The Million Dollar Trek – named after the famed Million Dollar Highway that connects Ouray and Silverton – is a five-day, four-night guided trip in the San Juan Mountains, where trekkers travel lightly, carrying nothing more than a daypack.
You may be wondering, “How can hikers possibly go so long with so little gear?”
It’s because they’ll be hiking between huts where they’ll sleep and eat two meals a day, eliminating the need for heavy packs.
“People’s packs are fairly light, so it allows us to cover ground a little more easily than if we were loaded down with full backpacking packs,” said Patrick Ormond, a guide with the San Juan Mountain Guides for 15 years.
In the daypacks, all trekkers need to bring is food for the day and clothing layers, Ormond said.
The rest of the gear will be waiting for them each night at one of the three backcountry huts nestled in the San Juan Mountains.
The range spans 12,000 square miles and is regularly celebrated for its striking beauty. It falls along the Continental Divide and Mineral Belt, where people have historically mined for silver, gold and other minerals.
Ormond said its rich mining history is part of what makes the trek possible.
“We’re connecting it all, these three huts, with a variety of different trails and old mining trails … so it’s an amazing path that links up all these different high alpine basins,” he said.
Anyone can book spaces and take a four-wheel drive up to the privately owned huts. There’s also a lot of different mountain huts in the state and around America.
“But at most of those huts … you’re self-supported. … You’re bringing a sleeping bag, a pad and you might have to bring a stove, you’re bringing your food and you’re cooking,” said Ormond. “The more European Alp style, like what we’re doing, you don’t really find it anywhere else in the U.S. It’s a pretty cool thing to have right here.”
Each day, trekkers travel 6 to 11 miles, while gaining between 2,000 and 4,500 feet in elevation on terrain that’s sometimes steep and loose.
“It’s not all on manicured trails … so it does take a little bit of knowledge of the terrain,” said Ormond. “I think a lot of folks want to do it with a guide, to have that comfort of mind while they’re out there to make sure they’re going the right way.”
Up until the very end of the last day, the trek is above the tree line, at altitudes upward of 11,000 feet. Even when it’s hot down in the valley in the summers, it’s always cool and more comfortable up there, Ormond said.
But because of this high elevation, Ormond recommends that people coming from sea level arrive at least a few days in advance to allow their body to adjust.
Though this marks the second summer of the Million Dollar Trek, the guiding company has hosted a similar trip and on a similar route, but on skis for about four years now, in early spring.
“Last summer, we said, ‘Why don’t we do this in the summer, let’s give this a try’ and so we put some dates out and people jumped on it. They pretty much all filled up,” Ormond said.
This summer, there are eight guided treks. They’ll go into early October to see peak Aspen colors. The trip costs $2,199, and if you’re interested you can sign up at bit.ly/MillionDollarTrek.
Since the early 1990s, the San Juan Mountain Guides have been guiding in the range. It’s mostly been climbing-centric for that time, whether it be scaling the more technical 13ers and 14ers or ice climbing.
They also offer a lot of backcountry skiing in the winter, and wilderness trekking too.
The Million Dollar Trek is just a new addition to what they do.
“We’ve been in the zone for a long time, we know these mountains well. We’re psyched to get out with people and show them what’s here,” said Ormond. “Human-powered activity up in the mountains, it’s highly rewarding.”
