Colorado 14ers: Red Cloud Peak & Sunshine Peak Virtual Trail Guide

Red Cloud Peak & Sunshine Peak are a pair of 14ers located outside of Lake City in southern Colorado. The hike up both summits is about 12.2 miles RT with 4,500 ft of elevation gain.
For a complete trail guide on these two 14ers, please visit: www.thevirtualsherpa.com/redc...
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[@grantskidmore6921]

Amazing, will definitely need to tag both these at the same time

[@WanderingWiley]

Man the views were incredible from those peaks, new to your channel but not for long

[@georgesheffield1580]

Remember the San Juans are the largest area over 10,000ft . And the views are of course fantastic. Lots of different geological formations for mountains . Half pk across the valley is spectacular .

[@jacobcoleman638]

Hey man killer videos! I just want to let you know that in large part due to your content and information you offer I have completed Mt. Shavano on Saturday and Huron Peak today. I'll be doing Mt. Yale tomorrow as well. Your videos are very helpful with what to expect and how to deal with these obstacles. Keep em coming and thanks again

[@georgesheffield1580]

Excellent comments on "social trails" .

[@spearfish]

I did these a month ago. Very enjoyable hike!

[@Synathidy]

Aww. I liked the Juno summit welcome. Really never too much of that adorable, snow-loving dog.

[@bmw328i8]

Love your vids man! I’m going to Leadville next week and then to Montrose to hike in the San Juan mountains! Hoping to knock out 4-5 14ers in a week! Coming in all the way from NC! 2nd time visiting CO! Did a winter hike at quandary peak in January which was BRUTAL! Lesson learned the hard way about hiking CO in winter...but keep it up bro!

[@habaceeba]

Nice report, but I would recommend descending the west face of sunshine and then working over to the north headwall into 'South Fork Silver Creek'. There are some steep and loose, yet descendable gullies there that get you to a trail that leads you back to the main ascent route.

[@markcolorado240]

Yes, that is how I did it, too. Got a few pebbles in my boots from the steep scree but it never felt unsafe. And after that it is an absolutely beautiful little valley leading back to the main trail.

[@jeffzhang4384]

Miss the snow on Colorado high peaks

[@rlstivers1]

Really enjoy your videos. So informative and definitely help us prepare. I do have a quick question. My wife and I did Quandary yesterday on my 61st birthday woohoo and honestly the loose rock and steps coming down wasn’t a ton of fun. Does the trail to RedCloud and Sunshine come anywhere close to that? Hoping it’s more of packed dirt or gravel. Mileage isn’t a problem for us but those loose rocks and seemingly endless steps are a pain. Thanks again for all the content. 👍

[@TheVirtualSherpa]

I would expect similar conditions. Less rock steps but MUCH more loose dirt and rock before gaining the summit to Red Cloud. The hike over to Sunshine involves some looser stuff too but the worst part of this hike is the ridge to the summit of Red Cloud which I show in the video.

[@rlstivers1]

@@TheVirtualSherpa Thanks!

[@c976061]

Love your video man was wondering can you treat red cloud like an out and back if I didn't want to do sunshine?

[@TheVirtualSherpa]

100% 👍🏽

[@Aidandenniston]

Juno forever

[@jeffweisbrod]

Great video! Hiking these two next week. Do you need a 4x4 vehicle to get to the trailhead? Just wondering cause we won't have one when we go. Thanks bud!

[@TheVirtualSherpa]

Nope - check out the full write up in the description, I talk all about the road.

[@georgesheffield1580]

Varies by year and season , other routes don't but are shorter and steeper

[@ericolson5041]

Nice video would u reccomend doing Sneffels peak as a first class 3 hike cause it looks pretty!

[@gregory_adam5350]

You didn’t ask me, but I did Sneffels last August as my 2nd 14er. Up the SW ridge and down the South Slopes. Fun and demanding, but not overly crazy. 👍🏻

[@TheVirtualSherpa]

Agree with Gregory, its a nice hike - very short, really only one class 3 move if you go the standard route. If you go the SW ridge there will be a lot more class 3 and exposure vs the standard route but I think both are great options.

[@ericolson5041]

The Virtual Sherpa cool thanks!

[@lhetes_fly]

I tried to do Redcloud the week before this video, but only made it to 13,390. I got altitude sickness so close to the summit. But I'm from NM, and it was my first hike in Colorado. Not the best Idea.

[@beccakreidler8290]

In all fairness for altitude sickness, you never know until you go. I came back and ran all for a month in Denver and in the surrounding foothills. I still ended up getting smacked with AS on Elbert.

[@littlegorilla23]

First great video

[@edwardlobb931]

There's a monotonous and desolate aspect to this area of the Rockies that turns me off. However, this is a great scramble and informative, to say the least. Thanks, as always.

[@zhuli693]

how about coming down sunshine via the northwest face route ?

[@HDhyper]

When was this hike?

[@zhuli693]

your dog is real strong, going all the way by himself ?

[@jaceakridge5346]

Did u just do this? I’m doing these this weekend and wondering about snow

[@TheVirtualSherpa]

Jace Akridge nope this is from a month back or so. All snow will be gone by now as it wasn’t an issue at all for me a month ago.

[@jaceakridge5346]

The Virtual Sherpa Awesome thank you!

[@thesamenumb5437]

Sorry if I missed it in the video, but how much water did you take?

[@TheVirtualSherpa]

Usually take at least 32oz - but everyone is different. I’d go more than you think you need and you can always pour out along the way

[@RJB]

What watch do you have on?

[@TheVirtualSherpa]

Garmin Fenix

[@ericpurdy2775]

Is there any camping spots on the trail or does it make the most sense to car amp at the trailhead?

[@TheVirtualSherpa]

Probably makes most sense to camp near the TH - talk more about camping here: www.thevirtualsherpa.com/redcloud-peak-sunshine-peak-colorado-14er-hike-review/

[@georgesheffield1580]

Mill creek campground a few miles Back down the road ,easily reached w/ normal car w/ access to Handies and Half Peak too.