Today was trail day. We packed up, gassed up in Silverton and headed out on 550 towards Red Mountain. A trip to Silverton has always encompassed Red Mountain. Driving up mine tiling, avalanche debris and past mining camps to 12,000ft passes is a must.
Dark clouds hung over Ouray and Red Mountain. Corkscrew Pass was foreboding.
We descended into the valley for a sunny spot near a water crossing for a quick lunch before cruising back up to Hurricane Pass.
We descended towards the lake before climbing towards Poughkeepsie.
We only ran Poughkeepsie once prior. About 10 years ago. In the Jeep. From the opposite direction. But Mike wanted to try the trail in his full size truck. We started the trail and it was instantly difficult. Rocky, with steep inclines, drops and steps.
We only saw one Jeep and one bike, both headed in the opposite direction as us. The bike stopped and chatted, mentioning how chewed up the trail appeared to be compared to years prior. But we motored down towards “The Wall”. Upon surveying the situation we knew we made a poor choice. There was no safe way down the wall. Not alone. But traveling back the way we came also came with consequences. The truck was already damaged (rear bed) from descending the trail. We were tired. We were stressed. We were over 12,000 ft.
Slowly, we ground our way back up the trail. The second to last obstacle finally did us in. We got stuck.
Short of breath, we got the winch out and managed to get it around a boulder. With little confidence, the winch pulled. And the strap slipped off the rock. Exhausted, we got the strap around the rock again, and I stood on it. Winching 101 says NOT to do that. I didn’t care. My meager weight on the strap kept it on the rock enough for the winch to pull the Powerwagon free from the obstacle. Thankfully, we successfully made it off the trail. Stupidly, we took on a black diamond trail in a full size truck, alone.
Elated having survived our own stupidity, we climbed California Pass and headed into Animas Forks.
By this time, the sun was getting low and we were smoked. All camping spots in the valley were full and we crossed our fingers that our “secret spot” was still opened. The stars smiled upon us and it was. After a quick dinner we were in bed.
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