7/24-7/31/10: Ouray, CO, 4x4, Camping

[dzJeepChic 2,435]

Along the trail and nearing Silverton we came upon a popular-looking camping area at Eureka mine:

 

 

And some ore cars on a cable way above us coming out of an old processing mill:

 

 

Scott & thekdude headed back to Ouray while JKGoose, George and I looked around in Silverton:

 

 

 

We went to the old railroad station to look around:

 

That was the night that driving home on 'The Million Dollar Highway' was the most white-knuckle experience I had the whole trip. It started raining as we were leaving Silverton, and in parts it was raining so hard my windshield wipers couldn't keep up. But that wasn't the scariest part! When we got to the part where there were rocks on the roadway and a waterfall into our lane that I had to drive through, that's when I got a little freaked out. Luckily we made it through unscathed, but it was quite a ride!

To see all of the pictures I took on the 3rd day, click here: Corkscrew Gulch & Others

Next up: Black Bear Pass on Day 4! d

[GOTMTNS 2]

Looks like an amazing trip, can't wait till I get to go wheel up there.

[dzJeepChic 2,435]

Wednesday morning we noticed right away that Goose's Jeep seemed to be tilting to one side. Luckily it turned out to be a valve-stem, which he handily replaced and we were on our way.

 

 

So we made our way down Hwy. 550 to Red Mountain Pass where we exited the road for the trailhead to Black Bear Pass. In attendance were JKGoose, scottl, theksmith, Team Number 7, Team Daydreamin', stockjeep and UpATree & Company.

 

Making our way along

 

 

Enjoying a vista

 

 

We came to a little waterfall we had to climb:

 

 

 

 

And a patch of snow to play in!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continued

V

V

V

[GRUNT 87]

WOW! These are great pics. I am glad you guys had a wonderful time! I am sad and a bit angry I missed this one.

[dzJeepChic 2,435]

 

Being true Arizonans, some of us got stuck up to our axles and needed a little tug to get out. Goose got to employ his brand new winch for the 1st and 2nd times!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After we got over the thrill of being in snow, we started down into this picturesque gulch:

 

 

 

 

 

We picnicked next to a stream and then started down the best part of the trail, the upper Switchbacks to the Powerplant. Here's Goose, our fearless leader:

 

Continued

V

V

V

[dzJeepChic 2,435]

The switchback part of the trail is dramatically beautiful. You have a gorgeous view of Telluride as you make your way past multiple waterfalls. The terrain is rough in places and the switchbacks are tight and steep in a few places. Careful tire placement, spotting each other, and remaining calm and in control is an absolute must to get down safely.

 

 

 

Crew Daydreamin' calmly making their way down in their Stock JK:

 

 

As we passed a waterfall and mining ruins we stopped for the photo op and some people explored the ruins:

 

 

We soon discovered that the trail gets narrow and tippy as you pass the mining ruins near the top:

 

 

A spotter is recommended at this tight switchback where just about every vehicle is required to do a 3-point turn:

 

 

 

Narrow and shelfy most of the way down:

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the switchbacks are simple for the short wheelbase vehicles, such as TJs, but still a little tight for the longer wheelbase ones like theksmith's WJ:

 

 

And suddenly you can see the Powerplant and Bridal Veil Falls:

 

Continued

V

V

V

[Ladybug 429]

AWESOME Pics!!! Don't you just love this place?!

And here's why those marmots check out the jeeps....This was taken at Ophir Pass, where we pulled up and saw 3 of these rascals scurry out of a parked jeep. (the family was off hiking)....We opened the hood to see if there was damage, and here's what we found....

