SAMPLE ITINERARY (July-Sept)

Day 1    Arrival in Colorado Springs. The airport shuttle will take you to the hotel. Check in. For dinner you have a 20% discount at the restaurant.
Day 2   Early morning full hot breakfast at the hotel (starting at 6 AM). At 7:30 Am our transfer will pick you up from the hotel lobby and take you to the trail head near Westcliffe. This route takes you from the eastern plains below Pikes Peak, traveling back into western history up Hardscrabble Pass through the Wet Mountains, across the Wet Mountain Valley, to the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. These locations are aptly named. Hardscrabble is just that—a narrow, steep, twisting canyon found and used by the white man for less than, maybe, 200 years. Over 12 feet of snow fell on much of the Wet Mountains this winter, and rain, hail, and snow can find riders in the Wet Mountains every summer. You will get the opportunity to learn how the Sangre de Cristo range gets its name (in English, the “Blood of Christ”) if you see the morning sun strike the mountains and, for just a few moments, the snow-covered peaks turn the pink of snow brushed with blood. If you need to buy a fishing license, remember to ask your guide to stop before we pass through the town of Westcliffe. You will arrive at the trail head mid-morning, where we begin with a detailed lesson on riding, saddling and care of your mount, then we pack up and head out. Quiet riders will discover the joys of meandering through age-old aspen, pine, and spruce to round a blind corner and discover mule deer, a porcupine, a wild turkey, cottontail rabbits, or maybe a snowshoe hare. We will ride about four hours to our first camp in a lush meadow amongst the aspen at the base of the valley that will lead us up and over the Range tomorrow. We set up tents, picket horses, and soon the scents of a mouth-watering feast mingled with wood smoke entice us to gather round the fire for drinks and dinner.
Day 3 After breakfast with a bracing cup of cowboy coffee, we saddle up, load the packhorses, and begin the ascent up South Brush. The trail winds through low-lying bogs, across downfall timber, through dark groves of evergreens, past fields of wildflowers, and ultimately will lead you above timberline to a windswept pass. Here you may hear strange whistling sounds warning others we’re coming—we’re the invaders here. If you look closely you may see this whistler—a rotund, waddling funny-looking fellow known as a yellow-bellied or mountain marmot.He’s a friendly fellow who lives in the rocks, subsists entirely on the greens of summer, and then hibernates through the harsh winter. (That’s “marmot,” not “varmint.”) It’s an incredible day of riding over a 13,000’ pass to our first glimpse of the vastness of the San Luis Valley framed by each peak and ridge line descending sharply below us. Ask your guide to point out our route for the next four days from this incredible vantage point. We ride down and establish camp amongst the aspen in Horse Thief Basin for a well-earned restful evening, another gourmet feast around the campfire, and a peaceful night.
Day 4 Morning breaks and while easing a few stiff muscles we work as a team to break camp after enjoying a traditional pack trip breakfast and lots of cowboy coffee. Today we’re riding totally on the west side of the range. Depending on our Forest Service permit, we either cross another 13,000’ pass above Cotton Lake and make camp along Rito Alto Creek, or go over two passes to settle in San Isabel Creek. Keep your eyes open, and you may find more signs of other Rocky Mountain mammals. When we drop into Elk Valley, we hope to see the larger cousins of the mule deer we spotted earlier. Unlike mule deer, who are more territorial, the elk are nomadic - constantly searching for food and a warm thicket to bed down in during the day. A bull elk, who stands about one and a-half feet taller than a mule deer, can run up to 35 mph, and during the rutting season you may hear them “bugling” as they call to their potential mates and warn off other bulls. Where there are so many small forest critters as well as deer and elk, there are predators, and deep in the mountains we cross live both cougars and black bears. Like the marmots, the black bears have a very short season to store enough fat to feed them all winter while they snooze in some dark den, so they munch all summer on whatever they can find. It’s not unusual to see tracks or scat of these fat, lumbering old fellows where they have stepped in some mud near a creek for a drink. If we’re very, very lucky, we may see one from a distance casually crossing our trail on a path of his own. The cougar, or puma, are even more reclusive, and few guides in these mountains have yet to see more than sign that one of these big cats have passed our way—but, you never know. . . The smaller predators, such as bobcats or coyotes, are more often seen and heard, and the coyotes have been known to gives us a thrill when they howl as we tell tales around the campfire after delighting in a delicious classic pack trip dinner.
Day 5 We lay over for the day to allow us time for hiking, fishing, or just relaxing—enjoying the day basking in the beauty to be found around camp. A hiking trip allows you the time and opportunity to enjoy the wildflowers close up. There are an amazing variety of wildflowers, especially at the peak of their seasons if there’s been sufficient water. In addition to the ever-present small yellow composites, you may find larkspur, elk thistle, monk’s hood, mountain bluebells, scarlet gilia, Colorado blue columbine, Parry primrose, wild roses, wild geranium, and hare bells, or if you’re truly fortunate, a Calypso orchid, also sometimes called a fairy slipper, Venus slipper, or lady’s slipper. If you climb above timberline, look closely at the paintbrush. Something unequaled at lower elevations happens here; often the paintbrush bloom in startling shades of fuscia or even a delicate off-white. If you choose to fish, in these high waters it is a true delight. There are indigenous trout, but the State also stocks many of these alpine lakes and streams with Pikes Peak Native fingerlings, a hybridization of Greenback and Yellowstone or Colorado River, and purebred Greenbacks. You may also find Brookies or a Rainbow in some of the creeks and beaver ponds. These waters are not specially restricted, so pack your favorite gear: flies, lures, or hooks for bait, and come prepared to enjoy and share your catch for dinner if there’s enough! That night, after a sumptuous dinner, as the fire dies down and you drift off to sleep, you may hear the calls, hoots, and flight sounds of some of our spectacular nocturnal birds of prey: great horned owls, screech owls, and night hawks.
Day 6 After breakfast we break camp and cross over our last two passes (or three! depending on where we had our layover) and descend back to the trail head arriving by 4-6pm. This is truly the most spectacular day yet.These breath-taking,lofty views are perfect locations to watch for some of our air-borne predators: large, swift, powerful hawks and eagles who swoop to dine from the skies. You may see Swainson’s hawks, red-tailed hawks, red-shouldered hawks, and, most majestic of all, golden eagles. Imagine what it is like to look down from your perch on high to see a golden eagle soaring with a wing span of over seven feet, or to see him perched standing 3 feet tall! Deeper in the trees you may see a sharp-shinned hawk, a Cooper’s hawk, or the northern goshawk. We’re at the trail head too soon. We drive you back to Colorado Springs in time for late evening flights or for a restful evening in a hotel (hotel night not included).

