Sarah and I decided that our 2011 camping trip to Colorado was undeniably inadequate to really experience this state. We realized that there was so much to enjoy, we should break it into manageable sections, so as to get off the beaten path a bit.
In this case, "off the beaten path" means as far from a paved road as we can get. In our Colorado trip last summer, we had some spectacular hikes, and some great camping, but we had yet to do a real backpacking trip. We spent the beginning part of 2012 accumulating our backpacking gear (an excuse to hang around REI so much people starting asking for our opinion on freeze-dried meals -- Mountain House are superb -- other ones, make sure you check the instructions so you don't find yourself in need of a dutch oven, a Viking range, or other "kitchen-sink" luxuries).
This newly acquired gear we tested out on a hike on Mt. Wrightson in southern Arizona. It worked well, so we set off for the San Juan mountains of southwestern Colorado in late July. After a depressingly long drive through the Rez, we spent the night in Cortez (home of Osprey packs, for you outdoorsy folk). The next morning we hit the Million Dollar Highway between Durango and Silverton.
When the views are this great from the road, imagine how great they will be from the backcountry!
Surveying my domain....
We arrived in Silverton in time for a quick lunch at the Avalanche Brewing Company. One of the many things I like about Colorado is that it seems as though every little coffee shop, diner and lunch counter makes their own beer, and refers to themselves as a brewpub. Fine by me!
A bit behind schedule, we turned off the paved road (and there's only one in Silverton), and headed into the San Juan backcountry toward the Alpine Loop. This is a series of jeep roads through some of the most untouched wilderness of Colorado. We took Sarah's Subaru rather than my Accord on this trip for the dirt road capabilities, but weren't planning on putting them to the test much. My map said that the stretch of county road we were heading down was "maintained dirt." I soon learned that this was a relative term, as I white-knuckled the steering wheel at 4 mph down a five-foot wide goat path with steep drops a c-hair's width from my right tires.
Abandoned silver (or copper) mine. This one was near a road, though we would later camp near a mine far removed from any roads.
Did I mention it was 70 degrees and sunny? About 45 degrees cooler than Phoenix.
Ok, so this stretch wasn't so bad, but a lot of it was tricky driving. Of course, if we had 4x4s/ATVs like a few people did, we could just as easily jeep our way through the rivers and over the mountain pass instead of walking (Dan sternly shakes his head at this...)
This is where we leave Sarah's trusty steed behind and set out on foot. I thought we should put it down, but Sarah pleaded me not to. -- weird that there were so many Subarus...
The plan was to hike over a ridge to the east of where we parked, and into American Basin from the southwest. We only had to go about 5 miles, with an elevation gain of 3000 ft. No big deal right? Well, not except for the fact that we were already at 10,000 ft. We started feeling the effects of the altitude right away; it was also the first time we hiked with considerably heavy packs. We brought what we thought were 4 days worth of rations (though it turned out to barely last us 3), and our packs were pushing 40-50 lbs.
It got a bit windy too...we were almost to the treeline when we started!
I have no idea how to work this GPS!! It stayed in my bag most of the time. I relied on a compass and topo map. I'm such a luddite sometimes.
After several hours and many stops for air, we reached the pass. The wind threatened to blow us over, but the views were spectacular! The red iron in the mountains was something I had never seen before; and the contrast with the cloudy blue backdrop of the sky was breathtaking. We were bushed and losing daylight, so we only made it a few hundred feet below the ridge-line before pitching camp. Our campsite was well above 12,000 feet, and we woke the next morning with some altitude headaches. But enjoying our freeze-dried breakfast skillet under a beautiful sunrise over the peaks to our east made it well worth it.
Sunset from the pass...
Our tent, totally exposed...just us, the wind, and the marmots up here...
After our re-constituted breakfast scramble and coffee (thank you Mountain House, Starbucks Via, and Jetboil!), we set off down the ridge. We continued to head east, skirting the south end of American Basin. Google this gem up, it's well known as one of the prettiest spots in the country. An assessment with which I totally concur. After dropping down a bit, we picked up Grizzley Gulch Trail, and began the ascent of our second fourteener together.
