Westward from Mississippi: Ouray, CO and Page, AZ

This would be our 4th trip in 4 summers and we decided to center our journey around Ouray, CO and Page, AZ. This would be a 14 day trip with the main goal of hitting as much dirt as possible.


Our group consisted of five college friends and two 4WD Toyota Tacomas.


IMG_3954 by Daniel Atkins, on Flickr


Day 1: Madison, MS to Amarillo, TX


This would be a day filled with a lot of miles and minimal scenery. Amarillo makes a good first night because the drive from Mississippi can be done in a day and the temperature is usually in the 70s at night making sleep much easier to come by.


We stopped for a dinner break outside of Wichita Falls, TX. Ham sandwiches did the trick.


P1012489 by Daniel Atkins, on Flickr


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Pulled in to the Amarillo KOA around midnight, popped our tents and got some rest.


Day 2: Amarillo, TX to Westcliffe, CO


The sunlight and rising temps made sure that we didn't sleep in and we showered and hit the road.


P1012493 by Daniel Atkins, on Flickr


P1012494 by Daniel Atkins, on Flickr




For the second day we endured a lot of highway miles and not much to look at. We stopped at Capulin National Monument for a lunch break but did not drive to the top of the volcano as the wait times were around an hour.


We pulled into Westcliffe, CO around 3pm and made sure to gas up and grab some snacks before we began our first trail of the trip.


Cloverdale Mine


As we pulled up to the trailhead to air down we were met with a large group of Lutherans who were having some sort of event that evening. Apparently there is a Lutheran camp located near the Cloverdale Mine trailhead. After informing them that we were in fact not participating in their get together we aired down.


The trail starts off rocky and stays that way for pretty much the entire 5 miles.


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Our goal for the night was to camp at a lake along the trail


We made decent time and enjoyed the views along the way up. A fire of previous years had done a number on the forest and the effects were obvious. Nonetheless the drive was beautiful.


P1012504 by Daniel Atkins, on Flickr


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Biggest obstacle we encountered on the way up was this tight switchback with a rock in the middle of the trail. Erosion had helped to reveal it which made it more of an issue. We made sure to watch our diffs and made it up no problem.


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We finally made it to the lake which was even better than anticipated.


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We spent our night relaxing around the fire and enjoying some music off of our Bluetooth speaker.


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The first real day of the trip had been a success.

 

Day 3: Cloverdale Mine, CO to Bonanza, CO


We took the morning to sleep in after two hard days of driving and ate breakfast before packing up camp.


The trail continued up to the mine and got increasingly narrower as we got closer to the top.


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One of my favorite parts about the old trails is the history associated with them.


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One can only imagine the type of life these people lived on a day to day basis. We took some time to walk around the old mining buildings.



Realizing it was already midday, we hurried to get down the trail and drive over to Bonanza. This was one of my favorite stops of the trip as we saw even more mining structures.


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Rain began to fall and the sun was getting low, letting us know it was time to find a campsite. We took a trail from Bonanza over to Alder Creek and made camp among the aspen trees.



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Storms continued throughout the evening and the patter of rain helped us drift asleep in our tents.


Day 4: Bonanza, CO to Silverton, CO


We were reminded of the joys of cleaning up wet gear the next morning as we packed camp. A quick drive out to HWY 285 put us on course for Creede, CO.


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Once in Creede, the Bachelor Loop is always a nice drive whenever you’re in the area. We stopped at the Last Chance Mine and took a tour with one of the guides. Can’t remember the guy’s name but he did a great job.


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IMG_3997 by Daniel Atkins, on Flickr



Stopped for lunch at the Bachelor City turnout and enjoyed the views until a minivan caravan showed up… our sign to leave.


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Our plan was to run Stony Pass from Creede over to Silverton. Hopped off 149 towards the Rio Grande reservoir which went well until we ran into an old Toyota with no clutch, a ford escape, a bunch of drivers that had no business on that road.


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After that debacle we continued on to Stony Pass which offered up some incredible views.


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Back in the San Juans and it felt so good.


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Stony Pass dropped us into Silverton where we grabbed a bite to eat in town and went to find camp along South Mineral Creek.

