This trip report is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of being an OB member in good-standing.
Note: if you like stories of survival in the woods, skip to Chapter 5.
TL;DR version: Hiking, dirt bike riding, 14ers, stranded in the woods, broken hearts, man hugs.
Chapter 1 - The setup
WheelingAg and 3 others made this trip 2 years ago for camping and dirt bike riding and everyone had a great time. They were unsuccessful, however, in their attempt to scale Mt. Yale. This year, they wanted to make the trip again, and seek redemption on another 14er. I’m not a dirt bike rider, but WheelingAg knows how much I enjoy camping and hiking, so I was invited this year. I was excited about getting to go camping with a group this year, as opposed to going alone like I had in the previous 3 years, and also for the chance to hike another 14er. We loaded up and departed B/CS on Thursday 7/18 around 10pm and drove through the night arriving near Silverton, CO around dusk on Friday 7/19.
Chapter 2 - Silverton
We camped just east of Silverton in Cunningham Gulch (near Howardsville; just west of the Continental Divide and the headwaters of the Rio Grande. I'll let WheelingAg post about the dirt bike riding and I'll just focus on the camping and hiking.
Saturday morning, we got organized and the guys started getting their bikes ready for the week. While they were working on their bikes, I drove into Silverton to pick up some trail maps at the local general store. After looking over the maps, I decided to just hike around the Gulch for the first few days. We were surrounded by 13,000' peaks on the east and the west and they would each be good hikes to get me started.
Upon my return to the campsite, I loaded up my pack and departed up the eastern side of the Gulch, not knowing how long I would be able to hike due to some threatening clouds forming over the peaks. The weather would stay at bay for the day, however, and I was able to make it up to the highest part of the eastern side without too much trouble. From the peak the Highland Mary Lakes were visible to the south, along with many of the surrounding peaks. I'm always amazed at the extent of the mountain ranges which you can see from the peaks. I try to remind myself that every set of peaks is also associated with a valley below (much like the one we were camping in), each with their own set of inhabitants. This really made me appreciate how much of a wilderness we were in. I made it back to camp and we had a few beers with our dinner. The only downside was that there was a burn ban on campfires.
Days 2 and 3 were more of the same. I hiked up the western side of the Gulch to Little Giant Peak on day 2. There were tons of abandoned mining materials along the trail, and it was cool to think about being a kid from Texas and working on a mining crew in 1890. I saw a nice mule deer on the trail too. I hiked to the Highland Mary Lakes on day 3. Not much to report here; good hike with beautiful scenery.
Chapter 3 - Handies Peak 14,048'
On day 4 we decided to attempt Handies Peak. We got a late start and the road to the trailhead was a very challenging 4x4 road and we had to pull off to the side for several dirt bikes and ATVs, so it was slow going. We got to the trailhead around 11am, and set out. It was only about 3 miles to the summit, and the trailhead was at 11,600’. We all took our time, drank plenty of water on the way up, and made the summit without much fanfare. For myself and 1 other guy in our group, this was our 2nd 14er. For the other 3 guys, this was their first, and they were redeemed after not making it to the summit of Yale 2 years ago. I would say if you’re looking for a 14er to attempt as your 1st, this is a good one to choose. After the summit, we made it down the mountain as rain was approaching, and I believe we headed into Ouray for the evening. Regardless, I’ll make the next chapter about Ouray because it’s a cool place.
Chapter 4 - Ouray
We spent a few evenings in Ouray which is a beautiful town nestled in a very steep mountain valley. It is famous for a few beautiful waterfalls which are right there in town, a hot spring which has sort of been turned into the city pool, and the perimeter trail which obviously goes around the perimeter of the city in the mountains with spectacular views of the city. There’s also a few very good places to get beer in town including the Ouray Brewery and some other place whose name is something like the Grumpy Old Man Brew House, where it’s just one guy who runs this microbrewery. I wish I had taken some pictures from his place, because it was pretty unique.
To get from Silverton to Ouray, you travel north on US 550 which is called the Million Dollar Highway. It reminded me of the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park in that it is very narrow, winding, and built right into the side of a mountain. Anyway, if you’re in the area, Ouray is a must-see town.
