I have wanted to do a trip to south west Colorado for probably 4 years but due to certain things haven't been able to make it out until this year. I made this trip the priority at the beginning of the year and was eager to sign up for "100's in the Hills 7" when it finally opened. For those that don't know this is an event specifically for the 100 series land cruiser (and the LX470.) It started with just a few friends and has turned into a large event with over 100 vehicles this year. It is based out of Silverton Colorado and this year was held on July 26-30.
Since I had never been to the area I left early and made it into Telluride on Monday night. After bumping around town for a few minutes I drove up the highway and into the Alta Lakes area to find a spot to camp for the night. As I drove up the dirt access road the sun finally dropped below the mountain peaks and the rain continued to fall. Alta Lakes is a popular area and I found plenty of others around the lakes but was able to pull off the road and set up my spot for the night. This was my first big trip with my new vehicle drawers and I had planned to sleep in my vehicle which turned out to be a great choice due to the rain that would come each day for a least a little while.
Mining ruins just below Alta Lakes
I woke up early Tuesday and headed into Telluride to get a fishing license and a few provisions from the grocery store before heading on to Ouray and later into the mountain passes. My plan for the day was to run Corkscrew Gulch to Hurricane Pass then out California Gulch to the Alpine Loop where I'd find a place to camp for the night. Being on my own and having a heavy foot I didn't do a ton of dilly dallying on the trail. Corkscrew was beautiful and I got my first real taste of the views that would only get better each day.
Views on Corkscrew Gulch and Hurricane Pass
I quickly realized that the time estimates from the Charles Wells book I had consulted were garbage and I was able to cover a lot of ground in a relatively short amount of time. I started Corkscrew Gulch a little before noon and managed to get into Lake City and halfway done with the Alpine Loop around three or four hours later. I had zipped up a few side roads on the route and really loved what I saw.
American Basin
I did end up finding a place to camp on the top side of the Alpine Loop and got everything setup and a campfire made to cook some dinner. It was about 6:00 at that point and I ended up getting restless and packed things back up, put out the fire, and finished up the loop and went back into Ouray. It was raining really hard as I went over Engineer Pass but it was really pretty. I didn't get any pictures because of the rain but I really want to go back to look at a few things and to explore some of the spur roads in that area. I ended up camping right off highway 550 at Ironton Tuesday night.
I had a leisure morning on Wednesday and did Ophir pass into Telluride before returning and heading into Silverton for HIH check in. At the check in I talked to a guy (Stan) thats a big fly fisherman and got some tips on where to go to try and catch some fish. I ended up trying my hand in a river that wasn't too far away and caught a couple smallish brookies. They were the size I'm used to catching in the Uintas and I enjoyed being out on the water. I got rained on a decent amount while chasing fish but I seemed to dry out pretty quick despite the low temps.
Thursday I had signed up to run Imogene Pass and we got an early start meeting as a group at the only gas station in town. We made the trek to Ouray where one end of the trail was and quickly started to climb.
Right before we reached the summit there was this neat little ledge that we all drove out on for a picture. Dan Finn and his wife were on this trail with me and he took this one which was the best I had. Thanks Dan!
The backside of the trail ends in Telluride and the descent into town was beautiful. As we got closer to town you could see the steep switchbacks and waterfall from Black Bear Pass which was neat.
Almost at the bottom of the trail we got into a little stand off with another group that was coming up. The trail was too narrow for anyone to pass and there were 12 of us and a few more that had caught up. Coming the other direction were about 5 Jeepers and behind them a couple full size touring trucks. I was near the front so after nothing had been resolved walked down and saw that just a few hundred yards down the trail there was plenty of space for everyone to get through. Uphill we would have had quiet a way to go so I started at the bottom and asked if people would mind backing up so we could get moving. Everyone seemed okay with my plan but there were two grumpy older guys that didn't want to but eventually compromised. It took probably 45 minutes for the log jam to clear but we finally were free to wrap up the trail. My group returned through Ophir pass but I decided to take the highway so I could stop in Ouray. I had planned to fish on the way but ended up just showering instead because of how long the first trail had taken.