 

Day 5: Clear Lake


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After a chilly night we packed camp and made our way back down the road along South Mineral Creek. We nabbed an open campsite next to a waterfall closer to the Million Dollar Highway to use as a basecamp for the next few days.




By this time, it was late in the morning and we decided to grab showers at Molas Lake Campground. Much needed. Once cleaned up we drove back down the Million Dollar Highway and turn back down towards South Mineral Creek


We made our way back down the road along South Mineral Creek and headed up the switchbacks to Clear Lake.



Stopped at a waterfall on the way up.




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Once at the lake we ate lunch, explored the area around the lake, and enjoyed the beauty of the area around us. The original plan was to camp at the lake but temps and incoming storms would have made that a miserable experience.


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Rain and the foreboding weather radar forced us to head back down the switchbacks to lower elevation.


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Still early afternoon we wandered into Silverton to get some supplies, coffee, and shelter from the rain. Silverton is a very warm mountain town with a lot of charm.





A few hours later we ventured back to our campsite, settled in around the fire, and listened to a few episodes of Up and Vanished, a podcast we had been listening to on our way to CO.

 

Day 6: Ophir Pass and Last Dollar Road


Left camp that morning, headed north towards Ouray, and turned off at the Ophir Pass road trailhead. Thought about airing down but saw a huge caravan of jeeps at the bottom of the road and decided to just deal with it and blew past them hoping not to be slowed down.


The road up from Million Dollar Highway side is pretty mild and we reached the pass fairly quickly.


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Shortly after that we continued down towards the town of Ophir


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We passed through Ophir and whipped out onto HWY 145 towards Telluride. The town was packed and we could not find parking in town so we drove up the Black Bear Pass switchbacks until we got to the base of Bridal Veil Falls. The falls made for a nice lunch spot.


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Knowing that we would be running Imogene Pass the next day we decided to take Last Dollar Road back to Ridgway and onto Ouray. Tried to knock out as many trails as we could in our time in the area.


Last Dollar Road. Throwing in a couple pics from a few years back because the smoke this past summer made this views less than stellar.


Last Dollar Road by Tripp Edwards, on Flickr



Last Dollar Road by Tripp Edwards, on Flickr


Small overlook that led to some poser shots


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The road was in much worse shape than years past. Kind of sad to see because of the fact of overuse. I’m sure that the FJ Summit the week before did not help things.


We swung into Ouray for $2!! showers at the hot springs. Considering admission to the springs was close to $20 or something ridiculous we gladly took the cheap showers.


On the way back to camp we came up on some wildlife.


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Back at camp we sat around the fire and finalized the next day’s schedule as well as the rest of the trip. Another day in the books..

 

Day 7: Imogene Pass

Our last day in Colorado would be one of the best. Imogene Pass had been on our minds for the past couple of years because we did not get a chance to run the trail the last time we were in the area.


On our way up to the pass. The trail was pretty crowded and it was pouring rain most of the way up which made picture taking fall to the wayside.


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Imogene Pass


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Tomboy Mine


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As we descended rain began to come down and so we quickly made our way down to Telluride. Grabbed some goods from Telluride Brewing Company and cruised back to camp.


Imogene was a blast of a trail and even though it was crowded still a highlight of the trip.


Not too many people can say they’ve driven over 13,000 feet. Pretty cool.

 

Day 8: Ouray, CO to Page, AZ


Eager to move on to a new area, we packed camp and were on the road by 9:00. As we passed south towards Utah, one could only watch as the terrain changed from an alpine environment to desert.


Stopped in Blanding, UT at the Patio Drive In for lunch. Highly recommended.


On way to Page, AZ we drove through Monument Valley. Our first time though the area and the formations were as impressive as advertised.


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Stopped in Page for a resupply at Wally World before heading out to Lake Powell to find a campsite.


On the way to camp


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Settled in above Lake Powell, we watched boats as they docked on the banks for the night. Definitely one of the top campsites of the trip.


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Day 9: Page, AZ


I got up early to catch sunrise from our campsite and was not disappointed. The day started as promising as any, no sign of the things to come.


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I scrambled around the rocks exploring our site as we had arrived past dark


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Our first order of business was to go into Page in order to wash clothes and grab lunch. After that we drove over to Horseshoe Bend to brave the crowds and snap some pictures.