Chapter 5 - The Migration to Taylor Park
On Wednesday 7/24, we decided to pack up camp and head to Taylor Park Reservoir for a change in scenery. So we packed everything up, loaded the truck and trailer, and headed into Silverton to do a load of laundry. While doing laundry, we decided that I would take the truck and trailer with all the camping gear to Taylor park via US 550 N, and US 50 E, to Gunnison, and then on to Taylor Park, while the other guys would ride their dirt bikes on 4x4 and Jeep roads through the mountain passes for a challenging and scenic ride. We both departed Silverton around 2pm and agreed to meet at Taylor Park around 7pm to make camp.
Since I was taking highways and would be able to make it in plenty of time, I stopped by Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (partially on the recommendation of this forum). I was glad that I went because it is truly breathtaking. I was able to drive along the south rim road and stop for several pictures at various scenic overlooks. However, for me, this was one of those National Park experiences where I felt like I was a sheep being herded along a road, and I end up with great pictures, but they are the same ones that everyone else in the park has. In short, it was great, but you really need more time to really hike around and experience it instead of just getting generic scenic overlook shots.
After about 2 hours, I left the park and continued on to Taylor Park Reservoir. I arrived around 8pm a little angry at myself for being late and allowing only about an hour of daylight to get camp set up. But when I got there, WheelingAg and the others were nowhere to be found. I thought it was a little strange, because I thought I was the one who was late, but I decided to just wait in the parking lot for them because it would be easier for 5 of us to set up camp in the dark, than just me try to set up camp alone. I tried calling each of their cell phones but it went straight to voicemail, which meant either no service, or their phones had all been left on and died.
An hour passed and the sun had gone down at 9pm, and there was still no sign of WheelingAg and the other 3. I tried calling all 4 of them pretty much every 30 minutes, but it always went straight to voicemail. Eventually 10pm and 11pm rolled right on by. At midnight, I finally allowed myself to start worrying about them. I looked up a phone number for the non-emergency police in that county and gave them a ring and explained the situation. They advised me that the 4 guys on dirt bikes had probably run out of gas because the route they were taking was well over 100 miles and it was lots of up and down the mountains. They told me to just wait until 8am and they would either have made it to me by then, or they would have been found by some early morning hikers. I explained that I wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing that they were out there, so I was going to unhitch the trailer and go looking for them along the route that I thought they took, with a gas can. In my mind, they were walking towards me within 5-10 miles and they just needed gas.
So, I left Taylor Park Reservoir around 1am and headed out along all the 4x4 and Jeep roads that WheelingAg and the others were supposed to be on, expecting to see them after every bend in the road. However, the miles and the hours went by and I saw no sign of them all the way back to Silverton at 7:30am. At this point, I was pretty concerned. However, I had also kind of convinced myself that they were probably back at Taylor Park Reservoir, and we had just missed each other at the meeting point because we didn’t specify an exact location to meet. So I called the police number again and told them that I had driven through the night along their trail and I didn’t see any sign of them. But, that I think there’s a pretty good chance that we just missed each other at Taylor Park, and I want to drive back there and look again. They told me to go ahead and go back to Taylor Park, but take the highways this time which would only take about 3 hours. And when I get to Taylor Park, look everywhere for them, and if they aren’t there, then call back and we’ll start calling in the search and rescue helicopters.
At this point I was feeling pretty ridiculous for even getting the police involved at all because I was certain that they were going to be sitting on the trailer when I got back, just waiting on me, and mad at me for driving around all night with their camping gear. As I pulled up to Taylor Park, I had this “moment of truth” feeling in my head like, well they better be here somewhere, but in the back of my mind I was absolutely convinced that they would be there, just sitting around, ticked off at me. However, as I rounded the last bend and the parking lot at the lake became visible, I saw the trailer exactly where I had parked it and they were not there. I parked the truck and went inside the general store which was now bustling with other dirt bike and ATV riders and asked around if anyone had left a message for me, or seen my 4 friends. After no sign of them at the store, I spent about 30 minutes just driving all over the lakeshore looking for any possible spot that they may have set up camp, all to no avail. There was no sign of them anywhere. This is when I sort of lost it. I knew at this point that they were out there in the woods somewhere between Taylor Park and Silverton and it was now time to call the police back and send in the helicopters.
