jeff@work
08-20-2006, 02:03 AM
WOW! :Wow1: This trail is all about the views. Driving on ridge lines above the tundra line leads to some breathtaking views. It starts out in the small town of Montezuma, CO...how small is it? Well when coming up from Keystone, CO you make a left at the first "intersection" to start the trail...the intersection is a portable stop sign stuck in the middle of the dirt road! This road is FR-264 and is the trail you'll follow the top.
Now going from "4wd Adventures: Colorado" they rate this trail a 5 out of 10, i'm really not sure why as i thought it was pretty easy. It's a narrow trail but there aren't any tricky climbs or difficult sections, a small lift would be nice but honestly i think this could easily be done in a stock suv. The only reason i used 4wd was for the low range so i could crawl along nice and slowly.
The trail basically switch backs up the mountain continuing up above the tree line, passing a couple of old mines then coming up on top of the ridge line, the views are SPECTACULAR! My pictures don't even come close to doing it justice. At this point the trail is around 12,800 feet and you can see for miles in every direction, make sure you have your camera! The trail ends at the Silver Wave Mine although you might want to park a little before it since the the trail does get a bit tougher going up to the mine and there's not much room to turn around.
I highly recommend this trail for the scenery but if you're out for something that will challenge your driving skills this one isn't for you! Seeing these mines way up on the ridge lines really makes you wonder how on earth people ever decided to start digging there.
Pics!
http://www.jeffgully.com/images/2006/08/20060819/slides/P8190215.JPG
http://www.jeffgully.com/images/2006/08/20060819/slides/P8190213.JPG
http://www.jeffgully.com/images/2006/08/20060819/slides/P8190214.JPG
http://www.jeffgully.com/images/2006/08/20060819/slides/P8190225.JPG
http://www.jeffgully.com/images/2006/08/20060819/slides/P8190198.JPG
The full set of pics can be seen here (http://www.jeffgully.com/images/2006/08/20060819/index.php).
Now going from "4wd Adventures: Colorado" they rate this trail a 5 out of 10, i'm really not sure why as i thought it was pretty easy. It's a narrow trail but there aren't any tricky climbs or difficult sections, a small lift would be nice but honestly i think this could easily be done in a stock suv. The only reason i used 4wd was for the low range so i could crawl along nice and slowly.
The trail basically switch backs up the mountain continuing up above the tree line, passing a couple of old mines then coming up on top of the ridge line, the views are SPECTACULAR! My pictures don't even come close to doing it justice. At this point the trail is around 12,800 feet and you can see for miles in every direction, make sure you have your camera! The trail ends at the Silver Wave Mine although you might want to park a little before it since the the trail does get a bit tougher going up to the mine and there's not much room to turn around.
I highly recommend this trail for the scenery but if you're out for something that will challenge your driving skills this one isn't for you! Seeing these mines way up on the ridge lines really makes you wonder how on earth people ever decided to start digging there.
Pics!
http://www.jeffgully.com/images/2006/08/20060819/slides/P8190215.JPG
http://www.jeffgully.com/images/2006/08/20060819/slides/P8190213.JPG
http://www.jeffgully.com/images/2006/08/20060819/slides/P8190214.JPG
http://www.jeffgully.com/images/2006/08/20060819/slides/P8190225.JPG
http://www.jeffgully.com/images/2006/08/20060819/slides/P8190198.JPG
The full set of pics can be seen here (http://www.jeffgully.com/images/2006/08/20060819/index.php).