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Adoption Status: NOT ADOPTED
3,821 acres (6.0 square miles)
How to get there
No Name Roadless Area is located about 8 miles north of
Leadville to the west of Tennessee Pass.
- Access
to No Name RA is from US Highway 24 between Leadville and Redcliff. The eastern
boundary of the unit is No Name Road (FS 705), which you can get to on its
south end just below the south side of Tennessee Pass, or on its north end near
Pando, about 4 miles south of Redcliff. This road is not plowed in winter.
There are no maintained hiking trails in this unit, although an unmaintained
trail climbs south from FS 705 along the Homestake Ridge on the western
boundary of the unit. This route provides a wonderful overview of the area,
particularly upper Bennett Gulch.
- The
USGS 7 1/2' quads for No Name roadless area are Pando, Mountain of the Holy
Cross, and Leadville North.
Setting
No Name RA is dominated by the high Homestake Ridge along
the Continental Divide, and the Bennett Gulch drainage to the Eagle River. The
head of Bennett Gulch at Homestake Ridge is a rugged, glacier-formed cirque,
below which sits an extensive wet subalpine meadow system in the drainage. The
ridge supports an alpine environment, and gives way to uplands forested with
Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir. Closer to FS 705, lodgepole pines and
aspens are present.
The elevation ranges from 10,600 (on FS 705) to 12,696 (at the
head of Bennett Gulch). While much of the terrain is rolling forest, the
Homestake and Continental Divide ridges are protected by very steep talus
slopes.
What’s special about it?
No Name RA is adjacent to the SE portion of the Holy Cross
Wilderness Area, and has retained a high degree of wilderness quality. The unit
has historically been free from human disturbance, and is an excellent place to
experience solitude in a pristine alpine setting. Hiking along Homestake Ridge
provides outsanding views of the Sawatch Range. The 10th Mountain Hut is just
south of the RA and provides backcountry skiing access to the this area. The
unit also sees a moderate amount of use by hunters.
The extensive wet meadows in upper Bennett Gulch are prime
examples of subalpine wetlands. This unit contains habitat for the endangered
lynx, and is part of a very important wildlife migration corridor along the
Continental Divide helping connect the Holy Cross Wilderness with the Eagles
Nest Wilderness areas. The Colorado Division of Wildlife may introduce bighorn
sheep into this area, which would be critical winter habitat for that species.
It is also summer range for deer and elk.
Potential threats
The Yoder timber sale has been proposed in the northern
portion of the RA, and would necessitate road construction in that area. The
unmaintained trail along Homestake Ridge from FS 705 is occasionally illegally used
by 4WD vehicles. The vehicle tracks may be seen crossing delicate sections of
alpine tundra. A small and undeveloped private inholding exists in upper
Bennett Gulch. Recreational development of that land could significantly alter
the character of that basin, especially if an access road were constructed.
Other info
The No Name RA is one of ten roadless areas that, with the
Holy Cross Wilderness Area, comprise a large roadless complex of over 165,000
acres (257 square miles). It is contiguous with the 7,700 acre Holy Cross East
roadless area on the San Isabel National Forest. Conservation groups have
identified and additional 24 roadless acres in the adjacent area.
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