Kebler Pass - October 2013

Snow covered Aspen

Very dirty Jeep

Largest Aspen grove in USA

Snow covered Kebler Pass Road

Overview:  Kebler Pass is a highly scenic mountain road that connects Crested Butte to Colorado 133 at Paonia State Park.  This leads to McClure Pass, Crystal River Valley, Carbondale and back to Aspen on Hwy 82.  It is one of the best drives in the country during the fall because it brings you over Kebler Pass, which is home to the largest aspen grove in the nation.  It is a two lane graded dirt road with a smooth ride.  We crossed the 31 miles from Crested Butte to Co 133 in scattered snow showers amidst multicolored Aspen trees and lots of mud.  The CDOT was knocking down rocks on McClure Pass as we went through.  Better to have them doing it than having the rocks fall down on their own.
Rating:  Easy
Stats:   20 miles.   2 hours.

Last Dollar Road - October 2013

Ranch along Last Dollar Road

Great fall colors

View from Last Dollar Road

Overview:  This scenic ranchland and forest back road  is an fun alternative to the paved hwy between Telluride and Ridgway.  Great fall colors and stunning mountain views.  Do not take your family SUV on this road if you want it not to rattle afterwards.  There are many very large homes which seemed to be inaccessible in the winter on this route.  It's good to be the King.
Rating:  Easy.  Rutted dirt road suitable for high-clearance vehicles.
Stats:  Length:  21 miles   Time:  2 hours   Highpoint:  10,600 feet

Alta Lakes - October 2013

Road crossing Alta Lakes

Alta Lakes

Historic town of Alta

Overview:  The entrance to the Alta Lakes Trail is located on County road 145 south of Telluride.  It passes through the historic town of Alta, once a bustling mining town serving the Alta-Gold King area from 1877 - 1948 when the mill was destroyed by fire.   Alta Lakes has great camping and fishing in a beautiful mountain setting.
Rating:  Easy with sections of rock embedded road.
Stats:  4.4 miles   1.5 hours

Red Mountain Mining Area & Million Dollar Highway - October 2013

View from Million Dollar Hwy

Guston

Red Mountain Mining Area

Shaft house of the Yankee Girl Mine

Overview - Red Mountain Mining Area:  The southern portion of the trail provides impressive high views of U.S. 550 (Million Dollar Hwy) & all surrounding mountains.  The northern portion takes you on a tour of the Red Mountain mining district and a town site once known as Guston.  The route features the often photographed shaft house of the Yankee Girl Mine.  Some of the road follows an old grade of the Silverton Railroad.  We had the opportunity to talk with a couple of good old boys who had worked in the active mine here.  The talk about the danger and injuries they had endured made the reality of hard rock mining come to life.
Rating:  Easy.  A fun meandering road covering a variety of terrain from graded gravel to narrow two-track.  Some embedded rock.
Stats:  Length:  9 miles   Time:  2.5 hours   Highpoint:  12,100 ft.

Overview - Million Dollar Highway:  Stretches for about 25 miles in western CO. and follows the route of U.S. 550 between Silverton and Ouray, CO.  The source of its name refers to the high cost of building a road over Red Mountain Pass (11,008 ft.) and the Uncompahgre Gorge.  One thing no one disputes is the "million dollar" views around every turn.  This marvel of engineering slices through rugged mountains as it follows old stagecoach routes and former pack trails.

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Pagosa Springs - October 2013

Pagosa Hot Springs

View from Great Sand Dunes back road

Immense Dunes

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Overview:  Nestled against the backdrop of the rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the wide San
Luis Valley lies the Great Sand Dunes National Park.  These huge sand dunes - North America's tallest- look out of place & almost like a "freak of nature".  It is truly hard to believe they are there.  Charlie had been here 40 years ago and was again amazed.  Once inside the park we were able to drive part of a back road until the surface of the road became too soft -  which would require us to deflate all the tires in order to continue (Charlie chickened out).  We hiked with the dogs to the dunes,  climbing some of them and getting a real feel for their immensity.
Next we continued another hundred miles to Pagosa Springs - home to the world's deepest geothermal hot springs.  The Great Pagosa Hot Spring draws its name from the Native American tribes who discovered early on its therapeutic and healing qualities.  "Pagosa" is derived from the native term "Pag Osah" which is said to mean "healing waters".  We stayed at The Springs Resort featuring 23 individual hot springs pools.  Located along the San Juan River, the scenery and soothing sounds of the setting are wonderful.  The pools ranged in temperature from 98 to 113 - the latter being named the "lobster pot".
Rating:  Very easy paved mountain roads.  No 4-wheel required.

