My Journey

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

This little challenge was nothing more than a hike up a well worn trail.....



The views of course were nothing less than stunning.....



Tanner and I.....we loved every second of this hike.....



Once near the top there's some rock climbing required to actually make either summit. Here I tied Tanner to a tree as it was way more than I was comfortable with.....he waited patiently. They say that from this spot up high.....that every postcard picture of Ouray, Colorado is taken from here.....I can see why.....



We returned to the camper with plans for me to relax in the city's hot spring complex ($14 per day with people.....ugh.....). I opened my camper door and there stood 3 people.....we chatted & we chatted....and then I say "sorry, I'm off to the hot springs". Well this one guy, he says "how'd you like to soak in a hidden hot spring nearby ?". I'm all in.....we walked through the outskirts of town and then finally we left the town limits.....passed by an abandoned mine shaft.....





And then there it was this tiny pool of steaming hot water.....and it was just me and my best friend.....



I throughly enjoy watching other travelers videos or reading about their adventures and one thing always seem to surface in their stories.....



It's always when they meet people that go beyond the norms to help them that the storyteller emphasizes what a positive effect that person(s) has on their adventure.....



I tend to go on and on about the benefits of being alone.....but there's a place for man in every mans world.....

 

[longhorn1]

To see the YouTube video, on the YouTube search bar type: Black Bear Pass Jeep Rollover

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

We spent a second night on the fringes of Ouray, Colorado and then we headed for Telluride, Colorado.....



Telluride, Colorado was a bustling mountain town.....there's no hiding it here.....there's a ton of money in this town (at least that's the impression I was left with).....maybe not this bums type of town.....





Apparently Donald Trump made a visit to Telluride while I was here.....he appeared to be napping when we walked by.....



My favorite spot in Telluride, Colorado was this art shop.....and here is why.....







If you want to order something here is their information.....seems like the least I could do since I can't purchase this type of merchandise.....



Now it was time to make a few big decisions.....the good weather was coming to an end & Tanner appeared to have an ear infection.....do we climb or do we go to the vets ? I could only do one at a time and ultimately I chose to get Tanner to a vet.....dang.....it would be the last good day to climb.....



No infection was found.....we drove south now with the impending storm. The big question for us was whether or not we could get in one more San Juan mountain summit before the skies let loose. We camped along the highway and hoped for the best.....

 

[ocdiver]

I know you are long gone, and don't eat meat, but Taco del Gnar in Ridgeway has the BEST tacos! The pork belly taco is absolutely delicious and I highly recommend it. They also have several vegetarian tacos on the menu although I did not try one. I can't imagine them being anything less than awesome because everything else on the menu was super. They are not cheap, but good food rarely is and the line can get long but it is worth the wait. Side note, glad you are back to posting. There was a definite void while you were on hiatus.

 

[tgil]

While in Ouray, we ate at The Gold Belt Bar and Grill, several times. They allow dogs on their patio! Handlebars in Silverton also had a patio that allowed Scout to join us.
The perimeter trail is supposed to be a "must" while in Ouray. I will have to do it when I don't have company that weighs me down. I think Scout and I would love it! That private spring is a treasure to learn about!
I'll have to check out that art store info, I missed it on both trips I made over the summer.
Breckenridge is really "touristy" and money like Telluride, just a smaller scale. Still worth the walk through town and they seem to be the most dog friendly town I've ever visited. If ever in that area, spend a day and night there.

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[Ace Brown]

One thing people don’t understand about the “4x4 trails” in the San Juan’s is they are mostly county roads. They often are used by locals for everyday transportation. I’m not sure if BB is a designated county road. But it was an abandoned mine road that was reopened by a 4x4 group out of Telluride decades ago. I doubt it would ever be closed to motorized traffic.


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[longhorn1]

Love the gondola dog picture. My wife had to have a postcard and she took more pictures at the gondola station

 

[tgil]

Love the gondola dog picture. My wife had to have a postcard and she took more pictures at the gondola station

I meant to ask, Jerry, did you and Tanner ride the gondola in Telluride? Scout seems to enjoy it!

