Well, we went to the Southwest parts of Colorado from my home in Englewood, Colorado.
We decided not to camp on this trip at all. We made a last moment reservation for a hotel in Del Norte.
Saturday, we went to Del Norte. Our trail for that day was a “Wildlife Viewing†trail that we got a lead on from the NFS. It had an arch along the way that was great to stumble onto. Wildlife? There was an antelope the crossed the road right in front of the Jeep. It was pretty cool.
We went to “Wheeler Geologic Area†on Sunday. The geologic area resembles canyons like Brice or Cedar Breaks (both in Utah). It was a great place to see. There was something new around every corner. All the instructions to the area that we could find said to set aside 4 hours for the trip in and then again out. It took us just a little less than 2 hours. This is worth it if you are in the area. Teddy Roosevelt established the area as a national monument, but due to the remoteness of the area, it lost that status in 1950. From that trail, we took the “Silver Thread†scenic byway (US149) to Lake City.
Monday, we took the “Alpine Loop†or at least the Engineer Pass side of it. A great trail and just past the summit is the “Oh My†point. This is a place that gives you huge vistas to observe. The Fall Colors were just past peak. Lower Engineer Pass is a more challenging trail with steps, rock faces and lots of rocks as you approach US 550, The Million Dollar highway. We did Black Bear Pass down to Telluride (PUCKER FACTOR!!!) then Imogene Pass to Ouray.
Tuesday was our day in Silverton. We started by taking the gold mine tour at the “Old Hundred†mine. We took the trail up to Kendall Mountain (so high with very loose skree – Had to back up at the very top and it was difficult keeping my heart from bursting with the altitude). We had lunch at Romero’s then took RT110A up to California Pass, then Corkscrew Gulch to US550. It was so much fun we did it again. I really wanted to do the Poughkeepsie Gulch trail, but didn’t get the time to run it.
On Wednesday, we were going to go up Lower Engineer Pass to take Cinnamon Pass over to Lake City then up to Gunnison. Halfway up the hill we heard an odd sound and stopped to check it out. The front driver side leaf spring strap had broken at the top bushing. We turned around and headed back to US550. We didn’t want the axle to go off of the vehicle, so we went very slowly and tried not to get the front end to articulate too excessively. We made it down to US550 and all the way to Montrose. Montrose is a fair size city, so we thought it was the best, most easily available center for a repair. We went to Pollard Chrysler (they had the parts) and then to RockWorx 4X4 shop to get it put on. Total cost? $35.00 and 2-3 hours.
Thursday was our longest day. We headed North to Schofield Pass and the Devil’s Punchbowl. The trail was still closed below the iron bridge with a snowdrift across the trail. Even with 33†tires and front & back lockers, we decided not to take the chance on additional trail pin striping. There was a possibility that could have rode the crack between the drift and the rocks at the side of the trail, but our decision was not to try. We return the way that we came. From Crested butte, we took Brush Creek trail to the Pearl Pass trail. We went over the top to find snow on the other side. We took Taylor Pass from the Aspen side over to the Taylor Lake Reservoir road. That is one rocky and challenging trail. As a good friend of mine always says, “After all, they call them the Rocky Mountains, not the Smoothy Mountains!†Long day!
Friday, we left Gunnison by exploring some side roads and ending up taking Tomichi Pass and then over Hancock Pass and back to Denver.
Saturday, we attended a “Star Party†with our Celestron C8-SGT telescope in the Pawnee National Grasslands.
Sunday, we went home via the Moody Hill trail to Crystal Mountain. Always a fun, challenging trail and a great end to a week of trail riding vacation!
