bakerla does Ouray 2013

This thread is being copied over from a previous trip report. I've added some new photos and edited / enhanced quite a few.

This is the second trip out to Ouray, CO for me. Tracey came out with me this year, we left the kids at home. Secretsquirrel (Rich+1) and Darkhelmet (Kendal+2) came out for the first half of the trip. I stayed around for the 2013 FJ Summit. I was once again impressed with the organization of the FJ Summit, but had much more fun running trails with people I knew and in a smaller group. No more organized trail runs for me. This trip report will once again be lengthy, as to document the trip and provide some information for others that might also wish to plan such a trip. I’ll be adding more info as I can for each day and will probably be adding links and editing as I find errors or remember stuff.

I used the same navigation tools I used last year. My phone and 2 books. Read about it here: Day 1

Took the same route for the first leg of the trip as last year. I learned from my mistake last year and we drove to Raton, NM and stayed at the Raton KOA, instead of stopping in Clayton, NM. Kendal and I departed Houston on Sunday morning around 0520 and met Rich on the highway probably three quarters of the way between Houston and Dallas. We drove up through Wichita Falls and through Amarillo on to Raton. It started raining on us just outside of Dallas and continued on and off again until Raton. We kept watching the radar and saw the storms all around Raton. We arrived in Raton around 1830, and made it to the KOA during a lull in the rain. We quickly setup up camp and left to eat at K-Bob’s Steakhouse. The food was awful. I would not eat there again. We returned to camp and tried to drink some beer and then the rain and wind came. Winds gusted to 30mph, rain came down and thunder and lightning did their thing.

We left Raton early, maybe close to 0615, though I don’t recall. From there we traveled to Alamosa, CO and stopped at a Walmart that Google Maps tried to tell me was permanently closed. It wasn’t, so we stopped to get food and supplies. Rich found out that he needed to get some waterproofing spray for the RTT during the overnight at Raton. The people of Walmart were impressed with a RTT setup in the parking lot. Moving on from Alamosa, we traveled on through Creede and then to Lake City CO, passing areas that were obviously on fire just a few days prior. Once in Lake City we stopped at a gas station for a last minute restroom break before taking Engineer Pass on over to Ouray. Signs were prominently marked for Engineer Pass as it’s a popular route.

We stopped to air down slightly before getting onto Engineer. Engineer started off just a gravel road. We stopped along Engineer to take some pictures of Capitol City and Whitore Falls. We walked down a steep trail to Whitmore Falls and met 2 fly fisherman from Katy TX that were fishing. They claimed to have got several trout at the base of the falls. The falls were awesome and the hike back up the hill let you know you weren’t at Houston sea level any longer. The stop at the falls was cut a little short due to some rain sprinkles. We were trying to stay ahead of the weather. Halfway through, Engineer Pass became a little rockier. Kendal was pulling his trailer, not knowing what was ahead.

We took Mineral Creek to Highway 550 after Engineer. Mineral Creek was a bit more rocky and difficult than I remembered from the year prior. It was mostly downhill. We encountered a couple of guys in a stock Dodge Dakota that ended up following us a bit. I’m not sure when it was, but I remember hearing about them crunching their truck on some rocks. We didn’t see them until much later. Halfway through Mineral Creek, which is short to begin with, it started to rain. It might have even hailed briefly. The rain was heavy. As we pulled off of the trail into the trail opening to get into Highway 550 we noticed t a few cars stopped on the highway around the bend. We also noticed a few rocks falling just to the right of us. Not being from the area, I wouldn’t have expected to see a mudslide, but that’s what we witnessed. A mudslide right onto Highway 550. Apparently up around the bend there were more mudslides. The rain subsided and we were stuck. We hung out and waited. We decided to get out the grill and cook some burgers. The grill was slow to heat and it took nearly 30 minutes to cook 4 burgers. I’ve since trashed that grill (

CADAC Safari Chef Lightweight Gas BBQ

Safari Chef). Eventually the Dodge Dakota shows back up. He had busted up his passenger side rocker panels. A little while later, we saw 3-4 Ford Raptors come off the trail. Not sure how they made it or what they were doing.

