Colorado Alpine Loop Trip (Ouray/Silverton/Lake City): 7/30-8/3/2015

Took last weekend to experience the Alpine Loop in southwest Colorado. I'm still an off-roading baby, so we just did the loop plus some side trails. Some other members recently did the more technical trails and took some more action shots; you can see their report here: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/alpine-loop-and-ouray-area-7-22-7-26-15.384583/

Let's begin.

Before departure.





First night of camping after a 5-hour drive. We were just outside of Yankee Boy Basin.




Man scratching himself and boozing while standing in front of a fire cooking burgers. Not sure why I went to college...it didn't help me.




Quick stop in Ouray for supplies...and by "supplies" I mean "booze".




Here she is...








Didn't get very far but what we saw was already mind-blowing.





I really suck at this.







A little while later...








Two happy gingers...





Exiting.




Animas Forks...a well-preserved mining town that was pretty well-stocked in it's day. And some jeeps. Ignore those.



These were some "harden the fuck up" type of people.





Second night of camping (outside of Silverton).





Next day: Engineer Pass overlook.




A couple of hungover idiots.







This mine suffered several avalanches...the first during 1920s "only" killed four people. The second one in 2008, well...




Another mine that at one time had a functioning dam.




We could feel the cold air coming from this shaft from a good 70 meters away. I wish that I could describe the feeling.





Heh...





Lake City. Wasn't impressed.



Anybody hungry?




How 'bout now?



Let's get back to work and away from the cannibals.




Night 3. Whatever. It worked.



Aspens? Or redwoods? You decide...




Watchoo lookin' at??



Side trip.






Back to the loop.






More to come...

 

Watchoo lookin' at??














Huuuuuunnnggggryyyy...






Lake Como. Screwed up the focus on the camera somehow.















Heading back down to Ouray where we would stay the night in actual goddamn beds.




Safe!





Watchoo lookin' at??




Into the sunset...

 

Extra credit.







Spoiled-ass dog.




What is happening here?




I hear banjos...




Hugs!




NO HUGS





Spoiled-ass dog.

\



I'm either contemplating the mysteries of the universe or holding in a fart. Hard to tell at that altitude.




There is a very confused hummingbird in this picture.





My leg contemplating a dog contemplating a log.





Oh, and a spoiled-ass dog.





Watchoo lookin' at??





RUN





I'm pretty sure the map said, "take a left here".





WAKE UP SHEEPLE




It was a tough weekend.

 

Looks like a great time!

 

Thanks! It was a good time.

I was a little shell-shocked coming back to work after the trip...felt like I had been gone for years.

 

For sure.... the wife and I have a three week wyo-moab-western slope loop planned at the end of september and I am sure work will suck after a dose of what life should be like!

 

It's funny you say that...during the trip there was a lot of talk regarding quitting our jobs and starting a brewery in the woods.

 

Nice! Cool report!

 

looked like a blast to me.

 

Looks like a great trip! We got up there on the 3rd, ran hurricane pass and corkscrew gulch.

 

That looks awesome! How many miles is that trail?

 

The loop itself is about 60 miles and can easily be done in a day. Here's my takeaway: between the scenery, tourists, and side trails you'll want to take your time with this one.

 

Thanks for the info...this is on my bucket list.

 

Just looking at your trip report.....was hungry, that is my Tacoma out front of the Packer Grill, we had just come over Cinnamon Pass heading to Crested Butte. They have a nice patio out back and pretty good burgers.

 

New to tacomaworld! Great trail. My gf and I are planning the exact same trip. Mind lending me a hand in how to find and what to be expecting?

 

To be honest: we had no idea what we were doing so we found one of the 3 towns on the route (Ouray in our case), grabbed some beer, procured a map to find the entrance, and jumped in headfirst--and that's what made it fun. We went in early August and it was somewhat crowded with jeep rentals, side-by-sides, and tours. When I do it again, I'll probably go during the week in hopes of seeing fewer people. Also, I would have liked to do more remote camping...we didn't give ourselves enough time to find disbursed camping and soon we had to choose whatever was available. Make sure to give yourself plenty of time to stop and take pictures and to explore...don't rush. Depending on your comfort level, you may want to avoid Poughkeepsie Gulch and Black Bear Pass; you can find more info on those at www.traildamage.com. It may not be a bad idea to look into this guide: https://www.funtreks.com/guide-to-colorado-backroads-4wd-trails-3rd-edition. Finally, check out this fantastic report from last year: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/alpine-loop-and-ouray-area-7-22-7-26-15.384583/

 

Meantto post this for some time. The rock drill that we encountered was built by a company located 5 hours northeast of the loop (by car) in Denver.



I pass this every weekday during my commute.

 

There are several years worth of trip reports on the Alpine Loop. Check them out for sure.

Side note, Loop is very tame except for the 2 passes. I have seen Mustang's, sedan', etc up to American Basin.

 

How long did this trip take you?

 

Really depends on how much stopping you wish to do and side trails to Explore. Alpine loop can be done probably in as little as 3 hours but you miss a ton of cool stuff.