Day 6 (Friday): Silverton Passes
Mileage: 33
Today was another beautiful day to be on a bike. Today was a day of passes: Hurricane, Corkscrew and California, capped off with the Frisco Mill and Animas Forks ruins. After breakfast we grab sandwiches from the Silverton Grocery again.
We head up Corkscrew Pass first. Corkscrew Pass pass sits at 10,338'. From the top of Corkscrew Pass you can see Black Bear Pass to the west. Some jerk-off had stolen the pass sign. So, no pic. No sign but lots of great views in every direction. We back-track to hit Hurricane Pass.
At the top of Hurricane Pass you are perched above Lake Cumo at 12,730'. We had lunch as we sat looking over the lake toward Poughkeepsie Gulch. From the top of Hurricane Pass you can also see the road up to California Pass. After lunch we made the short ride over to California Pass.
After taking in the views we rode down California Gulch. This little section was fun.
These old ruins fascinate me. It's crazy to think of the effort it took build some of these structures and how quickly they ended up abandoned. And, it's amazing that they're still standing with little to no maintenance.
I walked all of the remaining buildings to get a glimpse of the harsh life they scratched out in these mountains. You could spend hours at these sites. But, we had to get back to Handlebars Saloon!
Another epic day!