shane h.
Well-Known Member
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Long post - Picture intensive.
We took our annual trip to Silverton this year in late September hoping to time it right to catch the aspens in turn. When we arrived, most of the aspens were green. When we left, most had turned gold. We missed peak by a week, but we got to watch as fall took hold of the mountainsides. My wife and I were joined by three other friends for a week of mountain majesty and a little mountain madness. We covered a lot of "first time" trails on this trip. We missed some of our standards - Engineer & Cinnamon (Alpine Loop) and Stoney Pass - because of time and weather.
After four good trips to the San Juans I have learned that if there is a side road or a cut-off, take it. There is magic in the mountains.
Saturday, September 17, 2022 - DFW to Tucumcari
A 6am start from DFW got us to the Coyote Bluff Cafe in Amarillo for lunch. Best hamburgers in Amarillo. The place is small so you may have to wait a bit. Bring a cold pop and enjoy the wait because the food is worth it. From Amarillo we had an easy drive to Tucumcari - our first day's destination. About 7 hours of driving down today. We stayed at the famous Blue Swallow Motel on Old 66 in Tucumcari. This place is vintage greatness, full of authentic 50's furniture and most rooms still have their own garage.
Sunday, September 18, 2022 - Tucumcari to Silverton
With 7+ hours still to go to get to our rooms in Silverton, we left Tucumcari at first light. The stretch of I-40 from Amarillo to Albuquerque is the worst part of our trip coming and going. The absolute mess of traffic running at speeds from 50mph to 90mph and wave after wave of semi wolf packs will drive you crazy if you let it. The drive up to Durango from Albuquerque on US550 is easy, and then the mountains begin, and all of the worries and stress just melt away.
We arrived in Silverton around 3pm and drove to our lodging at The Alma House Inn. We've stayed there for three trips running now and have become fast friends with the caretakers Albert and Betty. I cannot imagine visiting Silverton now without staying at The Alma House. Albert and Betty saw us pull up and met us in the lot with hugs and smiles. We talked a bit and looked at the flowers that were still in bloom in the Inn yards even with the colder temps. We walked over to Main for a funnel cake, then back to the Inn where Claire cooked dinner for everyone on the Inn's gas grill. We hit the sack fairly early with a 7am breakfast appointment.
Monday, September 19, 2022 - Porphyry Gulch, Ironton, Ophir Pass to Alta Lakes to Ophir Pass
The day's weather was perfect. Partly cloudy with lows around 35 and highs in Silverton around 60.
Albert makes the best looking breakfast plate you have ever seen, and the food tastes better than it looks. After breakfast, we headed up the Million Dollar Highway to the Porphyry Gulch turn off (turn west off of 550 just south of the Black Bear Pass turn off - the turn is easy to miss). If you are going to run Porphyry, run it either early or late in the day. It is an easy drive, but the majority of the drive up is single lane shelf so the opportunity to pass is rare. When we reached the top, we parked and took the short hike up to Bullion King Lake, and then worked our way down to the large waterfall below the lake that sits to the south of the parking area. We left Porphyry and drove north on 550 to the old mining area south of Ironton where the Yankee Girl sits. We explored the roads in that area for a while with a stop at the Yankee Girl for pictures.
After leaving the Ironton area, we drove back south on 550 and took the Ophir Pass turn off. We stopped at the Mineral Creek crossing just off of 550 for a trail-side lunch. When three jeeps each bring lunch fixings you tend to eat really well
. Once we finished up with the noon meal we started up Ophir Pass heading west. The Silverton/550 side of Ophir Pass is easy with plenty of room for two way traffic without much need for backing. We reached the top fairly quickly only to find a couple of European tourists in their rented Honda HRV micro-SUV blocking the trail, stuck at the top trying to get down the west side of Ophir. We helped them get around a wash in the trail, and got them down to the first switchback on the west side. We tried to talk them into turning around and going back to 550, but they didn't speak a lot of English and were determined to get to Telluride. We left them at the switchback turn-out, and started down the long shelf on the west side of Ophir Pass. The shelf itself is easy, but you must be aware of traffic on the shelf before starting. There is zero room to pass from the tree line below to the switchback just below the pass. Luckily viewing traffic is easy on this shelf. The shelf is also probably one of the hardest tests on your tires you will run into in the San Juans - tons of sharp talus rock make the shelf road. We reached Ophir with no problems and stopped at their little post office to get some post card stamps.
