roverrocks
Expedition Leader
We love our intrepid snowdozer guys in the San Juan Mountains. In fact we adore them!! These guys open many of our high Alpine Loop 4x4 roads/trails in the Ouray/Silverton/Lake City/Telluride, Colorado mountains every late spring/early summer every year. Wheeling through the deep single lane plowed drifts and snowbanks at 12,000+ feet is amazing. Some of these narrow snow lanes have up to 25/30 feet on either side early on. It's a whole different world than wheeling in the San Juan Mountains come July/August when most of the snow is melted, wildflowers are blooming, and most people arrive in the area. Lots of snow especially on the alpine north facing slopes which are still in winter mode even in June. Six jeeps (rover recovery trucks) and one rover wheeled up Mineral Creek off of Hy 550 south of Ouray all the way eastward to the 12,800' summit of scenic and famous Engineer Pass. Lots of downright cold wind at that elevation on Saturday June 14. After Engineer Pass instead of heading down eastwards toward Lake City we retreated a couple of miles on the way we came up to Engineer and headed southward to the interesting ghost mining town of 11,200' high Animas Forks. The grass was greening up there but just barely. Few flowers but we had a hungry Gray Jay (camp robbers) begging us for tidbits as we ate. We stopped for lunch at the popular ghost town building and then headed southward to Silverton, CO and then 60 miles northward over Red Mountain Pass and Hy 550 to the Montrose, CO area which has an elevation of 5,800' meaning we gained 7000' to get to Engineer Pass originally. Here's some pictures of which some are a bit speckled from being taken through my windshield. My oldest son (driving) and my wife were along with me.
#1-taken by Kaye Weaver in one of the jeeps ahead of us showing high snowfields at the top of the Mineral Creek trail.
#2,3,4-We are going around the last part of the Engineer Pass trail and are almost to the pass. Views look northward.
#5-Engineer Pass at 12,800' where we stopped to take pictures in the cold wind. High Uncompahgre Peak (highest San Juan Peak) at 14,308" is in the distance on the left.
#6-The deep dozed snowfield that led down the valley eastward just off of Engineer Pass. Leads to Lake City miles away to the east. We did not go down that way.
#7-Looking SW from Engineer Pass and the distant high peaks of the Sneffels Range.
#8-My wife hiking at the summit of Engineer Pass. The two distant high peaks in the center are The Wetterhorn (14,016') on the left and Uncompahgre Peak (14,308") on the right which are in the Uncompahgre Wilderness to the north.
#1-taken by Kaye Weaver in one of the jeeps ahead of us showing high snowfields at the top of the Mineral Creek trail.
#2,3,4-We are going around the last part of the Engineer Pass trail and are almost to the pass. Views look northward.
#5-Engineer Pass at 12,800' where we stopped to take pictures in the cold wind. High Uncompahgre Peak (highest San Juan Peak) at 14,308" is in the distance on the left.
#6-The deep dozed snowfield that led down the valley eastward just off of Engineer Pass. Leads to Lake City miles away to the east. We did not go down that way.
#7-Looking SW from Engineer Pass and the distant high peaks of the Sneffels Range.
#8-My wife hiking at the summit of Engineer Pass. The two distant high peaks in the center are The Wetterhorn (14,016') on the left and Uncompahgre Peak (14,308") on the right which are in the Uncompahgre Wilderness to the north.
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