OR if you are looking for a couple of days of faster paced riding you can stay on at the ranch in Westcliff until Sunday afternoon. Enjoy great rides across the wide open rolling meadows. Overnights are in a very comfortable outfitter camp on the ranch - showers, heat, beds. (dinner on Friday night not included)
 

EARLY SEASON ULTIMATE GRAPE CREEK  (May-July)
This ultimate pack trip takes place in the lower elevations of the Wet Mountains and canyons of Grape Creek allowing for an equally spectacular trip when the Sangre de Cristos are still clogged with snow.
Day 1 Arrival in Colorado Springs. The airport shuttle will take you to the hotel. Check in. For dinner you have a 20% discount at the restaurant.
Day 2 Early morning full hot breakfast at the hotel (starting at 6 AM). At 7:30 AM our transfer will pick you up from the hotel lobby and take you to the trail head near Westcliffe.
Days 2 & 3 are spent up amongst the peaks of Tanner and Curley in the San Isabel National Forest. Laying over at one camp allows for a great day-ride with spectacular views of the canyons and the front range peaks covered with snow.
Day 4 moves from the peaks to Grape Creek on a little known trail. We momentarily pop out onto the Grape Creek access road, a point at which we may meet others coming in to fish. We move the next two days crossing and re-crossing the creek and exploring the canyon (now a BLM designated wilderness area) with its stories of old west mining and homestead history. We allow time to fish and relax in the contrasting lush green of the creek bottoms and the wild craggy country towering above us.
Day 6: We drive you back to Colorado Springs in time for late evening flights or for a restful evening in a hotel (hotel night not included).

ALTERNATE ULTIMATE: Those times when the snow is so deep at the top of the Sangres that the horses’ bellies would drag through drifts, but when we still can’t resist the call of the Sangre Wilderness, we traverse the eastern slopes of the Sangres in the San Isabel National Forest. The description of this trip closely parallels the traditional Ultimate, but this trip runs from south to north instead, and we ride and explore on the sun-facing slopes, leaving the deeper snow in the darker, hidden valleys for another adventure on warmer days.
Due to factors beyond our control, we occasionally find it necessary to change the order or the route of these activities.
 

POST TRIP INFORMATION: At the end of your trip you will be returned to the hotel sometime between 5:00 and 8:00pm. We recommend making prior lodging reservations if you plan to spend the night. If you must fly out that evening, please do not schedule a flight before 8:30pm, to make certain you can make your flight. 

-- subject to changes --