We left Ophir and drove up to Alta Lakes. The drive looks short on the map, but it is 40 minutes easy from Ophir to the top at Alta. The Alta Lakes trail is easy but rough with lots of pot holes from all the traffic the road gets. We stopped for a few photos, but did not spend a lot of time up at Alta. There were tons of people and we still had to do Ophir again to get back to Silverton for dinner.
The west to east passage of Ophir Pass went off without a hitch. Somehow the Honda made it off the pass and the trail was clear to go up the shelf. We had to wait for one vehicle coming down, then made our way up and over without issue. We stopped at the Avalanche Brewery in Silverton for dinner, then made use of the hot tub at the Inn.
This was not my first time up Ophir, but it was the first for the rest of the group. I remember being scared out of my mind the first time I drove it. Ophir was my first big pass in the San Juans, and I was not familiar with the capabilities of a Jeep in 4 Low (built '02 TJ) and hadn't driven a road that steep before. The shelf looks fairly flat in pictures but it is not. This trip was a joy in the stock '19 JLUR. I just laughed at my memories as we did the pass both ways today.
Tuesday, September 20, 2022 - Last Dollar Road & Imogene Pass
The day's weather was to be a mix of sunshine and rain. It was cold in Silverton (31) when we left. We hit rain before the summit of Imogene, and had cloudy skies and cool temps most of the day.
Jason and Claire skipped breakfast and took off around 5am for Black Bear Pass. Their plan was to be at the top of the pass for sunrise, then run Black Bear down to Telluride.
We stayed at the Inn for another breakfast masterpiece, and then drove up 550 through Ouray to Ridgway where we met a cousin and her husband who live in Montrose. They drive a built '79 Bronco with the 429 and it can do things I'm sure my Jeep cannot. They joined us for a great day of trail riding. We stopped at the Dallas Divide turn-off for some pictures (the aspens up here had not started turning yet) and then hit Last Dollar Road. Last Dollar is an easy country road drive but the views are million dollar views from the time you turn south off of 62 until you hit Telluride. You could literally stop at every turn in the road for a poster-quality photograph.
We hit Telluride, grabbed some gasoline (wow... buy in Silverton from now on), and contacted Jason and Claire. They were working their way up and down Telluride main street waiting on us to get there. We met up and started our way up Imogene Pass.
This was the first time of Imogene for everyone in our group except my cousins. They have probably run Imogene a hundred times or more in the 30+ years they have lived in Montrose, so it was really nice to have them with us for our first time up. My cousin is a self-taught historian of the area and the mining operations around, so she was constantly on the GMRS telling us about the sites as we climbed up out of Telluride. Imogene is not hard per-se, but it does require your attention. Coming out of Telluride, and pretty much until you get to the Tomboy site there is little room for two way traffic. I found the climb up out of Telluride to be magical. Being comfortable with the capabilities of the Jeep, I just made sure to pick good lines when needed, and I stopped to enjoy the views when warranted - which was often.
We stopped at Tomboy for lunch. Before leaving Montrose, my cousin wrapped a few pounds of pulled pork in good foil and put those foil wrapped packages on the manifold of the Bronco to warm up while driving. So when we reached Tomboy we feasted on hot pulled pork sandwiches, two different homemade pasta salads, some hot cheese tortellini, chips, and fresh fruit. It was by far the best trail lunch I've ever had. Amazing.
The drive up to the top from Tomboy was fun. That last run up to the top is STEEP and will put a smile on your face. We topped out, drove out on the point and took a ton of pictures. The rain was spitting and sputtering since lunch, and became a little more consistent as we started down the Ouray side. We stopped at "show off rock" and Jason drove his JKUR out on the rock for pictures. My cousin knew of a great waterfall on a side road as we neared Camp Bird Road so we took the side trip. We stopped near the bottom again near a couple of old houses just to sit and talk a bit.