I had one last idea though. Maybe, they had run out of gas somewhere, walked to a motel, and their cell phones were all dead, and the only phone numbers that they know by heart are those of their wives. So I decided I was going to call WheelingAg’s wife and see if he had checked in with her. If he hadn’t checked in, I was going to break the news to her that he was missing and I’m about to call the police to start a search and rescue. So I drove from the lakeshore back to the parking lot and as I was pulling into the parking lot my phone rings and it’s WheelingAg calling me. I felt so relieved, but I also remember thinking that it might be some hiker who found his phone in the woods and he was just calling the most recent number. So this was really the “moment of truth” for me. But when I answered, it was WheelingAg on the other end of the line, they were safe back in Silverton, and I was just overcome with relief.
He explained that they got themselves in a sticky situation on the mountain, and had only gone a few miles in several hours and it started raining and lightning, and it got dark real fast, and they had no choice but to ditch their bikes on the mountain, walk back below the tree line, and hunker down for the night. I’ll let him chime in with his version of what happened, but I was just so happy that they were all ok. We decided to meet up in Ouray and get a hotel for the night. I hitched the trailer up and drove into Ouray and met up with the 4 of them for an evening of drinking beer and re-telling our ends of the story of what had happened.
Chapter 6 - Conclusion
We stayed in Ouray on Thursday night and began our trip home mid-day on Friday; too exhausted to stay any longer. We made it to Tucumcari, got a cheap motel there, and finished the trip back to B/CS on Saturday.
If I can get a little bit serious for a minute; we were all reminded of a few very important lessons on this trip.
- Have a SPECIFIC plan for meeting back up after going separate ways
- No matter how long you think you’ll be up in the mountains on your day trip, pack like you’ll be out there overnight
Overall, I had a great time on this trip, and I’m thankful for being able to go with the 4 great guys that I went with. It was obviously a bit harrowing for me to stay up all night looking for the guys, but we learned from our mistakes and will be better prepared the next time. I can’t wait to get back out in the woods again and hike another 14er very soon.
[This message has been edited by coop-aero-06 (edited 7/31/2013 12:16p).]
Note: if you like stories of survival in the woods, skip to Chapter 5.
TL;DR version: Hiking, dirt bike riding, 14ers, stranded in the woods, broken hearts, man hugs.
Chapter 1 - The setup
WheelingAg and 3 others made this trip 2 years ago for camping and dirt bike riding and everyone had a great time. They were unsuccessful, however, in their attempt to scale Mt. Yale. This year, they wanted to make the trip again, and seek redemption on another 14er. I’m not a dirt bike rider, but WheelingAg knows how much I enjoy camping and hiking, so I was invited this year. I was excited about getting to go camping with a group this year, as opposed to going alone like I had in the previous 3 years, and also for the chance to hike another 14er. We loaded up and departed B/CS on Thursday 7/18 around 10pm and drove through the night arriving near Silverton, CO around dusk on Friday 7/19.
Chapter 2 - Silverton
We camped just east of Silverton in Cunningham Gulch (near Howardsville; just west of the Continental Divide and the headwaters of the Rio Grande. I'll let WheelingAg post about the dirt bike riding and I'll just focus on the camping and hiking.
Saturday morning, we got organized and the guys started getting their bikes ready for the week. While they were working on their bikes, I drove into Silverton to pick up some trail maps at the local general store. After looking over the maps, I decided to just hike around the Gulch for the first few days. We were surrounded by 13,000' peaks on the east and the west and they would each be good hikes to get me started.
Upon my return to the campsite, I loaded up my pack and departed up the eastern side of the Gulch, not knowing how long I would be able to hike due to some threatening clouds forming over the peaks. The weather would stay at bay for the day, however, and I was able to make it up to the highest part of the eastern side without too much trouble. From the peak the Highland Mary Lakes were visible to the south, along with many of the surrounding peaks. I'm always amazed at the extent of the mountain ranges which you can see from the peaks. I try to remind myself that every set of peaks is also associated with a valley below (much like the one we were camping in), each with their own set of inhabitants. This really made me appreciate how much of a wilderness we were in. I made it back to camp and we had a few beers with our dinner. The only downside was that there was a burn ban on campfires.
