Day 5 (Thursday): Silverton
Silverton: 9,318'
Mileage: N/A
Jim and I decided to take a day off the bikes and rent a Jeep. We walked up to the rental and got our ride then made a quick stop at the Silverton Grocery for some sandwiches. Our initial plan was to drive out to Cunningham Gulch and hike to the Highland Mary Lakes and have lunch. Made the drive to the trailhead and headed up the trail. It didn't take long for us to decide the hiking in the thin air was not going to happen. After less than a mile we decided we didn't have the time and energy and turned back to the Jeep. Back at the Jeep we headed up along Mountaineer Creek.
Mileage: N/A
Jim and I decided to take a day off the bikes and rent a Jeep. We walked up to the rental and got our ride then made a quick stop at the Silverton Grocery for some sandwiches. Our initial plan was to drive out to Cunningham Gulch and hike to the Highland Mary Lakes and have lunch. Made the drive to the trailhead and headed up the trail. It didn't take long for us to decide the hiking in the thin air was not going to happen. After less than a mile we decided we didn't have the time and energy and turned back to the Jeep. Back at the Jeep we headed up along Mountaineer Creek.
After Mountaineer Creek we backtracked and then headed toward Stony Pass. We started up Story Pass but made a detour to the Buffalo Boy Tram. I wasn't able to find much information about the Buffalo Boy Mine. The mine is located at the head of Rein Gulch at about 12,500'. This was primarily a gold and silver mine in operation until around 1930 when it was forced to close when its mill burned. This was an underground mining operation that used the tram to move material down mountain to a mill. From what little information I could find on the Buffalo Boy it is believed that half the gold remains in the mine. The road past the tram house up to the radio or weather towers is over 13,000' with some amazing views.
We spent a good bit of time here walking around exploring the ruins and eating lunch. I would like to go back and hike up to some of the mine tunnels. We then continued to the top, which felt like the top of the world.
We spent a good bit of time here walking around exploring the ruins and eating lunch. I would like to go back and hike up to some of the mine tunnels. We then continued to the top, which felt like the top of the world.
We went back down and headed up to Stony Pass before going back to Silverton. We met the guy in charge of maintaining the pass on his dozer. This guy was a character. He was a modern day cowboy riding a dozer instead of a horse. He was making his last run on Stony Pass before the focus would become keeping the main roads open. I don't know what the job pays but I'm guessing it's a pretty coveted job regardless.
Once back to Silverton we explored some of the roads on the other side of the Animas River out of Silverton. There are some cool houses up there. But, I'm not sure who owns them because none of them are easy to get to and would be impossible to get to without a high clearance 4x4.
We went back to Silverton to wash off the Jeep and return it. Shannon came to join us and is camping at Red Mountain. We'll go ride some passes tomorrow. Handlebars Saloon for dinner!
Once back to Silverton we explored some of the roads on the other side of the Animas River out of Silverton. There are some cool houses up there. But, I'm not sure who owns them because none of them are easy to get to and would be impossible to get to without a high clearance 4x4.
We went back to Silverton to wash off the Jeep and return it. Shannon came to join us and is camping at Red Mountain. We'll go ride some passes tomorrow. Handlebars Saloon for dinner!