We drove on into Ouray and I bought dinner for the group at the Red Mountain Brewery. They have a nice bar and the food was really good. We parted ways with my cousin and headed back to Silverton on the MDH in low clouds. Made for a beautiful drive "home."
Wednesday - September 21, 2022 - Silverton Cemetery, Velocity Basin, Corkscrew, CR53 mining sites, Maggie Gulch
The day's weather was cloudy, cool and rainy. Warmer morning in town (38) but highs never got out of the 50s.
Since we were looking at rain most of the day, we weren't in a hurry to get out of the Inn and on the trails. Our first stop was the Silverton Cemetery. We have driven past a dozen times but never stopped. We walked the hills and read the stones. The history told in the headstones is wonderful. The people that lived up there in the late 1800's and early 1900's were a different breed. Tough beyond measure. I can imagine few more beautiful places to be laid to rest than the Silverton Cemetery.
From there we drove up CR110, enjoying the exploding colors on the hillsides the whole way up. We turned at Gladstone and went up into Velocity Basin. The drive is easy. The scenery is fantastic. When we got to the top we found three moose working their way along the lake shore so we didn't approach.
The group (other than me) had not driven CR110/CR10 up to Corkscrew before so we went up to Corkscrew and took the side road west just below the world's most beautiful outhouse back into the valley behind the Red Mountain complex. The sky was a dull gray so the pictures back there were not what we were used to, but it is still one of the prettiest places I've found in the San Juans.
From there we descended CR10 to the CR53 cut-off and explored the old mining sites that run up and down CR53. It was starting to rain harder and more consistently, and we were getting hungry, so we drove back down to Silverton and grabbed lunch at the Golden Block. Darned good pizza and salads. We shopped a bit and noticed that the weather was letting up and we still had some daylight, so we made a run up to Maggie Gulch.
Maggie is a great, easy drive with a wonderful payoff at the top. In summer, Maggie is one of the best places I've found for wild flowers. The aspens all along the trail were strong into gold and the views were great. Unfortunately, as we reached the top the rain set in again so we didn't spend a lot of time up top. We headed back to Silverton where Jason cooked burgers for the group on the grill.
Thursday - September 22, 2022 - Arrastra Gulch, Eureka Basin, Animas Forks, California Pass, Hurricane Pass, Corkscrew Pass
Today's weather... RAIN early with the weather system moving out of the area in the early afternoon. It had rained all night so we weren't sure what to expect from the trails.
After another wonderful breakfast, we decided to hit Arrastra Gulch since it is so close to Silverton. I've heard the name a few times, but have never been up it. I do not understand why Arrastra isn't a favorite of everyone that visits. The drive is easy and fairly short, but the views are out of this world. Tons of old mine structures and towers. In the rain and low clouds/fog at the top, Arrastra had a real Lord of the Rings feel to it. There were rain waterfalls running nearly 270 degrees around us at the top. Arrastra is now on the "every trip" list.
From Arrastra we drove up CR2 to Eureka and then turned left (west) and went up Eureka Basin (another first for everyone in the group but me). We started the climb in fog and climbed out above the clouds/fog well before the top of the basin. Another great, easy drive with tons of golden aspens everywhere below tree line. The basin itself has multiple roads to explore and old mining sites to treasure hunt in. We drove up as high as we felt safe and hiked a bit higher, just to get out of the Jeeps for a bit.
The plan from here was to get to Animas Forks and then go up Cinnamon Pass to American Basin and hike a bit. The weather was not moving out as fast as the weather apps suggested so we were afraid hiking was going to be out of the question. We audibled and chose to complete the "loop" back to Silverton. We took CR2 up to Animas Forks where we stopped for lunch, then drove California Pass. We stopped for photos at the pass and photos of Lake Como (sits between California Pass and Hurricane Pass and just above the Poughkeepsie Gulch wall), then continued up onto Hurricane Pass. The views south from Hurricane are just beautiful. We continued on down Hurricane and ended up back on the same side road off of Corkscrew. By then, the rain had broken and the skies were partly sunny and the fall colors were popping everywhere. It had been a long day by then, so we took CR10/CR53 down. We went back up into Velocity basin hoping to see the moose again, but they were not in the area. We did find them though - down right on the side of CR110 below the ski area. Back to the Inn where Pamela cooked dinner for the group.