Days 2 and 3 were more of the same. I hiked up the western side of the Gulch to Little Giant Peak on day 2. There were tons of abandoned mining materials along the trail, and it was cool to think about being a kid from Texas and working on a mining crew in 1890. I saw a nice mule deer on the trail too. I hiked to the Highland Mary Lakes on day 3. Not much to report here; good hike with beautiful scenery.
Chapter 3 - Handies Peak 14,048'
On day 4 we decided to attempt Handies Peak. We got a late start and the road to the trailhead was a very challenging 4x4 road and we had to pull off to the side for several dirt bikes and ATVs, so it was slow going. We got to the trailhead around 11am, and set out. It was only about 3 miles to the summit, and the trailhead was at 11,600’. We all took our time, drank plenty of water on the way up, and made the summit without much fanfare. For myself and 1 other guy in our group, this was our 2nd 14er. For the other 3 guys, this was their first, and they were redeemed after not making it to the summit of Yale 2 years ago. I would say if you’re looking for a 14er to attempt as your 1st, this is a good one to choose. After the summit, we made it down the mountain as rain was approaching, and I believe we headed into Ouray for the evening. Regardless, I’ll make the next chapter about Ouray because it’s a cool place.
Chapter 4 - Ouray
We spent a few evenings in Ouray which is a beautiful town nestled in a very steep mountain valley. It is famous for a few beautiful waterfalls which are right there in town, a hot spring which has sort of been turned into the city pool, and the perimeter trail which obviously goes around the perimeter of the city in the mountains with spectacular views of the city. There’s also a few very good places to get beer in town including the Ouray Brewery and some other place whose name is something like the Grumpy Old Man Brew House, where it’s just one guy who runs this microbrewery. I wish I had taken some pictures from his place, because it was pretty unique.
To get from Silverton to Ouray, you travel north on US 550 which is called the Million Dollar Highway. It reminded me of the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park in that it is very narrow, winding, and built right into the side of a mountain. Anyway, if you’re in the area, Ouray is a must-see town.
Chapter 5 - The Migration to Taylor Park
On Wednesday 7/24, we decided to pack up camp and head to Taylor Park Reservoir for a change in scenery. So we packed everything up, loaded the truck and trailer, and headed into Silverton to do a load of laundry. While doing laundry, we decided that I would take the truck and trailer with all the camping gear to Taylor park via US 550 N, and US 50 E, to Gunnison, and then on to Taylor Park, while the other guys would ride their dirt bikes on 4x4 and Jeep roads through the mountain passes for a challenging and scenic ride. We both departed Silverton around 2pm and agreed to meet at Taylor Park around 7pm to make camp.
Since I was taking highways and would be able to make it in plenty of time, I stopped by Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (partially on the recommendation of this forum). I was glad that I went because it is truly breathtaking. I was able to drive along the south rim road and stop for several pictures at various scenic overlooks. However, for me, this was one of those National Park experiences where I felt like I was a sheep being herded along a road, and I end up with great pictures, but they are the same ones that everyone else in the park has. In short, it was great, but you really need more time to really hike around and experience it instead of just getting generic scenic overlook shots.
After about 2 hours, I left the park and continued on to Taylor Park Reservoir. I arrived around 8pm a little angry at myself for being late and allowing only about an hour of daylight to get camp set up. But when I got there, WheelingAg and the others were nowhere to be found. I thought it was a little strange, because I thought I was the one who was late, but I decided to just wait in the parking lot for them because it would be easier for 5 of us to set up camp in the dark, than just me try to set up camp alone. I tried calling each of their cell phones but it went straight to voicemail, which meant either no service, or their phones had all been left on and died.
An hour passed and the sun had gone down at 9pm, and there was still no sign of WheelingAg and the other 3. I tried calling all 4 of them pretty much every 30 minutes, but it always went straight to voicemail. Eventually 10pm and 11pm rolled right on by. At midnight, I finally allowed myself to start worrying about them. I looked up a phone number for the non-emergency police in that county and gave them a ring and explained the situation. They advised me that the 4 guys on dirt bikes had probably run out of gas because the route they were taking was well over 100 miles and it was lots of up and down the mountains. They told me to just wait until 8am and they would either have made it to me by then, or they would have been found by some early morning hikers. I explained that I wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing that they were out there, so I was going to unhitch the trailer and go looking for them along the route that I thought they took, with a gas can. In my mind, they were walking towards me within 5-10 miles and they just needed gas.
