July 16: Black Bear Road and its hazards
And now for something different and adrenaline-producing! This morning, Ann and I arose early, had coffee and granola bars and proceeded to town for a Jeep tour of Black Bear Road and up to Black Bear Pass, at 12,840 ft.--the highest elevation I have experienced so far in my life. It would have been a foolish proposition to try to tackle it by camper van, and even Ann's Jeep Liberty would not necessarily have been up to the task. Black Bear Road, officially Forest Service Road 648, is an unpaved, notorious Jeep trail that starts from the 11,018 ft. summit of Red Mountain Pass on Highway 550, between Ouray and Silverton, to Telluride. It crests at Black Bear Pass, at 12,840 ft. Ann and I joined a four-member group which included a guide/driver who was outstanding and knew the area intimately. The Jeep was open on all sides and only later, when the rains came, did the driver roll down some panels to keep us from being soaked. At first I was a bit apprehensive, as we started an ascent that occasionally had us thrust out at vertiginous angles, but the scenery was so incredible and I was so busy snapping pictures that I soon became more comfortable with my surroundings and the jolts and heaves of the Jeep. We could have gone further, but after the top of the pass, a spot had been reported with a big hole up to your knees that would have stopped the Jeep short, with no possibility of turnaround. Glad we skipped that! After the euphoria of reaching the crest, the road descends over a set of infamous switchbacks as it navigates the heights above Telluride. The road is open from July 17 until early fall, and is only traveled downhill from Red Mountain Pass, except for the annual Jeeper's Jamboree, during which travel is reversed for one day only. The start of the trail is marked along US Hwy. 550 with the following trail sign: "Telluride--City of Gold--12 miles--2 hours. You don't have to be crazy to drive this road, but it helps. Jeeps only."
From Black Bear Pass we reversed our route, encountering a backhoe in the home stretch which was there for the reclamation of a mine. It was slowly laboring up the road and was almost as wide as the road, assuring us that we could not pass it without tumbling down the road we shared. Our driver backed up about half a mile, wenched himself up an embankment, and the backhoe slowly passed, along with a convoy of about a dozen Toyota RAV 4s and Jeeps behind it. Our driver then drove down the embankment slowly (we were almost suspended in mid-air before he expertly landed his Jeep back onto the narrow track). Needless to say, my life flashed before me!
After getting back on Hwy. 550 after descent, we made our way to Country Road 31 to view the remains of various mines in the area. It is on this road that we encountered a deep depression full of water, which we barely traversed without getting stuck and spinning our wheels. By the time we got off this county road, it was raining quite significantly as we made our way back into Ouray. By that time we were hungry and thirsty. Ann had taken the intrepid Chase along on the Jeep ride, so she deposited him in the camper van. We had lunch at Cavallo's, a New Orleans-style eatery in Ouray, where we had brisket, scrambled eggs, tomatoes and hash browns. Since it had gotten quite chilly, I had hot tea to warm the old heart cockles. Then we drove back to our campsite, took a little nap to dissipate the rigors of the morning, and are now sitting outside at the picnic table of our reserved spot at the Ouray KOA, beside a babbling brook. Ann is reading, and I am writing the eternal travel blog. Tomorrow we are heading back to Leadville and a performance of "La Cage aux Folles" at the Dillon Theatre. Saturday I will be in Dallas early evening. I will be in town for 3 days before departing for Seattle, WA to visit Alexandra, my daughter! As Sam from "Gone with the Wind" would say: "Horse--make tracks!"
From Black Bear Pass we reversed our route, encountering a backhoe in the home stretch which was there for the reclamation of a mine. It was slowly laboring up the road and was almost as wide as the road, assuring us that we could not pass it without tumbling down the road we shared. Our driver backed up about half a mile, wenched himself up an embankment, and the backhoe slowly passed, along with a convoy of about a dozen Toyota RAV 4s and Jeeps behind it. Our driver then drove down the embankment slowly (we were almost suspended in mid-air before he expertly landed his Jeep back onto the narrow track). Needless to say, my life flashed before me!
After getting back on Hwy. 550 after descent, we made our way to Country Road 31 to view the remains of various mines in the area. It is on this road that we encountered a deep depression full of water, which we barely traversed without getting stuck and spinning our wheels. By the time we got off this county road, it was raining quite significantly as we made our way back into Ouray. By that time we were hungry and thirsty. Ann had taken the intrepid Chase along on the Jeep ride, so she deposited him in the camper van. We had lunch at Cavallo's, a New Orleans-style eatery in Ouray, where we had brisket, scrambled eggs, tomatoes and hash browns. Since it had gotten quite chilly, I had hot tea to warm the old heart cockles. Then we drove back to our campsite, took a little nap to dissipate the rigors of the morning, and are now sitting outside at the picnic table of our reserved spot at the Ouray KOA, beside a babbling brook. Ann is reading, and I am writing the eternal travel blog. Tomorrow we are heading back to Leadville and a performance of "La Cage aux Folles" at the Dillon Theatre. Saturday I will be in Dallas early evening. I will be in town for 3 days before departing for Seattle, WA to visit Alexandra, my daughter! As Sam from "Gone with the Wind" would say: "Horse--make tracks!"
Comments
Post a Comment