Friday, September 23, 2022 - Hike to Island Lake and Ice Lake
Todays weather was glorious sunshine. All of the rain had moved out of the area. A perfect day to hike.
We got up early and Albert prepared sack breakfasts for everyone and we got to the Ice Lake/Island Lake trailhead at 6:30am. We were the first three vehicles in the parking area (unlike 2020 - Covid - when at 6:30am there were no places to park). The pictures tell the story for the day. The hike up to Island Lake is hard. The hike from Island Lake to Ice Lake is easy, but there is a sketchy patch of rock about half way between the two. The hike from Ice Lake down to the Jeeps seems long and harder than it should since it is all downhill, but by then your legs are tired and you are probably pretty hungry.
If you are able and willing, take a day off from the Jeep and get on your feet and up in the mountains the proper way. Pack smart - good shoes, plenty of water, some food, layers of clothing - and get on the trail. It will not be a wasted day.
We finished the hike around 1pm, grabbed a cold pop from the coolers, and then headed back into Silverton. We had another funnel cake to hold us over til dinner, then sat in the hot tub and started working on packing up for the long drive home. Dinner was another meal at the Golden Block and it was just as good as the first time.
Saturday - September 24, 2022 - The long drive home
Weather... who cares? It was go home day so it didn't matter. I remember that it was 34 degrees in Silverton when we left. I noticed a high of 96 out in the plains of west Texas near Clarendon, and it was 84 degrees when we hit the driveway at home.
Albert and Betty take such good care of us. They knew we needed an early start to push home in one drive, so they had a full breakfast ready for our group of five at 6am. Last one, best one. We ate and talked and laughed and hope we didn't wake the other guests in the old Inn. Hugs all around, and we started our drive a little after 6:30am.
875 miles and 14 hours later, with no issues or problems, we pulled into our driveway, sad that the trip was over, but overjoyed that it had happened. This was by far the best Silverton trip yet. Cannot wait for next year.
We took our annual trip to Silverton this year in late September hoping to time it right to catch the aspens in turn. When we arrived, most of the aspens were green. When we left, most had turned gold. We missed peak by a week, but we got to watch as fall took hold of the mountainsides. My wife and I were joined by three other friends for a week of mountain majesty and a little mountain madness. We covered a lot of "first time" trails on this trip. We missed some of our standards - Engineer & Cinnamon (Alpine Loop) and Stoney Pass - because of time and weather.
After four good trips to the San Juans I have learned that if there is a side road or a cut-off, take it. There is magic in the mountains.
Saturday, September 17, 2022 - DFW to Tucumcari
A 6am start from DFW got us to the Coyote Bluff Cafe in Amarillo for lunch. Best hamburgers in Amarillo. The place is small so you may have to wait a bit. Bring a cold pop and enjoy the wait because the food is worth it. From Amarillo we had an easy drive to Tucumcari - our first day's destination. About 7 hours of driving down today. We stayed at the famous Blue Swallow Motel on Old 66 in Tucumcari. This place is vintage greatness, full of authentic 50's furniture and most rooms still have their own garage.
Sunday, September 18, 2022 - Tucumcari to Silverton
With 7+ hours still to go to get to our rooms in Silverton, we left Tucumcari at first light. The stretch of I-40 from Amarillo to Albuquerque is the worst part of our trip coming and going. The absolute mess of traffic running at speeds from 50mph to 90mph and wave after wave of semi wolf packs will drive you crazy if you let it. The drive up to Durango from Albuquerque on US550 is easy, and then the mountains begin, and all of the worries and stress just melt away.
We arrived in Silverton around 3pm and drove to our lodging at The Alma House Inn. We've stayed there for three trips running now and have become fast friends with the caretakers Albert and Betty. I cannot imagine visiting Silverton now without staying at The Alma House. Albert and Betty saw us pull up and met us in the lot with hugs and smiles. We talked a bit and looked at the flowers that were still in bloom in the Inn yards even with the colder temps. We walked over to Main for a funnel cake, then back to the Inn where Claire cooked dinner for everyone on the Inn's gas grill. We hit the sack fairly early with a 7am breakfast appointment.