Thursday I had signed up for a fishing derby at Molas Lake but an hour before the meet up got bored and decided that rather than fish the lake I'd go to the other spot Stan had suggested I try to fish instead. The spot was on the Uncompahgre River on the backside of the dam at Ridgeway Reservoir. It took bit of time to drive there from Silverton but it was worth the drive. I've fished a lot but never really managed to do much on a river or with faster moving water. I found the place I wanted to start fishing and missed the first couple strikes on my fly (I never said I was any good at it....) but kept at it and managed to hook a brown trout. It was easily the biggest fish I'd ever caught and it really got me excited. A short time later I hooked a second that was much smaller but still fun nonetheless.
There were some other fisherman on the same stretch of the river so after I fished for a bit more I decided to cross the river on the bridge and try from the other side which had much less traffic. I spotted another big fish in a hole and spent the next 45 minutes trying to get him hooked without success. I changed flies and nymphs, and did everything I could think of before giving up and walking up the river a bit more. On my return trip I figured I'd throw the fly back in and see if I could get him and he took it right away. Another monster (to me) which was really fun.
I wrapped up and made the drive back to Silverton arriving around 3:00 which was also about the time it started raining. It continued to rain all night and we were happy that we had a lodge we could use for the potluck dinner. There was some great food and I was happy to catch up and get to know some internet friends in real life that I had met on MUD. If I were a drinking man I'd have been in heaven with all the beer that was brought to share from around the country. There were big huge boxes lined with garbage bags filled with cans and bottles and plenty of ice. I was content with my Dr. Pepper though.
- - - Updated - - -
It rained all through the evening Friday and didn't stop until about one or two in the morning. We awoke to low clouds and a bit of a muddy mess around camp anywhere there wasn't grass. I was getting lonely, wishing I had brought my son and decided to switch my trail for Saturday to Black Bear which I had planned to do Sunday before heading home so I could get back sooner. It helped my decision when I found out the trail I had been signed up to do I had mostly done on Tuesday so I really wasn't missing out on much.
As we started Black Bear Pass the clouds were low and there was a lot of fog. Visibility was poor but it made for an interesting feeling.
Throughout the climb to the summit pockets of clouds opened up revealing the green grasses and pretty wild flowers that were growing all over the hills and slopes.
The clouds came and went but after dropping down the "steps" on Black Bear it had cleared enough to get a couple neat shots looking down at Telluride.
There had been a little rock slide onto the trail so it took a few of us to clear off a few of the bigger rocks/boulders but then we found clear trail the rest of the way down.
It was a beautiful run and was the best trail I could have ended the trip on. I had considered just running it on my own Sunday, I would have been just fine but it was fun to do it with the group.
Saturday night capped the event with a big meal and the raffle drawing which had everyone excited. What I thought was neat about this raffle is that every driver gets just one ticket and they don't sell extras. In addition to that, they had a series of "grand prizes" that each driver could put their ticket into as sort of a targeted item drawing. The big prizes were bumpers, fridges, a roof rack and a roof top tent. If you already had bumpers you could put your ticket in for one of the other ones. They picked those first and set them aside then dumped what was left into a bowl for the main drawing which had some great stuff as well. Although I don't have bumpers I decided I wanted to put in for one of the three fridges because I thought I'd get the most use out of it and I didn't feel great about buying one because of how much I had into my Yeti cooler. I ended up winning a SnoMaster 42 liter cooler that Crux Offroad Trailers had donated which was really exciting. It came with a blanket and a remote temp gauge you plug into a 12v up front that lets you monitor vehicle battery and the temp of the fridge. If I were to buy one I probably would have gotten one a bit bigger but this will be a great size for me and my boy to use.
