3rd Annual Colorado Jeep-CJ Trail Report

[BusaDave9]

Silverton Colorado: Arrival Day
Sunday August 25th we arrived in Silverton. We didn't do any trail rides. We just met at Handlebar's Restaurant for dinner.
Silverton is a cool little mountain town with a population of just a few hundred people. I took lots of pictures on this trail ride and here's some I shot of Silverton.
These next 3 pics were shot near my cabin. I stayed at Red Mountain Cabins on the south end of Silverton.

​

Here's an old Model T "snowmobile". My cabin is in the background.

​

I also walked around town taking pictures of other old cars.

​

Ok, ok, you guys want to hear about the trail ride. As you have already gathered, I took lots of pictures. And there are a lot more to come.

 

[BusaDave9]

Day 1 Maggie Gulch
Monday, Aug. 26, 2013, we headed into Maggie Gulch. This valley is just north of Silverton.

Dan's 1964 CJ5

Larry's (IOport's) CJ5

We parked under the Maggie Creek waterfall.
​

Next we climbed the trail to the top of the waterfall and into the upper valley.

The ridges at the end of the gulch are at the continental divide.
We found a few old mining buildings.

An old mine
​

Dan's CJ5



IOPort


Maggie Gulch
​

In the above picture we are coming back down the trail over the waterfall. Earlier we were on the trail in the bottom center of this picture.

 

[BusaDave9]

Minnie Gulch (still day 1)
After Maggie Gulch we headed into Minnie Gulch.




We stopped at some old mining buildings.

Psychoactive Amanitas Mushroom


​

These hallucinogenic mushrooms were common.

​

We stopped at this old cabin and decided it would be a good place for lunch.








On the way back to Silverton we took this trail that followed along the Animas River.

There was mine on the other side of the river. I locked my OX locker and crossed the river. It was deeper than I expected. I climbed up the bank and came back across. Why did I cross the river? Just because, that's why.

In the above picture you can see a tramway the miners used to bring the gold ore down to the mill. The miners also used this tram to get to the mine. They sat or stood in the bucket as it took them up into the mountain.

 

[IOPort51]

does this imply the camera situation is resolved??

 

[BusaDave9]

Animas River Valley
The next day we headed up the Animas Valley to Animas Forks Ghost Town.

Dan had fuel problems. I leak allowed the pump to suck air into the fuel line. Form-a-Gasket was used as a temporary fix until he could get home.

When we got to Animas Forks Ghost town I found out workers were remodeling the fricken ghost town.

They re-roofed the old buildings, put on new wood siding. They even brought new windows frames to install.
The workers said the BLM wanted to preserve the old buildings but they no longer looked old.
Here's some pictures I took other years.



Ghost towns are supposed to look old and abandoned.

Next we headed behind the ghost town and into California Gulch.

An old boiler I shot in HDR
​

California Pass

We stopped at California Pass and Larry got out his chair to have a rest at 12,960 feet above sea level.


Here's Larry's video of California Pass:

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

​

From the top of California Pass you can see Lake Como at the top of Poughkeepsie Gulch.

Next we went over Hurricane Pass.

In the above picture you can see Dan and in the distance is Larry's CJ5 . The mountain is Bonita Peak on the right.

We descended into this valley and then into Silverton.

 

[BusaDave9]

Day 3
Corkscrew Pass

The next day we headed up Corkscrew Pass

 

[BusaDave9]

Engineer Pass (Still Day 3)
After going down the other side of Corkscrew Pass Larry and I got on highway 550 for a short distance and then onto Engineer Pass.



The above mining camp is Mineral Point.

We are now well above the tree line. In the above picture we cam up from the lower right. To go back to Silverton we will take the far trail that goes into the distant valley.

This trail climbs the side of Engineer Mountain.

We stopped at the look out point on Engineer Pass.

 

[BusaDave9]

Engineer Pass Panorama

Engineer Pass Panorama
From the top of Engineer Pass I made a panorama.
Check out this link: Engineer Pass - Dermandar

 

[BusaDave9]

On the way back to Silverton we passed Animas Forks Ghost town again.

We didn't have lunch on the trail. We got back to town and had an early dinner a BBQ place that turned out pretty good. I wanted to take a walk to burn off some of those calories. I took Koda to Velocity basin. This is just on the other side of Storm Peak (next to Silverton). I didn't even get to Velocity Basin before it started to rain. I pulled onto a trail just off the main road to put up my top and doors. As the rain kept coming down I realized I wasn't going to be able to take my walk and might as well head back to town. I decided to take the trail I was on since it also headed back to Silverton. I drove through the rain and noticed a pile of rocks in the middle of the trail. I said to myself “I thought this trail continued to the main trail”. “Did these rocks come down just today?” Just then more rocks and mud rushed down the mountainside onto the trail. I put my jeep into reverse and found a place to turn around.