We're off -- Yes, I know I'm an old man for using trekking poles, but they saved me from a tweaked knee more than once.
American Basin looking north. Most approach it from the north, where a rugged Jeep road will take you to the end of the Grizzley Gulch trail.
Marmot!!!
Sloan Lake
Sarah needed to borrow my dopey hat. At this elevation, you could actually see her skin turn red in real time.
From the top of Handies Peak, our second 14er together (well, our second, period).
From here we headed down into Grizzley Gulch north toward the Alpine Loop "road". I'll step aside here, and let the pictures do the talking, since this was one of my favorite stretches of trail anywhere. I love woods and trees, but there is something otherworldly about being above the treeline. It's barren and beautiful.
Ugh...it's so heavy, and I have to put it back on...
Marmot!!!
Ok, so so-called "ultralight hikers" would faint at this sight, we found that the trail stools were well worth their weight. When you want to take a break for lunch, a rock or the ground is not where I want to sit.
Descending towards the trees.
Where we met up with the Alpine Loop road. We pitched camp about 0.5 miles on the other side, up Silver Creek Trail, where we ran out of energy.
After our second day of hiking, I realized that I had made two miscalculations. First was how much food was required on these little jaunts. The original plan had been for this to be a four day, three night hike, possibly with the ascents of Sunshine and Redcloud Peaks, two 14ers in the vicinity. I soon learned that four Mountain House meals and some bars per day for the two of us was far too little food. We were burning calories at a rapid clip, and needed to consume them appropriately. For anything longer than a three day hike, we would need to rig my bear vault to the exterior of my pack to make more room.
The second miscalculation was how far we could travel each day. I had what turned out to be a totally unreasonable goal of about 10-13 miles per day. That sounds fine from my living room, but when each mile is over rough terrain, and usually involves 500-1500 feet in elevation change with a heavy pack, you realize that's not going to happen. Our first day we made it five, and around seven our second day.
With only enough food for one more day, and over nine miles to get back to our car, we decided to skip Sunshine and Redcloud, and head straight along the Alpine Road, over Cinnamon Pass, back towards the car. The road was easier to hike than the trail -- barely. But let me explain; when I speak of a road, you might conjure in your head perhaps some asphalt, or at least some gravel or dirt someone has attempted to level. The Alpine Road is steep, narrow, and has large boulders jutting from it at frequent intervals. We were passed by ADV bikes, dirt bikes, jeeps, trucks, and the occasional Subaru, but most of the time we had the road to ourselves. Which was fine with us, until the storm rolled in...
Not sure I like the looks of those clouds...
Yeah, it got wet...and cold. But my Astro is a real trooper. I'm so lucky to have a gal that will do this stuff with me!
The road went past the north end of American Basin, then switch-backed up over Cinnamon Pass. We were rained on several times. The first couple of times we huddled under the tent rain fly, receiving several strange glances from passing ATV-ers, but after a while we numbed ourselves to the torrential downpour and just trudged onward. We sure know how to have fun! Really! It was! And it was just as pretty to see the clouds rolling over the peaks, even through the occasional clap of thunder that told us we better hurry and get our butts off the mountain, as it was to see them under sunshine.
A mile down from Cinnamon Pass, we were dangerously behind schedule to make it to the car with enough daylight to drive back to Silverton. Because of this we did something I wouldn't recommend without extenuating circumstances -- we hitched a ride out.
It's not as dangerous as you might think. The only people out this far in the wilderness are like-minded explorers that just love nature and the outdoors. Most everyone we ran into was uber-friendly, and chatted with us about the best trails, where to go next, etc. We ran into a couple ADV-ers on new BMW GS12As, and they gave me some riding tips (though I don't think I'll be taking my VStrom on this road any time soon).
Anyway, a couple from Texas in a rented jeep stopped as we were hiking down from Cinnamon Pass and offered us a lift. We were tired and cold, so we accepted. They were very nice, and took us most of the remaining three miles towards our car. The guy and me swapped cards, and they headed up the dirt towards Ouray, but told us they would be staying in Silverton. We had just lost sight of them when I realized my trekking poles were still in the jeep! No cell signal out here, of course. We later called them when we got back to Silverton, and he met up with us for some good old fashioned microbrew to get my poles back. Faith in humanity restored!