Monday, September 19, 2022 - Porphyry Gulch, Ironton, Ophir Pass to Alta Lakes to Ophir Pass
The day's weather was perfect. Partly cloudy with lows around 35 and highs in Silverton around 60.
Albert makes the best looking breakfast plate you have ever seen, and the food tastes better than it looks. After breakfast, we headed up the Million Dollar Highway to the Porphyry Gulch turn off (turn west off of 550 just south of the Black Bear Pass turn off - the turn is easy to miss). If you are going to run Porphyry, run it either early or late in the day. It is an easy drive, but the majority of the drive up is single lane shelf so the opportunity to pass is rare. When we reached the top, we parked and took the short hike up to Bullion King Lake, and then worked our way down to the large waterfall below the lake that sits to the south of the parking area. We left Porphyry and drove north on 550 to the old mining area south of Ironton where the Yankee Girl sits. We explored the roads in that area for a while with a stop at the Yankee Girl for pictures.
After leaving the Ironton area, we drove back south on 550 and took the Ophir Pass turn off. We stopped at the Mineral Creek crossing just off of 550 for a trail-side lunch. When three jeeps each bring lunch fixings you tend to eat really well
. Once we finished up with the noon meal we started up Ophir Pass heading west. The Silverton/550 side of Ophir Pass is easy with plenty of room for two way traffic without much need for backing. We reached the top fairly quickly only to find a couple of European tourists in their rented Honda HRV micro-SUV blocking the trail, stuck at the top trying to get down the west side of Ophir. We helped them get around a wash in the trail, and got them down to the first switchback on the west side. We tried to talk them into turning around and going back to 550, but they didn't speak a lot of English and were determined to get to Telluride. We left them at the switchback turn-out, and started down the long shelf on the west side of Ophir Pass. The shelf itself is easy, but you must be aware of traffic on the shelf before starting. There is zero room to pass from the tree line below to the switchback just below the pass. Luckily viewing traffic is easy on this shelf. The shelf is also probably one of the hardest tests on your tires you will run into in the San Juans - tons of sharp talus rock make the shelf road. We reached Ophir with no problems and stopped at their little post office to get some post card stamps.We left Ophir and drove up to Alta Lakes. The drive looks short on the map, but it is 40 minutes easy from Ophir to the top at Alta. The Alta Lakes trail is easy but rough with lots of pot holes from all the traffic the road gets. We stopped for a few photos, but did not spend a lot of time up at Alta. There were tons of people and we still had to do Ophir again to get back to Silverton for dinner.
The west to east passage of Ophir Pass went off without a hitch. Somehow the Honda made it off the pass and the trail was clear to go up the shelf. We had to wait for one vehicle coming down, then made our way up and over without issue. We stopped at the Avalanche Brewery in Silverton for dinner, then made use of the hot tub at the Inn.
This was not my first time up Ophir, but it was the first for the rest of the group. I remember being scared out of my mind the first time I drove it. Ophir was my first big pass in the San Juans, and I was not familiar with the capabilities of a Jeep in 4 Low (built '02 TJ) and hadn't driven a road that steep before. The shelf looks fairly flat in pictures but it is not. This trip was a joy in the stock '19 JLUR. I just laughed at my memories as we did the pass both ways today.
Tuesday, September 20, 2022 - Last Dollar Road & Imogene Pass
The day's weather was to be a mix of sunshine and rain. It was cold in Silverton (31) when we left. We hit rain before the summit of Imogene, and had cloudy skies and cool temps most of the day.
Jason and Claire skipped breakfast and took off around 5am for Black Bear Pass. Their plan was to be at the top of the pass for sunrise, then run Black Bear down to Telluride.
We stayed at the Inn for another breakfast masterpiece, and then drove up 550 through Ouray to Ridgway where we met a cousin and her husband who live in Montrose. They drive a built '79 Bronco with the 429 and it can do things I'm sure my Jeep cannot. They joined us for a great day of trail riding. We stopped at the Dallas Divide turn-off for some pictures (the aspens up here had not started turning yet) and then hit Last Dollar Road. Last Dollar is an easy country road drive but the views are million dollar views from the time you turn south off of 62 until you hit Telluride. You could literally stop at every turn in the road for a poster-quality photograph.