I ended up waking up early on Sunday and headed home right away. I had so much fun on this trip but really missed having Eli with me and wanted to get home to him and my wife. I kept thinking throughout the trip how much Eli would have enjoyed this or that and really hope to return next year for HIH8. This was my first trip to the area but it won't be my last.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far.
Since I had never been to the area I left early and made it into Telluride on Monday night. After bumping around town for a few minutes I drove up the highway and into the Alta Lakes area to find a spot to camp for the night. As I drove up the dirt access road the sun finally dropped below the mountain peaks and the rain continued to fall. Alta Lakes is a popular area and I found plenty of others around the lakes but was able to pull off the road and set up my spot for the night. This was my first big trip with my new vehicle drawers and I had planned to sleep in my vehicle which turned out to be a great choice due to the rain that would come each day for a least a little while.
Mining ruins just below Alta Lakes
I woke up early Tuesday and headed into Telluride to get a fishing license and a few provisions from the grocery store before heading on to Ouray and later into the mountain passes. My plan for the day was to run Corkscrew Gulch to Hurricane Pass then out California Gulch to the Alpine Loop where I'd find a place to camp for the night. Being on my own and having a heavy foot I didn't do a ton of dilly dallying on the trail. Corkscrew was beautiful and I got my first real taste of the views that would only get better each day.
Views on Corkscrew Gulch and Hurricane Pass
I quickly realized that the time estimates from the Charles Wells book I had consulted were garbage and I was able to cover a lot of ground in a relatively short amount of time. I started Corkscrew Gulch a little before noon and managed to get into Lake City and halfway done with the Alpine Loop around three or four hours later. I had zipped up a few side roads on the route and really loved what I saw.
American Basin
I did end up finding a place to camp on the top side of the Alpine Loop and got everything setup and a campfire made to cook some dinner. It was about 6:00 at that point and I ended up getting restless and packed things back up, put out the fire, and finished up the loop and went back into Ouray. It was raining really hard as I went over Engineer Pass but it was really pretty. I didn't get any pictures because of the rain but I really want to go back to look at a few things and to explore some of the spur roads in that area. I ended up camping right off highway 550 at Ironton Tuesday night.
I had a leisure morning on Wednesday and did Ophir pass into Telluride before returning and heading into Silverton for HIH check in. At the check in I talked to a guy (Stan) thats a big fly fisherman and got some tips on where to go to try and catch some fish. I ended up trying my hand in a river that wasn't too far away and caught a couple smallish brookies. They were the size I'm used to catching in the Uintas and I enjoyed being out on the water. I got rained on a decent amount while chasing fish but I seemed to dry out pretty quick despite the low temps.
Thursday I had signed up to run Imogene Pass and we got an early start meeting as a group at the only gas station in town. We made the trek to Ouray where one end of the trail was and quickly started to climb.
Right before we reached the summit there was this neat little ledge that we all drove out on for a picture. Dan Finn and his wife were on this trail with me and he took this one which was the best I had. Thanks Dan!
The backside of the trail ends in Telluride and the descent into town was beautiful. As we got closer to town you could see the steep switchbacks and waterfall from Black Bear Pass which was neat.
Almost at the bottom of the trail we got into a little stand off with another group that was coming up. The trail was too narrow for anyone to pass and there were 12 of us and a few more that had caught up. Coming the other direction were about 5 Jeepers and behind them a couple full size touring trucks. I was near the front so after nothing had been resolved walked down and saw that just a few hundred yards down the trail there was plenty of space for everyone to get through. Uphill we would have had quiet a way to go so I started at the bottom and asked if people would mind backing up so we could get moving. Everyone seemed okay with my plan but there were two grumpy older guys that didn't want to but eventually compromised. It took probably 45 minutes for the log jam to clear but we finally were free to wrap up the trail. My group returned through Ophir pass but I decided to take the highway so I could stop in Ouray. I had planned to fish on the way but ended up just showering instead because of how long the first trail had taken.
