Stardate 2015.647

12,890-foot Red Mountain Number 3 rises high above Red Mountain Pass. Just for fun, the inverse of this pic may be found here. My shot location is from the highway in the lower left just before the big u-shape switchback (disregard seasons obviously).

Silverton Vicinity

We left Yankee Boy Basin around noon. Our next stop for the day would be Mineral Creek, northwest of Silverton, Colorado. Silverton is a small community surrounded by alpine majesty. Its heritage has primarily been mining. Yes, this is the Silverton that made national news about flooding the Animas River with heavy metals from a mine being tinkered with by the EPA. Currently, the town is host to trinkets and souvenirs, 4-wheeling, backcountry skiing and the turnaround depot for the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad out of Durango.

Only one year-round highway provides access to Silverton. During the winter months, it's not uncommon for Silverton to be snowed in with no physical access because avalanches have closed Highway 550 on the north and south sides of town. Many of the slide-paths have names. During the summer months, 4x4 access from Lake City is possible over Engineer Pass and Cinnamon Pass. Similarly, summer 4x4-access to and from Telluride is possible over Ophir Pass, as is one-way to Telluride over Black Bear Pass (a very dangerous 4x4 route).

Off we go! The Yankee Boy Basin shelf road is always fun! This road is a good bike ride too; it entails a bit of huffing and puffing.



Above this point, the road becomes much steeper and rougher rather quickly.



Aptly named Red Mountain Creek drains the Ironton area of Red Mountain Pass.



Mineral Creek flows beneath the long east ridge of 13,761-foot Fuller Peak. On the other side of this ridge, Ice Lake Basin is suspended in awesomeness! It's probably one of the most beautiful basins in the San Juan Mountains. Snowcatcher has some beautiful photography from Ice Lake Basin. We had planned to return to Ice Lake this trip but were hampered by lightning.



Here comes the rain!



From high atop Red Mountain Pass, the Black Bear 4x4 route begins its rough journey to Telluride.



Red Mountain Number 1 (12,592 ft) ended Day Three. (Exciting official USGS 7.5 minute map names – no?) We pointed the nose north and took off toward the Gunnison River Valley. We hoped to reach Blue Mesa Reservoir by sunset. After collecting petrol and pizza in Montrose, Colorado, we arrived at the reservoir a tad before sunset.




Our final day would take us up through the Taylor Park area into the southern Sawatch Mountains. Stay tuned.

Adios

Stardate 2014.751

Durango Fall Blaze

In the fall we often head to Durango to view the autumn leaves and participate in the Durango Fall Blaze. The Fall Blaze is a fundraising bike tour for Fort Lewis College, one of the top cycling teams in collegiate sports. The trip also places us in one of the finest fall leaf viewing regions of the state – the southwest corner. This year, another fine road trip commenced on a warm and bright Thursday morning. This will be a leafy post; I’ll leave Fort Lewis cycling for another blog.


Our goal was to camp in the headwaters of the Cimarron River. However, leaves appeared to be a week out yet. We decided to make Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado, our stopping point for the night. Our decision placed us in the San Juan Mountains, and Red Mountain Pass, at low sun angle. I’m not a slow shutter shooter, but I gave it my best. Crystal Lake, about half-way up the north side of Red Mountain Pass, was our first stop.


From Crystal Lake, Red Mountain #1 (12,592 ft), Red Mountain #2 (12,219 ft) and Red Mountain #3 (12,890 ft) collect the last of the day’s sun. Yes, those are their official USGS map names; I know, their names took a lot of thought. Yet, aside from indigenous names, I kind of like numerical listings.


The San Juan Mountains decided to call it a day, and we continued into the dark. We arrived in the vicinity of Mesa Verde National Park around 10 that evening. Friday's sun-filled morning found us riding our bikes up the steep climb into the Park, prior to continuing on to Durango for our scheduled ride. The following Saturday morning, the bike tour went well, and we ventured back into the San Juan Mountains for more leaves.


Let it leaf, let it leaf, let it leaf… Our quest for gold took us up Mineral Creek outside of Silverton, Colorado, where we made a gold strike.


Some of my favorite peaks are towering above us in Ice Lake Basin. Out of view from below, the high peaks shy behind shelves of rock and false summits.


No matter the time of year, Mineral Creek never disappoints.


We found a campsite above Molas Pass and enjoyed the Grenadier Range, a sub-range of the San Juan Mountains. I never tire of the above view.


The rain found the Grenadiers, too.


After a good electrical show, enhanced with lots of rain and hail, we awoke to a misty, drizzly morning.


A little patchwork here…


A lot of solid there…


North Twilight Peak (13,075 ft) hadn't awakened yet, shrouded in morning clouds.


With a lot of rain, came a lot of sediment. Streams were an elixir of anything they could transport.

That’s it for this round.
More leaf photos to come.

Adios