A front end loader showed up and was able to clear one lane on the highway. We ate our food and then drove into Ouray and made it to the Ouray KOA. We setup camp, in a rush in case of any further rain. We then decided to head into town and eat at the Ouray Brewery. The beer and food were tasty after a long day driving.

Heading into Raton.



The tent setup at Raton, NM. Rich and the RTT were parked off to the side.



Stopped for a restroom break at the Continental Divide.



Pit stop in Lake City



Signs are clearly marked in Lake City for Engineer



Airing down at the Engineer Pass trailhead



Capitol City



Whitmore Falls





Engineer gets rockier at this point



Trying to beat the rain









Getting off Engineer and moving into Mineral Creek









The rain really started to fall






The mudslide




Day 2.

Tuesday we ran Black Bear Pass. Our intent was to run Imogene from Telluride back to Ouray in the afternoon. Our start was a little late and we had a 15 minute delay on Highway 550 due to the mudslides the day prior. The clouds were low and it was a bit foggy on Black Bear. We took the optional waterfall shortcut. I know the GoPro stopped recording just prior to going down the descent. Having done Black Bear last year, I was a little better prepared mentally. Rich had some reservations about his brakes and Kendal had a Jeep, which made the switchbacks a breeze. We made it to Telluride safely and met up with Rich’s neighbors from the KOA: Kent and Diana and their dog. We ate at Smugglers Brew Pub. Our trip down Black Bear ran a bit late, as did our stay in Telluride. We opted not to do Imogene Pass, mainly due to the threat of weather and being up on the mountain. We took Last Dollar Road back and stopped in Ridgway at the market to get a few items for dinner.

Back at camp it had rained something fierce. Kendal and I had to relocate our tents to our campsite turning into a pond and small stream. It drained fairly quickly though. After getting the tents in place we all went down to the Ouray Hot Springs for some much needed rejuvenation. The hots springs were awesome. Our dinner was in camp, as we had left over burgers to cook and had picked up some hot dogs in Ridgway.

Black Bear trailhead





Foggy



Waterfall









View of Telluride





The tight switchback





Last Dollar Road





Weather over Ouray as view from Ridgway



Day 3.

Wednesday we ran Poughkeepsie Gulch. Poughkeepsie was a good run. After looking at the map a few days later, I realized we got off track a bit. At waypoint 2 we took the trail to the left. That led to an area of the trail that had a slight incline. The rocks were covered with wet dirt (not quite mud). The dirt was enough to limit traction and slide the vehicle to the right, which would have put the vehicle off the trail and down a ledge. At this point we met up with a few folks on UTVs and met Mike and Amy in a 2003 Jeep Rubicon. Mike and Amy were on their honeymoon. Mike had tried to go up the rocks, but kept sliding. I gave it a go until Rich told me, “You’re done, there’s no reward.” Kendal decided he didn't get this far to not try. He tried and didn't succeed. Lastly an older gentleman driving a nicely equipped Jeep Cherokee gave it a shot. Nothing. We then departed that area and took the actual trail up to the wall.

We met Mike and his Jeep at the wall, as they had pushed ahead of us. Mike advised that he winched himself up the wall. After a few attempts, I ended up winching myself up. I was quite happy to use my newly installed winch. I subsequently winched Kendal and Rich up the wall. The Jeep Cherokee picked a different line and walked up no issues. The wall was a little wetter and slicker than the year prior. We then continued on to Lake Como for a break.

After Lake Como we rode up to Hurricane Pass and then took Corkscrew Gulch out to the Highway 550. At some point Mike split from us and traveled ahead. Once again we met Mike further down Corkscrew. He was assisting 2 guys pull up a dirt bike that drove off the trail and ended up 30 feet down below in a creek. The rider had already been evacuated to a hospital. Looking at the trail, it appeared the rider was driving too fast and didn’t make the turn. After loading the dirt bike in the back of the recovery truck we made our way to Highway 550, where we aired back up our tires and then drove down to Silverton. There we ate at the Brown Bear Cafe. The food was good; their green chile soup was awesome.