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As temperatures rose we decided to try to find somewhere to swim. Lone Rock beach was an option but the $20 per car price and people pushed us to look elsewhere. I had an idea that would take us Warm Creek Bay north of Page. Very unlikely anyone would be there and best of all it would be free.


This is where we ran into trouble.


As we made our down the road to the turn off for Warm Creek Bay, storm clouds rolled in from the north. We knew from prior research that this road can turn very dangerous when wet. We’d see the videos of flash flooding and knew the risks. Unfortunately for us the weather turned in an instant.


We were caught in a downpour that within minutes turned the road into a soupy mess.


In a stroke of pure fortune, an older man in a Land Rover was making his way towards us. He was a local and let us know that if any more rain dumped north of our location, the road could be washed out for good. This would leave us stranded for days.


After a brief discussion, we decided to take the chance on the way out letting this man lead us.


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This was probably the most nerve racking moment of the trip as the left side had been washed out and the mud was so slick on the road that getting momentum could potentially lead to losing a truck to the washout. Not to mention the mud was so thick that getting stuck out in the middle was a real possibility.


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However, both trucks made it across but not without some drama, no pics were taken in thr process as our minds were more focused on getting out of this mess.



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The aftermath.


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The radar was clear before we started down the road to Warm Creek Bay and this storm popped up in an instant. Flash floods are a real danger out west, something we rarely see in Mississippi.


Exhausted, we drove on to Kanab and washed the trucks, found a place to camp, and got some food. What a day.

 

Thanks for sharing your trip, looks like fun. I enjoyed reading it. Is this trip more recent or from the summer? I thought Imogene was closed for the season. (could be wrong)

 

Thanks! It was from the summer, end of July to early August.

 

Nice trip! Makes me really want to make a trip out to Colorado.

 

Thanks, really is an incredible place.

 

good trip report. Yes Colorado is awesome especially during summer

 

Thanks man, and 100% agree

 

Day 10: Bryce Canyon and Zion NP


After calling an audible the night before and finding a place to camp near Kanab, we made the drive over to Bryce Canyon National Park.


Definitely a unique place. The problem with NP’s is the tourists. As we ate lunch we watched bus after bus drop people off. This was something we managed to avoid most of the trip. Regardless, Bryce Canyon is a special place.


We picked a short hike that would allow us to walk among the hoodoos.


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As soon as we finished the hike the skies opened up. Rain pelted our trucks, helping to wash some of the remaining mud off. Stopped for free showers at Ruby’s Inn and grabbed some food before hitting the road for Zion.


Wanting to get to camp before dark, we drove right through Zion NP. Really amazing place and an incredible drive.


Angel’s Landing, a trail we really wanted to do, had been washed out a few weeks prior and would be closed during our time in the area. Big damper on our plans.





Camp for the night. Water was muddy because of rain upstream of our location. Still a great place to stay a night even if a bit trashed which was sad to see.


Untitled by Daniel Atkins, on Flickr

 

Day 11: Sand Hollow and the North Rim


The original plan for this day was to do some hiking in Zion. Seemed great when we planned the trip but the trail was closed. Plus the bus system used to transport people from trailhead to trailhead really didn't appeal to us as we hadn’t showered in a few days.


So another audible was called and we went swimming at Sand Hollow State Park. Turned out to be a great decision.




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Refreshed, we hopped back in the trucks and headed towards the Grand Canyon.





We hit dirt around Jacobs Lake, AZ and traveled for around 25 miles to our destination for the night.


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What a place. At the top of the list of best campsites ever.


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Best part was that we had the place all to ourselves.


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This would be our last true camp night of the trip and I believe we saved the best for last. I can imagine I’ll be back sooner than later. Until next time.

 

Looked like a sweet trip. I am just a little jealous. I'm waiting for the day where I can take a break from work and hop out into the world. Looking forward to any other trips you push out.

 

It definitely was, I've been very fortunate to have the ability to take trips while in school. Hopefully I'll be able to keep going after I graduate. I have a Wyoming/Montana trip write up that I've been meaning to do so look out for that.

 

Alrighty man, will do.