Uncomphagre River |
The views from the Jeep trails were amazing. We started by driving along the Uncomphagre River (which is the river that feed the waterfall next to the highway we visited earlier in the week). There were several waterfalls and dams as we climbed in elevation beside it. After we rose above the river area we started seeing the peaks of the surrounding mountains and the diminishing trees as we came up to the tree line. We also saw several old mining towns along the roads. It was crazy to wonder how these miners were able to make their ways to these villages without the use of cars and ATVs - these were really remote areas and most of them built into the side of mountains. The danger of working in the mines was only compounded by the travel to get there. Even though we passed and got passed by several people on the road - there were very few people in general on the trails. Most of the time you really felt like you were out on your own.
After about 2 hours of driving we made it to our first pass of the trip - Cinnamon Pass. As we climbed out of our warm Jeep we were hit with the winds and colder temps of being at a +12,000 elevation. Brrrrrrr.
American Basin |
Slumgullion Slide |
The remainder of the trail was relatively uneventful. Eventually the trail became a paved road as we got closer to Lake City and we were able to make up some time that we spent going 10 mph in the beginning miles. We stopped at a campground to make sandwiches and eat just outside of Lake City. After lunch we headed toward our short overnight campground location. Along the way we passed San Cristobal Lake which is the second largest natural lake in Colorado. It was created when there was a natural earth flow (rock slide I'm guessing) called the Slumgullion Slide from a near by mountain both 700 and 350 years ago. Reminents of the rock slide are still evident on the mountain side and scientist are able to calculate the years by the age of the trees along the side of the mountain.
Lake San Cristobal |
We drove up a pass on the nearby highway to get our first real view of Uncomphagre Peak - our main hike we would face tomorrow. Wow - I think we might be crazy!!!!
Uncomphagre Peak - center of the picture |
We then headed into our campground. It was a cute little RV park beside the river in Lake City. There was only 1 or 2 tent sites and ours was right on the river. It was a beautiful view and a great back drop for our tent. The people at the park were so generous. That night they were having a potluck dinner and invited us to join, even though we didn't have food to share. Since we had plans to visit Lake City we said thank you but that we would probably pass. After our Lake City outing we got back and as we sat by the fire getting ready to cook hot dogs they walked over with plates of leftover food - soup, potatoes, roast... they told us to eat up! We were just amazed that they were so ready to adopt us into their group after a few hours! We will definitely visit their campground on every trip. During dinner a deer started walking into our campground, apparently she is the camp mascot. She was very tame, drank and ate out of dog bowls and visited several different sites. So cute. Early to bed was the theme of the night so that we could get up at 4:50 and get ready for our trip to Uncomphagre, so there ended our evening.