Back at the car, tired and wet.
One last look before we head out.
Up next, our drive up the rest of the Million Dollar Highway to Ouray...
US 550 heading north from Silverton towards Ouray. Note both the beautiful scenery and the terrifying drop off the edge.
Million dollar views. Sarah is driving, and while she's a fine driver, I have control issues, so the views are the only thing preventing sharp inhalations as our tires pass inches from a 500 foot drop
The main drag in Ouray. We loved this little town so much we made a point of staying the night here on our way back.
One of the reasons we like Ouray (pronounced Yur-ay) was this place. Do not miss it! Best sundaes and lattes in CO.
What Mouse's is to dessert, this place is to breakfast.
From Ouray, we abandoned our plans to camp, and headed up to Montrose for the night. From there we headed to Colorado Springs to visit Sarah's parents, and then stopped by Buena Vista to see her grandparents. We didn't take many pictures, but see our Colorado Trip 2011 blog for some shots of Garden of the Gods and the Collegiate Peaks. We had planned to head back through the Telluride side of the loop, but decided to try the Bear Creek National Recreation Trail for a couple days.
This trail starts right off the US550 just south of Ouray, so we camped in Ridgway, and had breakfast at another great spot in what was quickly becoming our favorite town. We hit the trail mid morning, and started off with a grueling switchback ascent. The views were worth it, and the trail soon headed along the side of a steep canyon.
View of the initial climb, looking west...
Heading east, we round a curve, and the valley starts narrowing into a steep canyon.
Uh.....
Sarah, be careful!
Looking down at the creek.
"Don't fall, don't fall, don't fall...."
A couple hard hours into the hike, we broke out into a meadow. We thought our climbing was done, but we were wrong.
An hour or so later, we reached the remnants of Grizzly Bear mine. Sound like a perfect place to camp!
I've earned it...
Scanning the ridgeline...no grizzlies, just deer.
We decided to make this spot our base camp for two nights, and head out for Engineer Pass the next day. This would allow us to travel a bit lighter and give our legs a break.
We started out the next day following the same creek. The water looked crystal blue!
Back near the treeline....but wait! What the heck's that sound?
Sheep. Lots and lots of sheep. This is all public land, and grazing is allowed. A couple of sheep dogs came and escorted us past them, barking at us in warning not to stray off the trail.
We made it up to Engineer Pass, elevation 12,800 feet. Great 360 views
Part of the Alpine Loop road goes over this pass
Heading back toward camp. I just like this shot of the creek.
The next day we headed back the way we came towards Ouray. We had enjoyed every second of being out in the wilderness, but we were now intent on enjoying a very large meal, some adult beverages, and a soak in the natural hot springs!
This might be one of my favorite pictures of the trip!
When we arrived back to civilization (i.e. Ouray), we celebrated with some brats and beers at a German-style biergarten with views of the cliffs. We then found our way to a roof-top bar, followed by dinner, and another beer at the "Ourale Brewery". After that we took a relaxing evening constitutional around town and took it all in.
Rooftop drinks as the sun begins to set.
The county building
Most of the streets in Ouray are gravel, but there is a beautiful mix of modern houses and restored Victorians. The year round population is only a couple thousand, but everyone seems to take a real sense of pride in their town. Almost every yard is meticulously maintained, and everyone is friendly and welcoming. It might be too small for me to live in, but I could certainly see snatching up a small condo or timeshare here if I ever had the means.
After our walk (and another stop at Mouse's), we relaxed in the spring-fed hot tubs at the Box Canyon Lodge. It was just what our sore legs needed, but we were still creaky and needed frequent stops on our 10 hour drive home the next day.
I have come to love the San Juan Mountains so much, in equal parts for the views and the isolation. The towns in this area are small, and everyone shares a love for the wilderness surrounding them.
I hope this blog showed how much we enjoyed it. Really, though, there is no substitute for seeing it yourself. Put a week-long trip to this area on your bucket list -- you won't regret it.