Silverton, Colorado Trip - 2013

I was there August 8-11th this year. The high country aournd Silverton had snow the afternoon of August 10.

BradW wrote:
Dak, The thing about Silverton is the trails are very easy, safe (if you pay attention) and you can’t sling a dead marmot without hitting a Jeep rental company. Its real easy to set you camp in Silverton (or Ouray), rent a Jeep and just follow the trails on the map they provide.

Brad nailed it. That's exactly what we did last year, absolute blast

Dak, The thing about Silverton is the trails are very easy, safe (if you pay attention) and you can’t sling a dead marmot without hitting a Jeep rental company. Its real easy to set you camp in Silverton (or Ouray), rent a Jeep and just follow the trails on the map they provide.

Man, you off roaders sure to have all the fun! What absolute gorgeous photos of a BEAUTIFUL area! Thanks for sharing them with us Brad! I've had Jeeps in my past lives, and sure miss them; though I didn't do anything remotely close to what you do. :)

Dak

delosholly wrote:
We love visiting that area, but do not get out that way as much as we would like... perhaps when we retire.

That's what I'm thinking. Two weeks ain't near long enough; two months sounds better. I kept running into people in the campground who told me they "Summered" in Silverton. I finally threatened to beat one of them to death with a 5/16" chain boomer off my car hauler so he could "Winter" out there too. After that ugly and very public incident; the other "full-timers" kinda avoided me for the rest on our stay. ;)

Brad

Ophir Pass. Our favorite pass and the one we think is most beautiful. Thanks for the post and pictures Brad. :C

It’s a shame that one idiot can get a road gated or a mine building closed or a whole area posted. But that is the way it works; bureaucrats just looking for a reason to keep the public off of public lands and the occasional irresponsible short-sighted fool who gives them the reason to lock it up. When we were up at Bristol Head, there was some high-dollar high-tech communication equipment up there. I’m sure that sooner or later some idiot will take a pot shot at one of their bldgs or satellite dishes and that will be that.

Back in the 80’s we would drive our Yota up a 4x4 road to the top of Montgomery Pass near Cameron Pass on the east side of North Park. Then one year we found a gate in the road about a mile from the top. A local said someone had screwed around with some commo equip on top of the pass. Another road needlessly gated.

Brad,
Your trip report on the San Juan area is a fine one. Looking at your photos awakens my memories of some of those runs. great stuff.

Over the years I noted that vandals had taken their toll on the historic mine buildings. When Telluride became a destination for "pretty people" many of the new shops decorated with wood ripped from the mines. Weather has
exacted it toll too.

Ron

Hello there fellow Alabamian,

We are going to Durango next summer, last week of June, to ride the San Juan Skyway on our scooter. After that, we are heading up to Yellowstone. We live north of Huntsville. My wife's gradparents owned a home in Lake City. CO and they often took a jeep over Engineer Pass to the Silverton area. We love visiting that area, but do not get out that way as much as we would like... perhaps when we retire.

Cool place; lots of history there. Lots of great scenery, animals, wild flowers, etc. Easy to rent a Jeep in Silverton or Ouray and get into some very remote areas. Enjoy it while you can.

Brad