Tracey and I left a bit early, as we had a catered meal with the FJ Summit. Our ride back to Ouray was in the rain and hail. We then got hailed on in Ouray as we were standing in line waiting for our food. After dinner we walked down to Ourayle House Brewery. We met Rich and Stacia along the way. The Ourayle House Brewery is THE place to get good beer while in Ouray. It’s a small bar; they don’t serve food and take cash only. That pretty much wrapped up Wednesday.

On Poughkeepsie



No reward





The wall













Lake Como





On down Corkscrew





Ourayle House



Day 4.

Thursday Rich and Kendal left. Tracey and I decided to relax and take it easy. We did some laundry at the KOA and stayed in camp to dry some camping equipment that had gotten wet. For lunch we drove up to Ridgway and ate at The True Grit Cafe. We drove into Ouray and did some shopping and then ate another catered meal at the FJ Summit.

Dry camp



True Grit in Ridgway



Ouray





Day 5

On Friday I was scheduled to run another Poughkeepsie Gulch with the FJ Summit crew. Tracey and I opted to go out alone and we ended up doing Yankee Boy Basin and Governor Basin. It was a much more pleasant trip. The views from Yankee and Governor are awesome, some of the best in the area. Yankee Boy is the much easier trail. Governor is not difficult by any means but is a less traveled trail. Both trails lead to nowhere, where you need to turn around and take the same route back. Keep that in mind when planning for these trails. After running the trails we stopped in Ouray for appetizer and beer at the Ouray Brewery. That night we ate at Obrien’s Pub. Decent food. We made it inside just before the rain.









Day 6.

Saturday was my one and only organized trail run with the FJ Summit. We did the 0900 time Imogene Pass run. Imogene was great. Last year during the Imogene run we blew right on thru due to a bad trail leader. This year the pace was much slower and the trail leader actually stopped at the iconic “rock”. We stopped in Telluride for lunch and ate at Brown Dog Pizza. Excellent pizza! Tracey and I hung out in Telluride and did our own thing. We rode the free gondola up the mountain. Telluride is a busy mountain biking spot in the summer time. We took Last Dollar Road home again. Saturday night was the FJ Summit raffle and another dinner. Once again, I did not win any of the cool stuff at the raffle. Saturday was the only day it did not rain while we were there.

Water crossing beginning of Imogene





The rock







Free gandola in Telluride



Day 7

Sunday we left Ouray around 0630. Since there was no rain Saturday night, the tent was dry to pack away. We travelled south on 550 and ate breakfast in Durango. Our route home took us to Abilene, TX where we stayed at the Dyess Air Force Inns. I felt safer leaving my fully packed truck there than I would in town at a hotel/motel/Holiday Inn. Before Abilene, we drove through Sweetwater TX. Turns out Sweetwater TX and the surrounding area is referred to as the “Wind Turbine Capital of Texas”. It was windy when we drove through and the headwind was eating up my gas. We arrived at Dyess late Sunday and found out the shoppette on base closed at 2100. We were hoping to pick up some beer and wine. Monday morning we slept in and departed around 0800. We traveled small roads through Texas and made it home around 1500.

Sweetwater TX

 

Loving the pics Lyndall. I see you put the photo software to use

 

Thanks. It only took me a year to do something with them.

 

Awesome photos!

 

Just looked at these for the first time...looks like an awesome trip. Hopefully one day another one will gel and I will be down for it.

 

Family vacation out there in summer 2017. Will likely stay at the Ouray KOA again in a Kabin.

 

@TXSmiley and I are stealing some of these ideas for our trip.

 

That's why I posted it up with the links embedded. You'll love the Ourayle House brewery!

 

Lyndall,

are you trying to get me drunk?

 

Krunk?

 

I don't get out enough.