(The landslide continued until reaching 15 feet high)
​

I said to myself there couldn't be another landslide on the other end of this trail. The ground all looked very stable. But I was wrong. There was an even larger landslide blocking my other exit route. I was trapped. I wasn't far from the main road. I looked for another way out of here. I thought I might be able to drive across the terrain to the creek. Maybe I could take my jeep across that creek and then up to the main road. I thought it would be possible but I also knew it would be very stupid to try during this heavy rain. I had to abandon my jeep. I found a place I thought my jeep would be safe from landslides. I needed to cross that stream and get back to town. Should I wait for the rain to stop? No. I saw I log I could use to cross the stream but I could get washed away if I waited. I took Koda and my camera in it's waterproof case and went down to the stream. I crossed on the log but Koda didn't want to try the log. He swam across. I started to walk back to town and someone in a 4WD van gave me a ride. When I got back to town (about 5 miles) I noticed there were no puddles and they never got the rain.

The next day I notice I didn't have my camera. I left it in the van that I rode in. I lost my camera. Did I loose my jeep? The owner of the cabins I was staying at told me I should call the county to dig me out. At the same time Highway 550 was also blocked and I thought they would be more concerned about clearing the highway than the little trail my jeep was on.

After breakfast Larry (IO Port) gave me a ride back where my jeep was. I went across the same log. We discussed the best route to drive my jeep down to the creek and across to the main road. I stopped one or 2 times to make sure I was able to pick the best route. I crossed the stream. The hardest part was the steep slope up to the road. Larry offered to winch me up. As long as I kept my momentum up I should be able to make it up that slope. I got up too much momentum and went airborne as I flew onto the roadway. I heard BAD noises during that final run but I was on a 2WD road. When I got back to town I realized I hyper-extended my shackle.

When I was back in town I jacked up the front of my jeep and was easily able to put my shackle back into position.

 

[BusaDave9]

After getting my jeep back I was more worried about getting my camera back than going on Black Bear Pass. Dan and Larry have already left.
When that van picked me up the night before he was heading up into the mountains, in the rain, in the evening. I thought that meant he must have a cabin up that way. I headed into Velocity basin and to my surprise I found the van there. I got my camera back.

When I drove past the trail I got stranded on there were 2 big bulldozers there. They already cleared one path out of the spot I was stuck at!
I pulled over and one bulldozer driver said "How'd you get out?" This worker was here earlier inspecting the trails and saw my jeep stuck between 2 land slides. When he went to town to get a co-worker and the bulldozers I already drove out across the stream.

Larry and I saw at least on of these bulldozers driving into the valley after getting my jeep out. I could have just waited a couple of hours and they would have plowed me out.

 

[BusaDave9]

does this imply the camera situation is resolved??

Yes, I got my camera back

 

[BusaDave9]

Well I had my Jeep and my camera back and it wasn't even noon yet. Still time to go on another trail ride.
I was thinking I might even be able to take Black Bear Pass.

When I got to the trailhead I shifted into 4WD low. As I started out I heard bad sounds coming from my front end.
I broke my axle U Joint when I climbed out of the creek bed.

So much for four wheeling.
Instead I went hiking near Red Mountain Pass.
The following pictures were all taken on foot.







Almost in the middle of the above picture is my jeep. You can't see it in this low res image.
I hiked up this trail and into a glacial valley.




Well, that's it, the 3rd Annual Colorado Jeep-CJ Trail Ride.

 

[BusaDave9]

Larry, Dan and Denise, thanks for coming. I had a great time.

 

[CJ]

That hurts!!! Time for some 4130's...

 

[IOPort51]

waiting for the road crew would not have been nearly as much fun!!

After getting my jeep back I was more worried about getting my camera back than going on Black Bear Pass. Dan and Larry have already left.
When that van picked me up the night before he was heading up into the mountains, in the rain, in the evening. I thought that meant he must have a cabin up that way. I headed into Velocity basin and to my surprise I found the van there. I got my camera back.

When I drove past the trail I got stranded on there were 2 big bulldozers there. They already cleared one path out of the spot I was stuck at!
I pulled over and one bulldozer driver said "How'd you get out?" This worker was here earlier inspecting the trails and saw my jeep stuck between 2 land slides. When he went to town to get a co-worker and the bulldozers I already drove out across the stream.

Larry and I saw at least on of these bulldozers driving into the valley after getting my jeep out. I could have just waited a couple of hours and they would have plowed me out.

 

[IOPort51]

Is this Daves axle?? I thought you had just inverted a shackle or something like that.

That hurts!!! Time for some 4130's...

 

[IOPort51]

the camera was still running - YouTube

nobody saw a thing, not even the dog.
watch closely.

 

[BusaDave9]

Is this Daves axle?? I thought you had just inverted a shackle or something like that.

That's what I thought too. I noticed one of my front shackels was hyper extended. I jacked up my front end and was easily able to pop my shackle back into position. Then when I went to do Black Bear Pass (it was noon at that time) I heard bad noises when I put it into 4WD. That's when I noticed I busted my axle u joint when I exited that creek bed.
So much for BB pass. Time to go take a hike.

 

[IOPort51]

we had zero mechanical problems last year, I guess this is just the odds catching up to us. Dans tank, my clutch and your u joint. It was a ball, none the less.

 

[IOPort51]

lower engineer pass - YouTube

lower engineer pass. a bit rougher and steeper than Maggie, Minnie or California pass. the trees on the sides will kind of give an idea how steep it is by how far they lean forward or backwards. The camera makes it look like a drive on a flat level road and the image stabilization takes out all the bumps. makes it look like a smooth ride when it is anything but.

Most of this is on a 30 deg incline more or less.