Jealous of Ellis: Jeeping

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Exploring Old Mining Routes

After driving the jeep over to Silverton with my parents earlier this summer, I did the same thing with Kyle and Allison, except this time around we explored a new route to Silverton and drove all the way to Ouray. Engineer Pass coming up from Ouray was very rough, but the new route to Silverton (California Gulch to Hurricane Pass by Lake Como) was absolutely gorgeous.

California Gulch

Old boiler along California Pass, high above tree line

Kyle and Allison near the very top of California Pass

Looking down Poughkeepsie Gulch at Lake Como from California Pass

California Pass

California Gulch

Lake Como and Poughkeepsie Gulch

Allison and Kyle at Lake Como

Lake Como

Lake Como from Hurricane Pass

Ouray

Engineer Pass above Ouray

Looking down Engineer Pass toward Silverton

Engineer Pass

Engineer Pass with Uncompahgre in the background (right of center)

Uncompahgre and Engineer Mountain

Oh! Point

Uncompahgre from Oh! Point

Wetterhorn (left of center) and Uncompahgre (right of center) from Engineer Pass

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Cinnamon and Engineer Passes

Lake City is connected to a bunch of other old mining towns through a network of old mining roads that are generally passable only for 4x4 vehicles. One of our favorite activities is to take one of these old mining roads, Cinnamon Pass, to Silverton, Colorado before coming back to Lake City via Engineer Pass.

My dad and Gary check out to gorge (and old suspension bridge) below the shelf road on Cinnamon Pass

Old suspension bridge spans a deep gorge on Cinnamon Pass

View from the shelf road on Cinnamon Pass

Remnants of an old mine on Cinnamon Pass

American Basin as seen from Cinnamon Pass

Check out the old cabin just above the trees in the upper left

Looking down over Animas Forks, an old mining town above Silverton, from Cinnamon Pass

Looking down the valley from Animas Forks

Not all of the old buildings are completely abandoned

Not a bad spot for a cabin

Some of the better funded mines set up aerial tramways to get from one mountain to the other (you can see the lines over the tops of the trees if you look closely)