Thursday I had signed up for a fishing derby at Molas Lake but an hour before the meet up got bored and decided that rather than fish the lake I'd go to the other spot Stan had suggested I try to fish instead. The spot was on the Uncompahgre River on the backside of the dam at Ridgeway Reservoir. It took bit of time to drive there from Silverton but it was worth the drive. I've fished a lot but never really managed to do much on a river or with faster moving water. I found the place I wanted to start fishing and missed the first couple strikes on my fly (I never said I was any good at it....) but kept at it and managed to hook a brown trout. It was easily the biggest fish I'd ever caught and it really got me excited. A short time later I hooked a second that was much smaller but still fun nonetheless.
There were some other fisherman on the same stretch of the river so after I fished for a bit more I decided to cross the river on the bridge and try from the other side which had much less traffic. I spotted another big fish in a hole and spent the next 45 minutes trying to get him hooked without success. I changed flies and nymphs, and did everything I could think of before giving up and walking up the river a bit more. On my return trip I figured I'd throw the fly back in and see if I could get him and he took it right away. Another monster (to me) which was really fun.
I wrapped up and made the drive back to Silverton arriving around 3:00 which was also about the time it started raining. It continued to rain all night and we were happy that we had a lodge we could use for the potluck dinner. There was some great food and I was happy to catch up and get to know some internet friends in real life that I had met on MUD. If I were a drinking man I'd have been in heaven with all the beer that was brought to share from around the country. There were big huge boxes lined with garbage bags filled with cans and bottles and plenty of ice. I was content with my Dr. Pepper though.
- - - Updated - - -
It rained all through the evening Friday and didn't stop until about one or two in the morning. We awoke to low clouds and a bit of a muddy mess around camp anywhere there wasn't grass. I was getting lonely, wishing I had brought my son and decided to switch my trail for Saturday to Black Bear which I had planned to do Sunday before heading home so I could get back sooner. It helped my decision when I found out the trail I had been signed up to do I had mostly done on Tuesday so I really wasn't missing out on much.
As we started Black Bear Pass the clouds were low and there was a lot of fog. Visibility was poor but it made for an interesting feeling.
Throughout the climb to the summit pockets of clouds opened up revealing the green grasses and pretty wild flowers that were growing all over the hills and slopes.
The clouds came and went but after dropping down the "steps" on Black Bear it had cleared enough to get a couple neat shots looking down at Telluride.
There had been a little rock slide onto the trail so it took a few of us to clear off a few of the bigger rocks/boulders but then we found clear trail the rest of the way down.
It was a beautiful run and was the best trail I could have ended the trip on. I had considered just running it on my own Sunday, I would have been just fine but it was fun to do it with the group.
Saturday night capped the event with a big meal and the raffle drawing which had everyone excited. What I thought was neat about this raffle is that every driver gets just one ticket and they don't sell extras. In addition to that, they had a series of "grand prizes" that each driver could put their ticket into as sort of a targeted item drawing. The big prizes were bumpers, fridges, a roof rack and a roof top tent. If you already had bumpers you could put your ticket in for one of the other ones. They picked those first and set them aside then dumped what was left into a bowl for the main drawing which had some great stuff as well. Although I don't have bumpers I decided I wanted to put in for one of the three fridges because I thought I'd get the most use out of it and I didn't feel great about buying one because of how much I had into my Yeti cooler. I ended up winning a SnoMaster 42 liter cooler that Crux Offroad Trailers had donated which was really exciting. It came with a blanket and a remote temp gauge you plug into a 12v up front that lets you monitor vehicle battery and the temp of the fridge. If I were to buy one I probably would have gotten one a bit bigger but this will be a great size for me and my boy to use.
I ended up waking up early on Sunday and headed home right away. I had so much fun on this trip but really missed having Eli with me and wanted to get home to him and my wife. I kept thinking throughout the trip how much Eli would have enjoyed this or that and really hope to return next year for HIH8. This was my first trip to the area but it won't be my last.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far.
