Sangre de Cristo Ultimate

Introduction
Colorado USA
We cross 12,000 ft high passes, riding up to six or seven hours almost every day. Some traveling is along rough, unmaintained trails that may require moving rock slides or chopping a fallen trees blocking passage. We sometimes cross valleys over old herder’s tracks above timberline where it is necessary to dismount and lead our horses over rugged terrain. We work together to make it the most rewarding and beautiful trip you can imagine. We believe strongly this trip is the best of its kind in the country. Definitely the staff favorite.
Our standard route crosses over the top of the Sangre de Cristo Range into the wilds of the Rio Grande National Forest. Traversing the very spine of mountains, we steer clear of roads and habitations until we descend on the last day. The group works as a team. Everyone participates in saddling, care of horses and in setting-up & breaking-down camp. The staff cook, clean-up, and pack horses. This is an expedition, lightweight and mobile, utilizing all hands towards the ultimate goal of reaching the next pass, or catching sight of the moving forest of elk. We work together to make it the most rewarding and beautiful trip you can imagine.

In the spring when the mountain passes are still in snow, we take a route at a lower elevation into the Grape Creek Canyon. “A memorable wilderness journey through some of the most remote and spectacular mountains in North America...with comfortable camps, world class guides and Colorado’s best mountain trained horses!”
Designed specifically for the horse enthusiast and high country lover who wants to disappear completely into a lost mountain world, this five day ultimate horseback vacation takes you far from the crowded trials and backpacking hoards and through the forgotten valleys of Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Area.

Accomodation

Accommodation
This is a progressive ride where nights are spent at different locations. The first night is spent at a hotel and the remaining 4 nights are spent camping. You change camps three out of four nights- so you stay in the same place for two nights.

Accommodation Itinerary - subject to changes based on availability
Night 1: Radisson Inn Colorado Springs Airport
Night 2-5: Camping

Radisson Inn Colorado Springs Airport
This hotel provides a free transfer service to the airport as well as free Wi-Fi and a hot breakfast buffet.
The rooms are modern and include a flat-screen TV, microwave, min-fridge and a private bathroom. You can also relax in the hot tub, sun terrace or indoor pool.
If you need an extra night in Colorado Springs on Day 6- please let Hidden Trails know and we will be happy to book this for you.

Camping
Guests stay in a dome tent (4-man tent). Clients should bring sleeping bags with a little foam pad. There are no showers.
The wranglers cook and take care of the horses. If you want to help, you are more than welcome to. 

We can supply saddlebags, sleeping bags, ground mats, and duffel on request for additional fee.

Room Occupancy
Single tents can be requested at no extra fee, but a single supplement applies for the first night at a Colorado Springs hotel.


Meals
All meals are included (from breakfast on day 2 to lunch on last day) except in Colorado Springs. Meals on the first day are not included but we offer 20% off for dinner at the hotel’s restaurant in Colorado Springs.

Dietary Restrictions
We have experience with and are happy to accommodate special dietary needs such as Kosher, vegetarian, and lactose-free. Just let us know when you make your reservations of your special needs.

This trip includes and can accommodate special dietary requests.

Riding


Horses
The ranch owns 60 head of Appaloosa and Paint horses. The horses are sure-footed, no nonsense and willing. We will assign you your own horse and teach you how to saddle, picket and care for it.

Riding Experience
Our trip begin with hands-on instruction on saddling and care of your mount. At the same time, our program allows for diversity to accommodate and challenge the advanced rider as well. Our philosophy is simple; the more you know about your horse and equipment, the more you will enjoy your vacation.

Riding Terrain
We cross 12,000 ft high passes, riding up to 6 or 7 hours almost every day. Some traveling is along rough, unmaintained trails that may require moving rock slides or chopping a fallen trees blocking passage. We sometimes cross valleys over old herder’s tracks above timberline where it is necessary to dismount and lead our horses over rugged terrain.

Itinerary


Sample Itinerary: Summer Program from July to September - subject to changes

Day 1 (Sunday): Arrival
Arrival in Colorado Springs. The airport shuttle will take you to the hotel. Dinner is not included but you have a 20% discount at the restaurant.
Overnight at Hotel in Colorado Springs

Day 2 (Monday): First ride into the mountains
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.
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. 
You will arrive at the trail head mid-morning, and we will 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 4 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.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight camping

Day 3 (Tuesday): Ride to Horse Thief Basin
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.
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.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight camping at Horse Thief Basin

Day 4 (Wednesday): Riding the Western Sangre de Cristo Range
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.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight camping at Rito Alto Creek or San Isabel Creek

Day 5 (Thursday): Rest Day (no riding) 
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.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight camping at Rito Alto Creek or San Isabel Creek

Day 6 (Friday): Ride back to trailhead and transfer to Colorado Springs
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).
At the end of your trip you will be returned to Colorado Springs 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. 
Meals included: Breakfast & Lunch

Note: 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 (extra fee). Enjoy great rides across the wide open rolling meadows. Overnights are in a very comfortable outfitter camp on the ranch - showers, heat, beds.

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Sample Itinerary: Early Season Program from May to July - subject to changes

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 (Sunday): Arrival
The airport shuttle will take you from Colorado Springs airport to the hotel. Dinner is not included but you have a 20% discount at the restaurant.
Overnight at Hotel in Colorado Springs

Day 2 (Monday): Ride to basecamp
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. We then start our ride amongst the peaks of Tanner and Curley in the San Isabel National Forest.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight at camping

Days 3 (Tuesday): Layover
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.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight at camping

Day 4 & 5 (Wednesday & Thursday): Ride to Grape Creek
Moving 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 2 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.
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Overnight at camping

Day 6 (Friday):
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). At the end of your trip you will be returned to Colorado Springs 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. 
Meals included: Breakfast & Lunch

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Alternate Itinerary: 
There are 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 July-September program, 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.

Fishing:
If you need to buy a fishing license, remember to ask your guide to stop before we pass through the town of Westcliffe.

Please note: Due to factors beyond our control, we occasionally find it necessary to change the order or the route of these activities.

Rates and Dates for Sangre de Cristo Ultimate

Dates Note:

Other Info
Meeting: Colorado Springs
Airport: Colorado Springs
Transfer: Colorado Springs hotel 7:30 am on Day 2.

Climate:
                                            Westcliffe area