Red Cone - Buena Vista - Pitkin - St. Elmo - Oil Pan Hole
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I
start at Nathrup Colo's Chalk Creek Campground and head to Poncha
Springs for fuel. There the group will head up towards Monarch Pass,
jumping off of asphalt near the top to take the "Old Monarch Pass" dirt
road to the other side. This road is nicely maintained (near zero
potholes) low clearance passenger car accessible. Down from the pass
road we'll head north to Tomichi Pass (most certainly not low clearance
car accessible) with a stop at the Tomichi Cemetery. From Tomichi we
traveled to the western portal of the Alpine (train) Tunnel. An info
sign said this was the first bore through the Continental Divide in the
U.S. - a curious tidbit of history. After the tunnel's visit we'll drop
to the valley floor, but still at 11,000 feet up, to set camp. The
campsite was at or very close to the old Woodstock townsite - a
townsite that was active when the train was active, but also one that
was at the base of an avalanch chute that hit the town and killed
several people. |
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From
the Alpine Tunnel road was the trailhead for Williams Pass. We had
hopes to also take Williams Pass over the mountain and then to quickly
team up with Hancock Pass to jump back to the Alpine Tunnel road side -
but sadly the Williams Pass gate was locked. |
| Heading towards Monarch Pass - paying
attention to faster moving traffic getting stuck behind slow jeeps. |
| The large mine area nearing Monarch Pass, from
the east side. |
| Montana |
| Wyoming |
| Colorado |
| Florida |
| Colorado |
| Colorado |
| The cut grass smelled wonderful |
| Info Sign Click for a larger size |
| Road less traveled, nice home with metal (fire
resistant) roof, grand scenery, and a few toys... |
| Tomichi Cemetery |
| G.A. Metzker Born Apr 24, 1859 Killed By Explosion Aug 26, 1890 ------- Beneath this stone Our dear son lies For him we now do mourn A loving brother stood by him While far away from home (Click for a larger size) |
| Someone carved / created nice cross markers
for the graves. |
| Geo. W. Robbins Died July 13, 1883 Aged 59 Yrs & 6 Mos |
| Across the valley I spot some "tan fan" of
rock - tell-tale mine activity. |
| Hard to tell if this is natural or the result
of mining - I'm leaning to a small mine. |
| Panorama Click for a larger size |
| Tomichi Pass |
| Looking back to the valley we came up |
| Panorama Click for a larger size |
| Panorama Click for a larger size |
| Across
the valley is Hancock Pass - we have plans to travel it today - but
only if Williams Pass is open for travel. It's often gated / closed due
to wetlands issues. August is a dry month and it might be open. |
| A vehicle rolled off of the trail quite some
time ago. |
| Looking at a spot-of-care for the trail. |
| We're
headed to the Alpine (train) tunnel. As I have an interest in trains,
this area has been a ToDo list item for some time. Today's the day for
a visit. The tunnel has been blocked off - no chance to see inside.
Apparently sections have caved in. |
| At this point, we are riding on old railroad
bed. The width is uniform and the grade and curves, gentle. |
| Hmmm... A house across the valley. |
| This sections is called the Palisades. It was
built-up for the railroad to roll upon. |
| Spot the red jeep in the expanse of rock? |
| Closer - and it's still small in comparison |
| Rain / sleet passing through. |
| End of the driveable railbed. We'll park and
walk. |
| Coaling Platform, 1906 |
| Info Sign Click for a larger size |
| The western portal - no walking inside |
| The structure is a turntable as there was not
enough room for a Wye to turn locomotives around. |
| The center pivot is missing. |
| An impressibe build-up on the face of a
mountain |
| Info Sign Click for a larger size |
| Info Sign Click for a larger size |
| Info Sign Click for a larger size |
| Info Sign Click for a larger size |
| Info Sign Click for a larger size |
| Heading out in search of a campsite for the
group |
| Info Sign Click for a larger size |
| Panorama Click for a larger size |
| Panorama Click for a larger size |
