had early dinners, and went to bed exhausted at 7pm (with the summer sun still up), but proud we made it through all that tree fall!

DAY 2 - North Pole Hut to Blue Lakes Hut. 8.5 miles, 1,105 elevation gain.  Started at 8:45 am and ended at 3pm.

We hiked most of the day on the Dallas Trail No. 200. Everyone felt much better after a full night of sleep! 

We needed to filter water in the morning, so went straight to the stream, which was buzzing with mosquitos!  First 2 miles were in or near marshy areas, so lots of bugs. We came to a large tree fall where we had to crawl under in muddy muck. It was reminiscent of day one, with added muck!  Luckily, that turned out to be the only “under-crawl” for the day!

Once we got out of the marsh lands, we entered a lot of meadow areas and the views of the Sneffels Range were just breathtaking!  We had a lot of photo stops!!

We found a beautiful spot to take a break and soak our weary feet in the ice cold creek!

Even with a 500’ climb in .6 miles at about mile 6.5, this day was so much easier than yesterday … no log crawling!! We even had a brief moment of cell service and got a text out to let family know we were doing well!

Another great hut for night 2, right under Mt Sneffels and located adjacent to the popular Blue Lakes Trailhead. Because of its accessibility, the “food drop” that we had opted to use was here on arrival, with way more food than we need!  We’ve learned a lot about packing appropriately and won't worry nearly as much about bringing so much food the next time!

This hut also had a very small stream about 75 yards from the cabin, so we all took turns going down and bathing.  The little pool was literally about 2’ x 2’ but that bath felt so good!  We even washed our stinky clothes!

We saw numerous specimens of cougar scat, primarily in the meadows, and one very fresh bear scat in a very brushy area of the trail. Yikes! But no animals since the deer on the first day.

As this cabin is accessible by road it can be readily serviced!  There is a trash can…so we got to dump all the trash we were carrying!  Other than that opportunity, it is a Pack-it-In/Pack-it-Out trip. There was also a bear-proof food waste container, plus all the other things (TP, hand sanitizer, pots, pans, utensils, and some basic spices).

We had vodka and cran-mango juice in the food drop…a tasty treat!  Plus Baby Ruth’s for dessert!  Scott and I gave some of our food to our friends, as we weren’t going to pack it all for the rest of the trip. They were happy to take trail mix, Slim Jim’s and PBJ Sammies.

We all felt very good that we didn’t go to bed until 8pm!

Day 3, Blue Lakes Hut to Ridgeway Hut

5.3 miles with 1,774 elevation gain.

Phewww!  We earned our hiking points today. A short, but steep day of hiking. Scott and I had heavier packs today because of yesterdays food drop. Thank goodness we were able to give some away!

We left the Blue Lakes Hut at 8:00 am. Much of the first 2.5 miles of the hike was along Wilson Creek, which was running hard from the abundant snowmelt. About a mile in, we came to a point where we had to cross the Creek. We had great debate. The creek was really swift. There was a log, but it looked treacherous and a slip would send you tumbling down the boulder/log filled canyon. That didn’t seem like a good plan. We all put on our water shoes. Scott finally decided to see if a walk across would work, and he made it. Reggie went next, then the two of them formed a chain so that us girls only had to make it halfway before we had a helping hand. Not gonna lie, it was scary. We would have been swept away if we fell. We were all relieved to make it without incident, although poor Zoey, who is only 5’1” and didn’t have zip off pants, got soaked up to her waist!  Oh, and the water was icy cold!

We got about 75 yards past the crossing, and found the “safe” way we could have crossed. Afterwards, we looked at the printed directions in Mandy’s pack, and sure enough, it told us how to find the safe crossing.  Ooops!

A slow and steady ascent along the creek continued, with several more crossings that we were able to traverse over logs. More stunning views, and saw numerous moose droppings. There was a beautiful waterfall in the distance that was roaring!

After 2.0 miles, the real work began. 1,272 feet in 1.9 miles. There were just a couple of short sections that were only a slight grade. The rest really had our hearts pumping.  We finally reached the summit at 11,079 feet with phenomenal views!  It was really incredible!

The remaining 1.4 miles was all downhill to the Ridgeway Hut. Lots of snow on this section of the trail, and we descended to 10,250 feet. We were happy when the hut came into view at 12:30 pm.  At 4.5 hours, this was our shortest day hiking, but we burned a lot of calories!

The hut here was our favorite layout!  The bunks are in an “L” shape, with the kitchen on the other wall. It’s super cute!  After we rested a few minutes, the first order of business was to take the provided water jugs and fill them at the nearest water source.

Mandy, Carissa, Scott and I headed out, and after hiking a good quarter mile, decided we had misread the instructions and headed back to the cabin to regroup. Sure enough, the trail down to the spring was right near the cabin. The instructions said it was about a two-minute walk. That may have been true, but it was a steep downhill grade. Coming back up loaded with water was a real feat!  Mandy and I got the water up to within about 50 feet of the cabin when Reggie came down and got both jugs. He then went back and got another load. It made me appreciate what the pioneers went through to get water!

