And it offers one of my personal favorite dayhikes of all time, the Sneffels Highline Trail. Alpine Tundra with dramatic peaks and serrated ridges, including one fourteener, Mt. Sneffels. Geologically, the area was rich in volcanic activity between 10 and 40 million years ago. Mt. Sneffels itself is an igneous intrusion, formed when molten lava pushed up the substrata, hardened and became exposed as the covering layers eroded away. Volcanic flows created many of the crags, making climbing on the crumbling rock a true challenge - and danger.
Alpine tundra covers most of the wilderness.
Although not particularly rich in the diversity of flora and fauna, the land is home to elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, black bear, bobcat, mountain lion and golden eagle. Smaller mammals include pika and snowshoe hares. In the summer, plan for a cool climate and take rain gear. The morning sky may be crystal blue, but I have spent one cold, wet afternoon atop Blue Lakes Pass . As with much of the Colorado Rockies, rain and lightning are not uncommon late in the day.