"Took 10 hours RT from the Trailhead after driving up a horrible 4x4 road from our campsite lower down. The basin below the first pass is beautiful, but the trail up to the 12,700 foot pass is in terrible shape through overuse and erosion and a slip or fall could easily result in injury, especially on the descent if you are very tired or dehydrated. At one point we got off route on the crux section below one of the false summits and wasted 45 minute traversing sketchy boulders to get back on it. The weather held and views from the top were fantastic." — tlannin • Aug 11, 2023

"Got an early start to beat out the thunderstorms predicted to roll in as early as 10. Traversed over to the east peak and it was a bit spicier than expected, but a good chance to practice route finding and class 4 scrambling for when I finally make my way to the hardest 14ers. Snow is almost all gone with just a couple of unavoidable fields. Neither traction nor floatation necessary but you still might find slick rocks so watch your step. https://youtu.be/VfmlGpVuUmI" — cheeseishappiness • Jun 19, 2021

"Another perfect day in the Rockies! The wildflowers are starting to bloom and the marmots and pikas were chirping. The trail was snow-free until about 12,500', then patchy to the summit. The snow was mostly firm, but I did posthole in spots. This was my final 14er in the Sawatch Range. Next up....?" — WaxDr • Jun 11, 2016

"We arrived at the trail head parking lot just before 6 in the morning. It was still dark enough that we walked right past the place where the trail splits off from the dirt road. I would also like to add that the beginning of the trail needs a sign that is more clearly posted. It starts right near a wooden fence with multiple no trespassing, private property, and no parking signs; yet nothing that labels the spot as the trail. As a result of this mistake we ended walking a mile and a half further down the road before we found a sign that helped me determine that we had passed it a long time ago adding 3 additional miles to our hike before we even set foot on the trail. Nice. We were not the only ones who made this same mistake and we helped several other people find their way back to the elusive beginning of the trail. That being said, this is an amazing mountain, and well worth it! Fortunately, it was a beautiful, clear, and sunny day and the loss of time didn't matter much in the long run. When we finally did make the summit, although much latter than planned, it was still hot and sunny with no clouds anywhere in view. We decided to take advantage of this and continued on across..." — IanWright • Aug 18, 2015

"The trailhead isn't very clearly marked from the road you start on, but overall a beautiful hike. The big square rock after the switch backs out of the treeline is about half way up we found." — DaniB • Aug 18, 2015

"Began hike from campsite near Winfield ghost town at 6:30am, peaked at 11am, began descent at 11:30, arrived back at camp at 2:45pm. Heard thunder, but storm went around us. We hiked La Plata's southwest ridge trail (via the West Winfield TH) because the Lake Creek TH (northwest ridge) was temporarily closed. 11.4 miles RT, 4096' elevation gain. Colorado 14er #33." — Globetrotter87 • Jul 8, 2014

"Four of us camped at the trailhead and left at 4:40 the next morning. We summited at 9am, took some awesome photos at the top, and headed down. On our way from the road to the parking lot, we saw three ambulances and tons of rescue workers. Apparently, a person had taken a tumble and broke many ribs and other bones. We were fortunate enough to make it out ok though. Total time took 9 hours, due to some knee problems towards the end. Amazingly beautiful climb!! Climbed for Project54.org, one of the best fundraisers I know of." — gub40897 • Aug 27, 2011

"AMS kicked my butt near the summit. Took me way longer than it should have thanks to the drill gun pain in my temples. Did see two rare white Mt. goats on the descent though, made all the rangers jealous." — Christopher • Aug 3, 2011

"The first of the Great Labor Day trips where we bagged 4 14ers in two days. This was a fantastic, aesthetically pleasing climb that we had all to ourselves. A bit of rain and snow on the descent, but nothing we couldn't handle. " — ChrisMeloche • Aug 30, 1997