We spent the afternoon lounging between the shade and the sun. We all love the setting of this hut, surrounded by great pines (we were wishing we had a hammock). And again, Scott, Mandy and I were glad we decided to bring our chairs (although the “stadium seats” that are stocked in the huts aren’t too bad!).

Zoey even brought a backpacking cribbage board, so she and I got in a game before dinner!

And speaking of dinner, we all had our dehydrated Mountain House, except Mandy. She brought a number of meals that she found on the  Hungry Hiker YouTube channel. Tonight she had Thanksgiving Dinner!  It was delicious!

We were all in bed by 8:00 again!  Thankfully, this cabin has a screen door, and we were able to tie it off so that we could leave the main door open. Fresh air tonight!! Every night before this, the huts were quite warm. We definitely didn't need zero degree bags! We often just had our sleeping bag inserts on with no other covers.

For the winter adventurers, these huts are available for ski-in trips. I'm sure the wood stove in the hut keeps it toasty warm!! We certainly didn't need it on the summer nights!

Day 4 - Ridgeway Hut to Burn Hut, 4.0 miles and a total elevation gain of 722 feet.

Left at 9:30 am, arrived at 11:45 am

Today was a short 4 miles with a few good hills to get our hearts pumping. We even saw another human on the trail (our first since Day 1 when a big family had hiked up from a ranch to the trail we were on). This guy worked for the San Juan Hut company, and was headed to restock the cabin we just left. He had to backpack the supplies in, which gave us an appreciation for the work that San Juan Huts puts in to make these trips available for us!

Still no animal sightings, but Scott did find a large lion footprint in the mud by one of the creeks.

The last mile of our hike today was up a seldom used Forest Road. It was a climb to the end, but we found the Burn Hut nestled in a beautiful Aspen grove and surrounded by a fence. It wasn’t electric, and the wiring wouldn't stop a deer, bear or elk, so we presume it was to keep cattle out.

We had a peaceful day of naps, reading books, listening to music, and chatting up a storm. Most importantly, we made a pact to stay up and watch the sunset (an activity we had not yet achieved!).

We also spent some time making our "best of” list for this trip, which included:

Day hiking - Day 2 (Gayle, Zoe, Carissa, Reggie) and Day 3 (Scott and Mandy)

Hut - North Pole Hut

Snack - Backpacker’s Pantry - Dark Chocolate Cheesecake

Unexpected Moment - Mewing cat

Toughest Day Hiking - Day 1

Water filtration system - Mandy’s Sawyer filter with 3-liter gravity bag

Best View Composting Toilet-North Pole Hut

Creek crossing - Wilson Creek

Best Rest Break - Day 2 Box Factory Park at the West Fork of Dallas Creek

Best View - Wilson Creek Summit, Day 3

Best Animal Encounter - Curious deer (our only encounter!)

Most Impressive Scat - Bear poop

Earliest Night to Bed - Night 1, 6:30 pm

Latest Night to Bed - Night 4, 9:00 pm

Highest elevation - 11,079 feet at Wilson Creek Summit

Best Sleeping Bag-Big Agnes 3 in 1 for Side sleepers

While we cooked dinner, we had a lengthy discussion about the foods we were looking forward to eating when we got off the mountain! All of our stomachs were growling after that conversation!  It was kind of like self-imposed torture!

After dinner, we did a group hike down to the meadows below the cabin around 6:30 to see if any wildlife had come in. We were a bit early, and after hanging out for about 30 minutes, decided to head back to the meadows above the cabin for sunset.

In between, we had time for the dessert that Carissa had been saving for our last night…Dark Chocolate Cheesecake!  It was amazing!

After sunset, we headed back to the cabin and had lights out by 9pm.

Day 5 - Burn Hut to Trailhead in Ouray - 4.5 miles, 2,500 foot elevation loss. A steep hike down into the Switzerland of America!

We opted for the 4-mile, steep descent. There was another option to do a 7-mile hike with less grade, but we had been warned that it was in similar condition to Day 1 of the downed trees, and was not recommended.

We left Mandy's car at the trailhead below Ouray, so she was able to shuttle us all back to town when we arrived at the bottom. Here we are, at the bottom of the trail! Triumphant!!

Scott and I had booked a night at the Timberline Hot Springs Resort, and were happy to have a day in Ouray to celebrate the completion of a great hike! Coincidentally, the Town of Ouray sponsors Thursday night Concerts in the Park throughout the summer, so our timing was perfect! We met up with our new friends at the park and jammed to a great band, The Main Squeeze! It was a fantastic end to a great experience!

Whether you are a newbie, or an experienced backpacker, I'd highly recommend checking out San Juan Huts in Ouray, Colorado! They also have a hut-to-hut option for mountain bikers from Durango, CO to Moab, UT. A great company and wonderful service!