We hit Telluride, grabbed some gasoline (wow... buy in Silverton from now on), and contacted Jason and Claire. They were working their way up and down Telluride main street waiting on us to get there. We met up and started our way up Imogene Pass.
This was the first time of Imogene for everyone in our group except my cousins. They have probably run Imogene a hundred times or more in the 30+ years they have lived in Montrose, so it was really nice to have them with us for our first time up. My cousin is a self-taught historian of the area and the mining operations around, so she was constantly on the GMRS telling us about the sites as we climbed up out of Telluride. Imogene is not hard per-se, but it does require your attention. Coming out of Telluride, and pretty much until you get to the Tomboy site there is little room for two way traffic. I found the climb up out of Telluride to be magical. Being comfortable with the capabilities of the Jeep, I just made sure to pick good lines when needed, and I stopped to enjoy the views when warranted - which was often.
We stopped at Tomboy for lunch. Before leaving Montrose, my cousin wrapped a few pounds of pulled pork in good foil and put those foil wrapped packages on the manifold of the Bronco to warm up while driving. So when we reached Tomboy we feasted on hot pulled pork sandwiches, two different homemade pasta salads, some hot cheese tortellini, chips, and fresh fruit. It was by far the best trail lunch I've ever had. Amazing.
The drive up to the top from Tomboy was fun. That last run up to the top is STEEP and will put a smile on your face. We topped out, drove out on the point and took a ton of pictures. The rain was spitting and sputtering since lunch, and became a little more consistent as we started down the Ouray side. We stopped at "show off rock" and Jason drove his JKUR out on the rock for pictures. My cousin knew of a great waterfall on a side road as we neared Camp Bird Road so we took the side trip. We stopped near the bottom again near a couple of old houses just to sit and talk a bit.
We drove on into Ouray and I bought dinner for the group at the Red Mountain Brewery. They have a nice bar and the food was really good. We parted ways with my cousin and headed back to Silverton on the MDH in low clouds. Made for a beautiful drive "home."
Wednesday - September 21, 2022 - Silverton Cemetery, Velocity Basin, Corkscrew, CR53 mining sites, Maggie Gulch
The day's weather was cloudy, cool and rainy. Warmer morning in town (38) but highs never got out of the 50s.
Since we were looking at rain most of the day, we weren't in a hurry to get out of the Inn and on the trails. Our first stop was the Silverton Cemetery. We have driven past a dozen times but never stopped. We walked the hills and read the stones. The history told in the headstones is wonderful. The people that lived up there in the late 1800's and early 1900's were a different breed. Tough beyond measure. I can imagine few more beautiful places to be laid to rest than the Silverton Cemetery.
From there we drove up CR110, enjoying the exploding colors on the hillsides the whole way up. We turned at Gladstone and went up into Velocity Basin. The drive is easy. The scenery is fantastic. When we got to the top we found three moose working their way along the lake shore so we didn't approach.
The group (other than me) had not driven CR110/CR10 up to Corkscrew before so we went up to Corkscrew and took the side road west just below the world's most beautiful outhouse back into the valley behind the Red Mountain complex. The sky was a dull gray so the pictures back there were not what we were used to, but it is still one of the prettiest places I've found in the San Juans.
From there we descended CR10 to the CR53 cut-off and explored the old mining sites that run up and down CR53. It was starting to rain harder and more consistently, and we were getting hungry, so we drove back down to Silverton and grabbed lunch at the Golden Block. Darned good pizza and salads. We shopped a bit and noticed that the weather was letting up and we still had some daylight, so we made a run up to Maggie Gulch.
Maggie is a great, easy drive with a wonderful payoff at the top. In summer, Maggie is one of the best places I've found for wild flowers. The aspens all along the trail were strong into gold and the views were great. Unfortunately, as we reached the top the rain set in again so we didn't spend a lot of time up top. We headed back to Silverton where Jason cooked burgers for the group on the grill.