Hagerman Pass - September 2013

Rock embedded Hagerman Pass Road

4 ft. of snow blocking road at summit

Hagerman Railroad Tunnel

Turquoise Reservoir outside of Leadville

Overview:  Hagerman Pass which connects Leadville to Basalt is approximately 55 miles in length and passes several outstanding features.  We started in Leadville, crossing over the dam and around the south side of the beautiful Turquoise Reservoir.  It serves as a focal point for many recreational activities, especially fishing.  Soon we came upon the historically significant Hagerman Railroad Tunnel.  Completed in 1886 it connected Colorado Springs to Aspen.  The railroad was the first standard gauge railroad to cross the Continental Divide.  From here the road leads to the summit and was embedded with rock making the ride slow & bumpy.  Along this stretch a four-wheeler descending the pass told us that the road was blocked by snow at the top, making passage impossible.  We decided to continue and see for ourselves as there had been very little snow covering the trail thus far.
The road began to narrow and 100 ft. from the summit a huge dip in the road had filled with about 4 ft. of snow.   15 miles into our journey we turned around and retraced our route back to Leadville.
Rating:  Easy.  Some embedded rock on each side of the pass but most of the road is wide and graded.
Stats:  From Leadville - 15 miles to summit ( 30 miles total).    2 1/2  hrs.

Aspen Mountain Trail to Richmond Hill & Express Creek Trails - Fall 2013

Overview:  Aspen Mountain Trail climbs through the heart of the Aspen Ski Area providing beautiful views of the town & Red Mountain.  At the summit is the gondola station & The Sundeck
Restaurant with panoramic views of the Aspen Highland Ski Area and Castle Creek Valley.
We continued on with a backcountry drive along remote Richmond Ridge passing through dense forest on a rocky, steep & narrow road.   After exiting the woods, the trail goes up and down until it reaches a high point of 12,000 ft. looking out at Taylor Pass & Taylor Park.  Driving downhill we descend to Taylor Lake, an attractive alpine lake near the summit & the intersection of

Express Creek Road

Taylor Pass Trail & Express Creek Road.  Taylor Pass Trail continues to Crested Butte, while Express Creek leads to Ashcroft & Castle Creek Road.  The initial descent of Express Creek Road is a steep, very narrow shelf road with magnificent views.  At the timberline, the road enters a dense aspen forest as it continues to descend to Castle Creek Road, about one-quarter of a mile north of the ghost town of Ashcroft. 

Rocky & narrow Richmond Hill Rd.

Taylor Lake

Richmond Hill Road

Rating:  Moderate.  Steepness & rocks require 4-wheel drive.
Stats:  Length 21.2 miles.  Time: 3.5 hours

Woody Creek Road & Lenado - Sept. 2013

For several years we have made a fall sojourn to Aspen, exploring the many trails in the area both on foot and bicycle.  The one activity that eluded us was "jeeping" - which basically means having a vehicle that is off road ready and capable of handling the challenges of backroads & 4-wheel-drive trails.  After renting a jeep last year & exploring a couple of the trails, we were hooked.
This year we arrived in Aspen in our Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara - ready to begin a new adventure - "Jeeping in the Rockies & Beyond".

Ghost town of Lenado

Woody Creek Road

Woody Creek Trail

Overview:  Just 7 miles downvalley from Aspen lies the small community of Woody Creek, longtime hangout for Hunter S. Thompson & other notables.  At the base of Woody Creek Road lies a favorite local watering hole, The Woody Creek Tavern. The road winds its way through the White River National Forest and 7 miles up passes through the ghost town of Lenado.  In 1889, a rich vein of lead and zinc ore was found here and at its peak about 300 people inhabited the community.  Approximately 3/4 mile past Lenado the road crosses Woody Creek where we accessed the Woody Creek Trail for a hike with the dogs. 
Rating:  Easy.  Combination of paved & dirt road. 
 Stats:  Length: 15 miles.  Time: 2 1/2 hours.