So, I left Taylor Park Reservoir around 1am and headed out along all the 4x4 and Jeep roads that WheelingAg and the others were supposed to be on, expecting to see them after every bend in the road. However, the miles and the hours went by and I saw no sign of them all the way back to Silverton at 7:30am. At this point, I was pretty concerned. However, I had also kind of convinced myself that they were probably back at Taylor Park Reservoir, and we had just missed each other at the meeting point because we didn’t specify an exact location to meet. So I called the police number again and told them that I had driven through the night along their trail and I didn’t see any sign of them. But, that I think there’s a pretty good chance that we just missed each other at Taylor Park, and I want to drive back there and look again. They told me to go ahead and go back to Taylor Park, but take the highways this time which would only take about 3 hours. And when I get to Taylor Park, look everywhere for them, and if they aren’t there, then call back and we’ll start calling in the search and rescue helicopters.
At this point I was feeling pretty ridiculous for even getting the police involved at all because I was certain that they were going to be sitting on the trailer when I got back, just waiting on me, and mad at me for driving around all night with their camping gear. As I pulled up to Taylor Park, I had this “moment of truth” feeling in my head like, well they better be here somewhere, but in the back of my mind I was absolutely convinced that they would be there, just sitting around, ticked off at me. However, as I rounded the last bend and the parking lot at the lake became visible, I saw the trailer exactly where I had parked it and they were not there. I parked the truck and went inside the general store which was now bustling with other dirt bike and ATV riders and asked around if anyone had left a message for me, or seen my 4 friends. After no sign of them at the store, I spent about 30 minutes just driving all over the lakeshore looking for any possible spot that they may have set up camp, all to no avail. There was no sign of them anywhere. This is when I sort of lost it. I knew at this point that they were out there in the woods somewhere between Taylor Park and Silverton and it was now time to call the police back and send in the helicopters.
I had one last idea though. Maybe, they had run out of gas somewhere, walked to a motel, and their cell phones were all dead, and the only phone numbers that they know by heart are those of their wives. So I decided I was going to call WheelingAg’s wife and see if he had checked in with her. If he hadn’t checked in, I was going to break the news to her that he was missing and I’m about to call the police to start a search and rescue. So I drove from the lakeshore back to the parking lot and as I was pulling into the parking lot my phone rings and it’s WheelingAg calling me. I felt so relieved, but I also remember thinking that it might be some hiker who found his phone in the woods and he was just calling the most recent number. So this was really the “moment of truth” for me. But when I answered, it was WheelingAg on the other end of the line, they were safe back in Silverton, and I was just overcome with relief.
He explained that they got themselves in a sticky situation on the mountain, and had only gone a few miles in several hours and it started raining and lightning, and it got dark real fast, and they had no choice but to ditch their bikes on the mountain, walk back below the tree line, and hunker down for the night. I’ll let him chime in with his version of what happened, but I was just so happy that they were all ok. We decided to meet up in Ouray and get a hotel for the night. I hitched the trailer up and drove into Ouray and met up with the 4 of them for an evening of drinking beer and re-telling our ends of the story of what had happened.
Chapter 6 - Conclusion
We stayed in Ouray on Thursday night and began our trip home mid-day on Friday; too exhausted to stay any longer. We made it to Tucumcari, got a cheap motel there, and finished the trip back to B/CS on Saturday.
If I can get a little bit serious for a minute; we were all reminded of a few very important lessons on this trip.
- Have a SPECIFIC plan for meeting back up after going separate ways
- No matter how long you think you’ll be up in the mountains on your day trip, pack like you’ll be out there overnight
Overall, I had a great time on this trip, and I’m thankful for being able to go with the 4 great guys that I went with. It was obviously a bit harrowing for me to stay up all night looking for the guys, but we learned from our mistakes and will be better prepared the next time. I can’t wait to get back out in the woods again and hike another 14er very soon.
[This message has been edited by coop-aero-06 (edited 7/31/2013 12:16p).]