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[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

ocdiver.....thank you for the welcome back.....I'm noticing that you're the third person to post about Ridgeway, Colorado and that was a town that I never gave thought to visit. We stopped at the intersection and took a short break at the fairgrounds and then we headed straight for Telluride, Colorado. I guess next time.....

tgil.....I believe that we hiked on a portion of the Ouray Perimeter Trail when we summited Twin Peaks. I recall seeing the signposts along the way. No on the gondola.....I knew nothing about it. We didn't stay in Telluride for very long. I bought a great tee shirt with a mountain climbing dog on it at the mountaineering shop, Tanner had his vet appointment, then we moved on. Awesome picture of Scout.....post more.....

Ace.....yea, I agree that's a forever Jeep road. The good news is that it's well maintained.....I don't recall seeing a single piece of trash and there was little abuse by off road ATVs.....but then that seemed to be the norm in southwest Colorado. I constantly noticed that.....and loved it.....

JD.....pretty much all I purchase are stickers, tee shirts & ball caps. It's funny the number of tee shirts and ball caps that I have and that have never been worn. The stickers.....they have their place on the back door.....



So we awake the next morning and see the brightly shining sun rise over the towering mountain peaks of southwest Colorado.....



It's looking like a great day to get in one last climb.....the early morning was frigid up here as we jumped into the truck and drove south to the next trailhead.....





Lizard Head Peak (13,113') was not the target for this day.....that mountain is much too technical for this old body of mine. Heck.....somedays I struggle just to step into the truck camper. But the approach to Lizard Head Peak was the same trail to our planned summit.....



Lizard Head Peak is the massive rock outcropping that can be seen to right.....



Initially the approach meandered through a fairly dense forest filled with tall evergreens. Now the skies were beginning to change as we climbed even higher and ever so light winds could be heard as it was filtered by the forest trees.....



A rambling creek provided soothing sounds as we hiked on.....



We hiked into a wilderness area.....why aren't there more ? People love their national parks.....me, I love the wilderness areas the best.....



The winds seemed to accelerate for every step we took higher.....but the forest protected us from what lay ahead.....



As we neared the base of Lizard Head Peak we stepped out of the protection of the dense forest and into the wide open expanses of the higher mountain altitudes.....

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Our goal for this day was to summit Cross Mountain (12,703'). I had researched the mountain online and it seemed to be fairly straightforward assuming that the weather would cooperate.....two storms and a cold front were in the forecast.....







At the "Y" in the trail at the base of Lizard Head Peak we took the trail to the left and now we're hiking on a barely worn trail along an exposed ridgeline.....





The skies were such a mixed bag.....sometimes a cheerful light blue and at other times the sky actually appeared angry and it turned black & grey. One thing that was consistent that day was the high winds.....





The route up this mountain was along the southern side of the ridgeline.....the winds were coming directly from the south and just standing on two feet became nearly impossible.....lifting one foot off the ground made standing impossible.....and it was relentless.....

There would be no summit of Cross Mountain that day.....



We basked in the remaining sunlight way down below the mountain peaks where the winds didn't howl.....Tanner played in the stream as I planned our retreat.....



We drove south to lower elevations while Mother Nature brought well needed relief to the plants and the trees, and began the annual winter filling of the mountain lakes and streams. I love the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado.....

 

[Riversdad]

Love the Walt Whitman. Always meant to ask is Tanner gun shy on a windy mountain after his previous fall?

 

[Arjan]

Thanks.
Just thank you very much.
Love the Tanner pics esp..

Great reading in less than great times.

 

[longhorn1]

I meant to ask, Jerry, did you and Tanner ride the gondola in Telluride? Scout seems to enjoy it!

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tgil, in 2017 we took our Lab on the Gondola. She wouldn't jump in. I had to lift her in and out, slightly hard with the jerky movement. When we got off at Mountain Village, she wouldn't go down the metal steps. We had to take the elevator down a level. Needless to say, we left her in the camper this year.

 

[longhorn1]

Jerry, Ridgway is a neat town. Railroad Museum was neat. We camped at the State Park along the Uncompahgre River. Wish I had known about the Taco Place.

 

[longhorn1]

The Galloping Goose at the Ridgway Railroad Museum, and Sarah up at Paradise Divide above Crested Butte