Date: 11/11/2017 and 4/22/2018
Who: myself
Length: about 4 miles (2 out + 2 back)
Time: 2-3 hours
Weather: 30-50 degrees, sunny, snowy trail

Mount Ouray is a “thirteener”–a 13-thousand foot mountain–southwest of Poncha Springs and Salida, Colorado. (It is not near Ouray.) The east face of the mountain has a geographic feature known as the “devil’s armchair”. I have made two attempts to get to the summit of Mount Ouray, and both times was turned back by snowy conditions. Despite not making the summit, both attempts were fun hiking days. And, I have learned some lessons.

Mount Ouray East Face

The way to Mt Ouray

Lessons learned include:
– It’s ok to not make it to the summit. I still had a good day both times.
– Take snowshoes if there’s a chance you will need them.
– There was more snow on this trail in April than there was in November.
– O’Haver Lake is a nice little national forest campground.

This hike followed the BLUE line:

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