This is a route I've had in the hopper for a long time, but haven't been able to pull off until yesterday. The route starts in the ghost town of Elkhorn, once a major silver mining town in the late 1800's.
The first part of the route is actually a 4WD trail, you would need a hardcore vehicle to ascend this as it's strewn w/ large boulders and rock shelves. After ~ 4.5 miles you veer off to the east and have to pick your way up to Windy Pass, it happened to be a very windy day so Windy Pass lived up to it's name!
From Windy Pass it's a rocky scramble to Elkhorn Peak, from Elkhorn Peak you get a nice view into the Tizer drainage- Hidden Lake at top and the two Tizer Lakes below
more rock headed towards Crow Peak
almost there
a view of Glenwood Lake from the top
from Crow peak I to head down a finger ridge to hit a trail that would take me into Tizer Basin, I unknowingly forgot my GPS at home so had to rely on my map and compass, fortunately I hit the trail after a couple of miles
looking back towards Elkhorn Peak from Tizer Basin
whoever built and lived this cabin had to be a tough bird, as it's literally in the middle of nowhere!
when I made it into the basin, things got a little jumbled up- I looked for my turn off but ended up at Lower Tizer Lake about 1.5 miles past where my turn should have been, backtracked and found the turn- not a sign anywhere
Wasn't 100% sure I was on the right trail, but it was headed in the right direction anyways
I bumped into three cow elk, the wind was in my face and I got within 10-15 yards of them before they went crashing off into the timber
might have to look close to see them
after several miles of not knowing if I was on the right trail, I finally hit a junction w/ signs no less! Turns out I was on the right trail and only had 4.5 miles to get back to the town of Elkhorn
23 miles and 7 hours later, I made it back to my truck- a little tired and sore, but no worse for wear
thanks for reading
The first part of the route is actually a 4WD trail, you would need a hardcore vehicle to ascend this as it's strewn w/ large boulders and rock shelves. After ~ 4.5 miles you veer off to the east and have to pick your way up to Windy Pass, it happened to be a very windy day so Windy Pass lived up to it's name!
From Windy Pass it's a rocky scramble to Elkhorn Peak, from Elkhorn Peak you get a nice view into the Tizer drainage- Hidden Lake at top and the two Tizer Lakes below
more rock headed towards Crow Peak
almost there
a view of Glenwood Lake from the top
from Crow peak I to head down a finger ridge to hit a trail that would take me into Tizer Basin, I unknowingly forgot my GPS at home so had to rely on my map and compass, fortunately I hit the trail after a couple of miles
looking back towards Elkhorn Peak from Tizer Basin
whoever built and lived this cabin had to be a tough bird, as it's literally in the middle of nowhere!
when I made it into the basin, things got a little jumbled up- I looked for my turn off but ended up at Lower Tizer Lake about 1.5 miles past where my turn should have been, backtracked and found the turn- not a sign anywhere
Wasn't 100% sure I was on the right trail, but it was headed in the right direction anywaysI bumped into three cow elk, the wind was in my face and I got within 10-15 yards of them before they went crashing off into the timber
might have to look close to see them
after several miles of not knowing if I was on the right trail, I finally hit a junction w/ signs no less! Turns out I was on the right trail and only had 4.5 miles to get back to the town of Elkhorn
23 miles and 7 hours later, I made it back to my truck- a little tired and sore, but no worse for wear
thanks for reading
