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CO - Ouray, Silverton, Lake City, Telluride Experts - Part II

cruiseroutfit

cruiseroutfit

Cruizah!
Moderator
Vendor
Location
Sandy, Ut
The last planning thread was so helpful, I figured I'd start another :D

I'll be in Ouray next month with members of the Wasatch Cruisers. The group will consist of some that have been to the San Juans and some that have not. For that reason I want to try and do some new to me trails as some of the others will inevitably be doing the "must see" trails ie Engineer, Imogene, Black Bear, etc.

In 2006 I did:
Black Bear Pass
Imogene Pass
Mineral Creek
Engineer Pass
Cinnamon Pass
Corkscrew Gulch

While they are all worth doing again, its a long drive out there and I want to see at least a couple of new sites this year. Using the Wells book as my guide, here are those I haven't done:

My 2008 hitlist:
Last Dollar Road
Yankee Boy Basin
Governor Basin
Ophir Pass, Alta Lakes
Clear Lake
Poughkeepsie Gulch
Red Mountain Mining Area
California Gulch
Wager Gulch
Picayne & Placer Gulches
Eureka Gulch
Stony Pass

Seeing as I'll likely only have 3 days on the trail... which would you do? How would you route them? We will be base camping in Ouray each night, so all plans need to have us leaving there in the morning and arriving there each evening.

Thanks in advance!
 
Greg

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Location
Grand Junction, CO
Yankee Boy Basin looks amazing, when I took my motorcycle ride down there a few weeks ago I went a little ways up Yankee Boy Basin. I didn't think I had enough time to explore the whole area, so I turned back. I believe it's an out-and-back trail. Looking forward to getting back up there.

California Gulch is neat, just above Animas Forks. I rode up to the switchbacks, then turned back. It does go over the mountain, but I'm not sure where it goes from the top.

California Gulch images-

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321819338_BNFdf-L.jpg
 
XJEEPER

XJEEPER

Well-Known Member
Location
Highland Springs
Poughkeepsie is a must do, you should have clear trails by August. Yankee Boy is loaded with wildflowers, but as Greg said, a loop run. Red Mountain is fun to check out, Engineer has some great views with mining history too.
 
kkemp

kkemp

Active Member
Location
Salt Lake
Poughkeepsie, Yankee Boy and Governer Basin are great. Didn't care much for Last Dollar. Ophir Pass was OK but not great. Most of the others in your must do list are also good trails. There all just senic drives so don't expect anything technical. Poughkeepsie has one obstacle that is difficult when it's muddy.
 
cruiseroutfit

cruiseroutfit

Cruizah!
Moderator
Vendor
Location
Sandy, Ut
What kind of vehicle requirements would you guys "recommend" for Poughkeepsie? Lockers? 33" tires? Sliders? Seems there is a varying amount of info on this trail, from "easy" to "extremely difficult". I'll take your word over a random internet trip report any day :D
 
RockMonkey

RockMonkey

Suddenly Enthusiastic
Poukeepsie is a must-do. A rear locker and rocker protection are good ideas. It's not extreme, but it would be tough in a stocker.
 
BroncoMama

BroncoMama

Rock Diva
Location
Just south of craziness
Stony Pass is BORING! I would highly recommend avoiding that one. Plus, you'll end up in Creede which is a hella long way from Ouray. Stony turns off of Cunningham Gulch which is a pretty drive and not nearly the commitment of the pass. Plus, there might be some wild raspberries up there if you're really lucky. ;)


Picayne and Placer will take you to California Gulch. A very pretty drive and coming down California, you'll get to see the Sound Democrat Mill: wicked cool. From California, you can either go down into Animas Forks or go up to the top then head over Hurricane into Silverton. From the top you could also go down Poughkeepsie Gulch, but I think Poughkeepsie is more fun coming up from Engineer.

Ophir Pass is basically a short cut to Telluride. It's a dirt road that goes over a mountain. We always combine that with Imogene Pass and Yankee Boy.

We are pretty big fans of the Red Mountain Mining area. We took Cody, Dom, and the Carl's back there and it's really pretty cool. Lots of neat mining implements and a ton of history. I would highly recommend a jaunt in that vicinity! :)
 
BroncoMama

BroncoMama

Rock Diva
Location
Just south of craziness
cruiseroutfit said:
What kind of vehicle requirements would you guys "recommend" for Poughkeepsie? Lockers? 33" tires? Sliders? Seems there is a varying amount of info on this trail, from "easy" to "extremely difficult". I'll take your word over a random internet trip report any day :D
Click to expand...

I agree with Braden, a rear locker is a must and if it's wet and muddy, you'll need a front one as well for anything but the easy line. There's technically 3 different lines on "the wall" varying from pretty easy to whoop your butt if it's wet. And with the amount of snow that's still up there, I'm guessing it will be wet. :)

Also, is Eureka Gulch the road off of the road to Animas Forks right above the townsite of Eureka? If so, that's a cool road as well. Up at the top there is a crapton of mines. Plus, that's where Lake Emma was before they mined the bottom of it.
 
cruiseroutfit

cruiseroutfit

Cruizah!
Moderator
Vendor
Location
Sandy, Ut
Thoughts:

Thursday – Aug 14
Arrive to Ouray ~noon, check in to KOA, lunch and depart for trails
Yankee Boy Basin (Pg 36, 3-5 Hours roundtrip, Ouray to Ouray)
Governors Basin (Pg 41, 1 hour roundtrip from Yankee Boy Basin)

Friday – Aug 15
Ouray to Red Mtn. Min. Area Trailhead (30 minutes)
Red Mountain Mining Area (Pg 65, 3.5 hours from Ouray to Silverton)
Lunch in Silverton (1.5 hrs)
Eureka Gulch (Pg 81, 1.5 hrs)
Picayne & Placer Gulches (Pg 79, 1.5 hrs)
California Gulch (Pg 69, 1 hr)
Poughkeepsie Gulch (Pg 59, 2 hours to Ouray)

Saturday – Aug 16
Ouray to Ophir Pass Trailhead (30 minutes)
Ophir Pass & Alta Lakes (Pg 51, 3 hrs)
Lunch in Telluride (1.5 hrs)
Last Dollar Road (Pg 35, 2 hours)
Highway back to Ouray (30 minutes)

Sunday – Aug 17
Mine Tour?
Depart for SLC


Too much on Friday?
 
cruiseroutfit

cruiseroutfit

Cruizah!
Moderator
Vendor
Location
Sandy, Ut
Had an amazing trip, ran most of the trails I planned, as well as the old Highway 90 from Montrose to Nucla, CO and then the scenic highway 141 through Gateway, CO to Grand Junction. Thanks for the advice, our timing was dead-on throughout the days and Poughkeepsie was a blast :cool:

Formal trip report one of these days :D
 
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