 

Glad to see that you all had such a great time!

smiles, ladybug

[dzJeepChic 2,435]

When we arrived at the Powerplant, this man in his son's Grand Cherokee asked us if we happened to have an idler pulley. As I said before, he practically had to pick himself up off the ground after George responded by saying, 'Yes, I do. Do you need the 3" or the 4"?' Strangely, we had stopped off at Autozone the day before we left and bought them, because we were on a trip one time when a ZJ idler pulley went out. When your idler pulley goes out you're dead in the water, and if you take a close look at it you see that it's made of plastic - kind of a weak link. Not only that, it's a spare that takes up no room at all. Anyways, George helped the guy get the Jeep running again, and he sure was thankful!

 

 

We parked our rigs and walked over to the Powerplant:

 

 

Then we drove around to the base of the falls:

 

 

 

From Bridal Veil Falls it's a short trip to the air-up spot:

 

 

 

 

 

It was still early so we ventured into Telluride, and after figuring out how to obtain a parking pass (a complicated system whereby you buy a permit rather than put money in a meter, but you must use quarters rather than dollar bills, debit or credit cards even though the machines are equipped to use the latter) we parked our rigs and walked to the Telluride Gondola Station. The Gondola ride is FREE and goes from downtown Telluride over the pass to Mountain Village where the chairlifts to the ski runs are located along with shops, eateries and hotels.

 

 

Leaving Telluride:

 

 

 

 

At Mountain Village we cruised around looking at all the expensive shops:

 

 

 

 

thekdude got stuck in an old-timey phone booth:

 

And Mason got to play on a rock-climbing wall:

 

 

 

 

 

And then we took the Gondola back to Telluride just in time for the skies to literally open and pour for the drive home.

 

Click here to see all the photos from Black Bear Pass & Telluride Gondola

 

Coming next - Clear Lake, and the Red Mountain Mining District.

[dzJeepChic 2,435]

Thursday it was cool & cloudy when we left camp for an easy trailride to Clear Lake. Along for the ride were: JKGoose, thekdude, scottl, stockjeep, team Number 7 and Upatree & Paco Dog. The trail is super easy - I drove almost all of it in high range.

 

 

 

Hanging out at Clear Lake:

 

 

Moose had a blast playing Chuck-It. That's her ball on the other side of the lake, and she swam for it MANY times that day. She loved it.

 

 

 

On the way back we stopped at a mining ruin but the tunnel was fenced off.

 

 

 

Some people wanted to go to Silverton for lunch and shopping, others wanted to eat their packed lunches on the trail, so the group split up for the afternoon. Those of us who stayed on the trail went further down Pandora Mine trail and ended up eating in their rigs because it started to rain as soon as we stopped.

 

 

From there we went to The Red Mountain Mining District trail.

 

 

 

You can see all the pictures I took on Thursday by clicking here:

Clear Lake and Red Mountain

 

Stay tuned for Day 6 - Yankee Boy Basin, Governor Gulch and a hike to the Box Canyon Falls. d

[dzJeepChic 2,435]

On Friday we opted to stay close to Ouray and try to get back early to begin the dreaded task of breaking camp and packing. We went up Canon Creek (with a tilde over the n like Canyon) toward Yankee Boy Gulch, with a side trail to some mansions we had seen on the way back from Imogine Monday afternoon. In tow for the day's adventure were JKGoose, Scottl, team Number 7, stockjeep and theksmith:

 

 

It turned out that the mansions were fenced off, but you could drive between the 2 buildings:

 

 

View from the top:

 

 

Back across Canon Creek to the Yankee Boy trail:

 

 

Further up Yankee Boy, we took the turn-off for Governor Gulch, another trail rated difficult. We quickly climbed out of the Canon Creek and Yankee Boy basin on a slightly rocky, shelf road but nothing difficult:

 

 

 

After we crested and dropped back in to Governor Gulch we came to a section that was off-camber and slippery, and shortly thereafter the trail faded away.

 

 

We'd tried visit a structure along the way, but it was gated off, so decided to have lunch down in the basin and then check out the mining ruins up on the side of the gulch afterward. Lunch spot:

Number 7 needed a good stretch:

Just like the day before we all had to dive into our vehicles with our lunches as it started to rain just as we started to eat!

Continued

V

V

V