Sunshine Peak via Redcloud Peak

Looking forward to an exciting hike in just two days. Let’s crush it!

Start time from 2WD Lot: 5:00 am
Start time from 4WD Grizzly Gulch TH: 6:00 am

• We will ALL meet at the 2WD Pullover at 5:00 am. Then, we can see if we have enough 4WD vehicles to help everyone up to the 4WD Grizzly Gulch TH. We will start the hike from Grizzly Gulch TH at 6:00 am.
• For a typical 2WD car: Most people park at one of the wider pullouts before the road gets rocky/washed out. Obviously, if you have a higher clearance vehicle and just want to meet at 6 PM from the grizzly Gulch TH and not help get people up to the TH, that is fine and entirely your choice.
  This is usually around 0.5–1.5 miles before the actual Grizzly Gulch trailhead, depending on road conditions and driver comfort.
  Expect embedded rocks, ruts, and narrow sections as you get higher.

Route info:
Sunshine Peak via Redcloud Peak

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Let’s Hike Sunshine Peak via Redcloud Peak in the San Juan Mountains!
Redcloud Peak and Sunshine Peak are remote 14ers south of Lake City, Colorado.

This route is the most efficient way to summit both Redcloud Peak and Sunshine Peak at once. While some hikers choose to complete a loop by descending Sunshine’s northwest face, the easiest and safest approach is to summit Redcloud first, traverse to Sunshine, and then return over Redcloud for the descent. Although this option requires some elevation re-gain on the return, it is still considered the best overall route: https://www.14ers.com/route.php?route=suns2

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🗓 Date: Sunday, May 24, 2026
⏰ Meet Time: 5:00 AM at 2WD Pullover
We’ll depart at 6:00 AM from Grizzly Gulch TH. I’ll wait up to 15 minutes past 6:00 am, but we can’t delay beyond that. If you’re running late or need to reach me, please text 312-669-4795 (faster than Meetup). I can wait briefly for someone already on the way if it won’t impact the rest of the group. Feel free to text or message me if you have additional questions.

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🥾 Route: Sunshine Peak via Redcloud Peak
Class: 2
Trailhead: Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch TH
Road Difficulty: 3

Click on the above links to access 14ers.com info.

📏 Hike Details:

• Distance: 12.25 miles roundtrip
• Elevation Gain: 4,800 ft

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🌤 Weather: I will be checking the weather on NOAA, Mountain Forcast, and Open Snow. If there are predicted thunderstorms in the morning I will reschedule the hike.

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🗺 Trail Maps & Navigation:
Highly recommend downloading the route photos and GPX file from 14ers.com. I’ll have them saved on my phone, so no worries if you don’t—just a good backup! I'll also have a Garmin InReach Mini device with SOS and map downloaded.

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👋 About Me:
I’ve completed 35 of Colorado’s 14ers and plan to finish the full list over the next few years. Have summited several class 4s and 3s. I’m flexible with pace, as long as we move steadily enough to avoid the risk of summiting too late in the day (afternoon thunderstorms are unpredictable in the summer!).

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Let me know if you have questions—looking forward to a beautiful day on the mountain!