Trailhead: On Colorado 17,.2 miles north of Cumbres Pass
or 7.2 miles south of La Manga Pass, at the junction with FR 118, the
Trujillo Meadows Reservoir Road.
Parking: Excellent parking on the west side of Colorado 17 at the
pull out for FR 118, or on the east side just south of this pull out.
Trailhead Elevation: 10, 022
Yurt Elevation: 11,100’
Yurt GPS: 37 02 604N; 106 29 859W
Mileage to the Yurt: 4.5 miles
Maps: Cumbres Pass, CO 7.5 min. USGS quad; Archuletta Creek, CO
7.5 min. USGS
Rio Grande National Forest
Directions to the Flat Mountain Yurt- The
trailhead is on Co. Highway 17 at Cumbres Pass, 14.2 miles north of
Chama, NM. One begins at the pullout for Trujillo Meadows Reservoir, FR
118. Do not follow FR 118. The trail to follow heads northwest, first on
FR 119 which later becomes trail 813 and then diverges to follow the
north ridge of the Wolf Creek drainage to the yurt. With your back to
the highway look to the left towards the trees for the large orange sign
which indicates the beginning of the route. You will follow the orange
trail blazes to the Flat Mtn. yurt. After skiing about 2.25 miles you
will come to a large open meadow area. You will want to pay particular
attention here as there is little to place markers on. You ski WNW
across the meadow passing an old abandoned car(if it's not buried) and
going past the private land fence. Look for orange markers hanging on
the trees to lead you into more open meadow. You will ski below a cabin
staying to the left following the orange markers which will now lead you
to the SSW. The trail will reenter the woods and continue in a WNW
direction to the yurt. The rest of the route should be easy to follow if
you keep an eye out for the orange trail markers. Just before the yurt
you will ski up into an open meadow. The yurt is at the far end of the
meadow tucked into the trees.
Directions from Flat Mountain Yurt to the Trailhead-Ski east
and down across the open meadow in front of the yurt following the
orange markers. You will follow a forest road about one mile then look
for the markers to turn left into a long meadow. You will ski below a
cabin then veer right through some trees into another open meadow which
has a fence and then the "dead car". Continue pass the
"dead car" and look for the markers to enter the trees on your
right. Here you will join a forest road which leads into another open
meadow. Ski east across this meadow looking for the orange markers on
the trees. This will lead you into another open meadow which you ski
across and follow the trail as it descends to the intersection with the
yurt to yurt trail to Neff Mountain Yurt, which will be marked with
yellow markers. You stay to the right and continue descending following
the orange markers. The last one and a half miles is well marked leading
to Co. Hwy. 17.
Click on Flat Mountain Yurt Map
to view the topo of the trail to the yurt. |
