Colorado- Weston, Hagerman, and Marshall Pass.

Sunday, July 7, 2013




Here we sit just south of Poncha Springs, Colorado and a thunderstorm with dime sized hail is just finishing up. The cattle that once consumed our camp spot are across the road, up a hill with their rear ends facing the direction the storm is coming from. The road here (rhetorically) has been a bit bumpy but we are happy.

We stopped over in Denver from July 3rd through the 6th to visit a friend and camped out comfortably in his driveway. On July 4th we ended up doing a hike up in the Evergreen area. We took it easy as all four of us had to adjust to the altitude.



We stopped by High Country 4x4 in Englewood to see some guys we had run into last year camping in Deadwood, SD. They are employees there that have those big jeep rock crawlers and all work at this shop but unfortunately they weren't there. While there we picked up a book, that I had read about on another blog, that would help guide us to cool backcountry trails and camping. With that and a little suggestion from an employee there we decided in heading to Leadville area.

With a destination in mind by mid morning Saturday we headed southwest on Rt. 285. I wanted to be amazed by the view as we drove out of the mountains and hit South Park near Fairplay area. It wasn't our first time seeing it, but it still has a huge wow factor. The picture doesn't do it justice.





We decided to cut over to Rt. 24 via Weston Pass. Turning onto C.R. 5 , which turns to C.R. 22, it enters Pike National Forest and has many beautiful dispersed camping spots along the way. In the book we purchased (Colorado Backroads and 4-Wheel-Trails) it is rated easy, which means in ideal conditions it can be driven with a 2WD vehicle, but some spots may require 4WD. It was a good first test for the new truck and new camper.

This particular road was used in the mid 1800's as a busy toll road for freight wagons and stage coaches. By 1880's the railway reached Leadville which then declined the use of the road.








Ruby Mine, near the pass.



You can see in this picture that the mine is now almost completely filled.












The view of Mt. Massive as we were coming off of the pass.






First start to our bumpy road, when we stopped for lunch near the mine Pete noticed the truck was leaking fluid of some sort. After investigating he came to the conclusion that it's transmission fluid. Sometimes when he checks it, it's fine, other times it seems to be too full. Due to this and a louder tic than normal coming from the bell housing, we are forced to stick in the area until a Ford dealership in Salida opens Monday.

Next destination, Hagerman Pass, south of Leadville past Turqoise Reservoir on C.R. 105. This pass, as well, was rated easy. Let me tell you, as we climbed, the high peaks around us were breathtaking.

The start of C.R. 105 was simple, grated, and wide.



The sealed entrance to Carlton Tunnel, which was built originally for railroad use, but was converted to automobile use from 1924-1937.






The road turns uphill and gets pretty rough. Definitely need 4x4 type. A lot of smaller SUV's and cars were forced to turn around.






Overlooking Turquoise Reservoir.



Wildcat mountain.









We ended up deciding due to the trucks possible illness, we'd better not continue on. We found a place to turn around and decided on camping at the parking area near the Carlton Tunnel. Probably somewhere around 11,000 ft. (The pass itself was 11,925) The view was pretty phenomenal and the sky was clear with stars shining.



Happy campers....



....Then it got bumpy again. After feeling a bit queasy all day and then waking up around 10:00 that night with pretty severe altitude sickness, we (well really I) decided the only thing to do to escape it, was to get lower. We closed up and poor Pete drove me to a free national forest dispersed campground just north of Buena Vista off of Rt. 24 at Clear Creek Reservoir.

Waking up at around 8'000 ft with Spanish music and generators blaring was not the morning that I had in mind. Oh well, there will be plenty more, right? I have to say, the music and being surrounded by a beautiful 360 view put me in a great mood for the day, all the while still feeling slightly lightheaded.

Below is a link to a short clip from that morning.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JKC5QL7Cg28




We drove down to Buena Vista for breakfast and sat outside while enjoying the fabulous views of the collegiate peaks. We took a look at our book to see where we could go for the day and night to hang around town until Monday. The Ford dealership is in Salida so we concluded we'd drive down Rt. 24 to 285 and turn onto C.R. 200 and take C.R. 203 to dispersed sites. We found one past all of the others that was flat, grassy, and came with a small herd of cattle.




















I write this last paragraph Monday morning, after enjoying our camp for the evening and having a great sleep. Around midnight we heard a lot of thunder and lightning but what sounded horrible ended up just being rain for about 30 minutes. It put us right back to sleep and we awoke this morning refreshed. After having a breakfast and talking with the dealership in Salida, they cannot fit us in for at least 3 days. On our way to another Ford dealership in Canon City. Wish us luck!