Just recently got back from climbing Eoulus, Sunlight, and Windom and wanted to pass along some information, as well as solicit some.
Information solicited:
1. What is the correct pronunciation of Eoulus? I've heard everything from eee-oh-lus to eee-lus, to yohl-lus
2. We took a route up Eoulus which was pretty exposed. We crossed the sidewalk in the sky, turned SW (left) and took a trail approx. 75 yards horizontally, then hopped up a couple of ledges and basically assaulted the summit, coming out at the top ridge about 30 ft. south of the summit. Borneman's book, which borders the egotistical sometimes when describing the complexity and exposure of routes, describes an easy route, which it seems we were on, and a "somewhat exposed" bouldering route directly up to the summit. I can tell you that the entire route was VERY exposed! My definition of exposure includes VERy when you can meet your maker with a false step! At any rate, this mtn. proved more difficult (by nature of the exposure) than Sunlight and Windom, which I found to be fairly easy - but VERY fun summits!
Information provided:
1. I recommend taking the train from Silverton south, for those coming from Denver, if you have a short vacation. Check for times with the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge, but we left Silverton at 3:45 pm, got dropped off at Needleton at 5:00 pm, and hauled butt to make it to Chicago Basin by 8:15 - time to set up camp and have dinner. The train picks you up at 10:50 am, but it only took us 2:15 to hike out.
2. Everybody laments that they did not camp in the high basin. It would be nice, but the steep climb up those 1000' would be tough with heavy packs. If there were a dozen 14'ers up there, it might be a different story. However, I did have to hang my head when we climbed it Sunday to climbt Eoulus, and met an elderly couple coming down that trail with full packs!
3. Try to get back as close to the upper basin trailhead when camping in Chicago Basin, if you are attempting to climb the 14'ers. We did this, and were glad we did not choose a spot as soon as Chicago Basin opened up - it is pretty large, and it would be tempting to choose a spot at the beginning after a long hike.