I went to Slide Lake in the Uncompahgre Wilderness area in August 2001 with my friends Amit, Ruth, Dan, Brian, David, and Lori. We had planned to get to the Uncompahgre peak, but weather and altitude sickness curtailed the length of our hike. We still had a great time, though!
Slide Lake lies within the Uncompahgre Wilderness area:
Since it is a Wilderness area, there are no machinery or improvements of any kind (no park benches, water pumps, etc) in the park. You have to be prepared, but the land is completely unspoiled!I don't remember which book we used to find out about the trails, but this website lists two books that may be helpful. We got the USGS topo maps of the area for planning our hike. You can download high-res digital topos and print them yourself, or you can order a map from MyTopo.com -- they're beautiful and printed on water-resistant paper. You will want at least the following 7.5minute (24k) DRGs:
We put in near the Big Blue Campground (top right of the Sheep Mtn quad) camped near Slide lake (bottom right of Sheep Mtn quad). The trail gets much more rugged going up to Uncompahgre peak (middle of Uncomp. Mtn. quad). You absolutely need to have a four wheel drive, high clearance vehicle to get to the Big Blue trailhead. You can find the jeep trails and roads to reach the trailhead on the Sheep Mountain, Alpine Plateau, and Lake City quads. Outfitters in Lake City can shuttle you if you don't have a 4x4.
Lake City, CO in Hinsdale County is the closest town (and a beautiful, friendly one). if you call their tourist info # (1-800-569-1874) they should be able to give you more information.