Thursday - September 22, 2022 - Arrastra Gulch, Eureka Basin, Animas Forks, California Pass, Hurricane Pass, Corkscrew Pass
Today's weather... RAIN early with the weather system moving out of the area in the early afternoon. It had rained all night so we weren't sure what to expect from the trails.
After another wonderful breakfast, we decided to hit Arrastra Gulch since it is so close to Silverton. I've heard the name a few times, but have never been up it. I do not understand why Arrastra isn't a favorite of everyone that visits. The drive is easy and fairly short, but the views are out of this world. Tons of old mine structures and towers. In the rain and low clouds/fog at the top, Arrastra had a real Lord of the Rings feel to it. There were rain waterfalls running nearly 270 degrees around us at the top. Arrastra is now on the "every trip" list.
From Arrastra we drove up CR2 to Eureka and then turned left (west) and went up Eureka Basin (another first for everyone in the group but me). We started the climb in fog and climbed out above the clouds/fog well before the top of the basin. Another great, easy drive with tons of golden aspens everywhere below tree line. The basin itself has multiple roads to explore and old mining sites to treasure hunt in. We drove up as high as we felt safe and hiked a bit higher, just to get out of the Jeeps for a bit.
The plan from here was to get to Animas Forks and then go up Cinnamon Pass to American Basin and hike a bit. The weather was not moving out as fast as the weather apps suggested so we were afraid hiking was going to be out of the question. We audibled and chose to complete the "loop" back to Silverton. We took CR2 up to Animas Forks where we stopped for lunch, then drove California Pass. We stopped for photos at the pass and photos of Lake Como (sits between California Pass and Hurricane Pass and just above the Poughkeepsie Gulch wall), then continued up onto Hurricane Pass. The views south from Hurricane are just beautiful. We continued on down Hurricane and ended up back on the same side road off of Corkscrew. By then, the rain had broken and the skies were partly sunny and the fall colors were popping everywhere. It had been a long day by then, so we took CR10/CR53 down. We went back up into Velocity basin hoping to see the moose again, but they were not in the area. We did find them though - down right on the side of CR110 below the ski area. Back to the Inn where Pamela cooked dinner for the group.
Friday, September 23, 2022 - Hike to Island Lake and Ice Lake
Todays weather was glorious sunshine. All of the rain had moved out of the area. A perfect day to hike.
We got up early and Albert prepared sack breakfasts for everyone and we got to the Ice Lake/Island Lake trailhead at 6:30am. We were the first three vehicles in the parking area (unlike 2020 - Covid - when at 6:30am there were no places to park). The pictures tell the story for the day. The hike up to Island Lake is hard. The hike from Island Lake to Ice Lake is easy, but there is a sketchy patch of rock about half way between the two. The hike from Ice Lake down to the Jeeps seems long and harder than it should since it is all downhill, but by then your legs are tired and you are probably pretty hungry
.If you are able and willing, take a day off from the Jeep and get on your feet and up in the mountains the proper way. Pack smart - good shoes, plenty of water, some food, layers of clothing - and get on the trail. It will not be a wasted day.
We finished the hike around 1pm, grabbed a cold pop from the coolers, and then headed back into Silverton. We had another funnel cake to hold us over til dinner, then sat in the hot tub and started working on packing up for the long drive home. Dinner was another meal at the Golden Block and it was just as good as the first time.
Saturday - September 24, 2022 - The long drive home
Weather... who cares? It was go home day so it didn't matter. I remember that it was 34 degrees in Silverton when we left. I noticed a high of 96 out in the plains of west Texas near Clarendon, and it was 84 degrees when we hit the driveway at home.
Albert and Betty take such good care of us. They knew we needed an early start to push home in one drive, so they had a full breakfast ready for our group of five at 6am. Last one, best one. We ate and talked and laughed and hope we didn't wake the other guests in the old Inn. Hugs all around, and we started our drive a little after 6:30am.
875 miles and 14 hours later, with no issues or problems, we pulled into our driveway, sad that the trip was over, but overjoyed that it had happened. This was by far the best Silverton trip yet. Cannot wait for next year.
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