Mountaineer Creek
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| | Raps:2, max ↨100ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:None Vehicle:High Clearance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Best season: | Jul-Oct; BEST Aug-Sep
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37.7805, -107.5853
37.7826, -107.5805
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Introduction[edit]
Mountaineer Creek provides a few rappels down a cliff face. Its proximity to Cunningham Creek might be the reason this makes a beginning canyoner's list. Paired with Cunningham it gives a little more to do at the end of the valley after driving CR 4.
Mountaineer Creek could be descended along with nearby Cunningham Creek (http://ropewiki.com/Cunningham_Creek).
Approach[edit]
Drive: from W 12th and Greene St in Silverton, drive 4.4 miles East out of town on CR 2. Turn South at Howardsville on CR4 for another 4.5 miles and turn Right at the fork just before the Highland Mary Lake Trailhead. Park at 37.78258, -107.58054 for easier road conditions.
From the parking location, hike 2/3 a mile uphill on a rougher dirt 4x4 road. Continue beyond the final parking opportunity on the path another 0.3 miles to where a small lake comes into view directly to the south. Turn south off trail to intersect Mountaineer Creek just downhill and follow the creek downstream to the headwall and waterfalls.
Descent[edit]
R1: 100' from a tree on Canyon Right
R2: 100' from a rock horn on Canyon Left
Exit[edit]
Red tape[edit]
Mountaineer Creek is located in the Weminuche Contiguous Wilderness Study Area, an area managed by the BLM for consideration as future wilderness.
"Wilderness Study Areas (commonly known as WSAs) are places that have wilderness characteristics; that is a minimum size, naturalness, and outstanding opportunities for recreation which make them eligible for designation as wilderness. As early as 1926, the earliest advocates of wilderness preservation had acknowledged the beauty and important ecological values of the desert lands under the BLM’s administration as candidates for wilderness protection. In 1976, Congress directed the BLM to evaluate all of its land for the presence of wilderness characteristics, and identified areas became WSAs. The establishment of a WSA served to identify areas for Congress to consider for addition to the National Wilderness Preservation System. Today, the BLM manages WSA that contain about 11.6 million acres of public land. Until Congress makes a decision to add or end consideration of a WSA, the BLM manages the area to ensure its suitability for designation as wilderness is not impaired." https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/wilderness
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Trip reports and media[edit]
Explored 28Aug2020. Ira Lewis, Chris D'Amico
