Made another run into the San Juan's to see how trails are fairing now that we're into "summer". The good news is that most of the major routes are now open. The bad is that side trails - which can be great routes - are for the most part still blocked with snow. The most notable route still blocked is County Road 2 from Silverton to Animas Forks. But, there is another way.
Setting out from Silverton I headed north on 110. About 6 miles up you bear left onto 10 which climbs and eventually takes you over Hurricane Pass and past Lake Como. As you can see, there still lots of snow at this elevation.
It was then down into California Gulch and past the Frisco Mill site. This view is looking back to the west.
Arrived at Animas Forks which was packed with visitors. In my earlier post I had gone to the south side of the blockage on CR 2 so I wanted to check out the north side. You begin to get an idea how much snow came down the surrounding slide shoots from this view.
As with many avalanches, road crews are dealing with more than just snow. These shots show some of the debris which was brought down the mountain.
Walked down to a point where I could see a county bulldozer working to clear CR 2 at least up to the turn off for Poughkeepsie Gulch. I'd estimate that I was standing on 60 plus feet of snow that has to be removed.
All in all, it was an enjoyable day. Biggest headache was the amount of vehicles out on the trail. One group was a club of Toyota / Lexus SUV owners that numbered over 70 vehicles. Nearly every pull off was packed with these folks which made it difficult for anyone else. Glad they were having fun but with a group this size you're really overwhelming the capacity of the trail.
Setting out from Silverton I headed north on 110. About 6 miles up you bear left onto 10 which climbs and eventually takes you over Hurricane Pass and past Lake Como. As you can see, there still lots of snow at this elevation.
It was then down into California Gulch and past the Frisco Mill site. This view is looking back to the west.
Arrived at Animas Forks which was packed with visitors. In my earlier post I had gone to the south side of the blockage on CR 2 so I wanted to check out the north side. You begin to get an idea how much snow came down the surrounding slide shoots from this view.
As with many avalanches, road crews are dealing with more than just snow. These shots show some of the debris which was brought down the mountain.
Walked down to a point where I could see a county bulldozer working to clear CR 2 at least up to the turn off for Poughkeepsie Gulch. I'd estimate that I was standing on 60 plus feet of snow that has to be removed.
All in all, it was an enjoyable day. Biggest headache was the amount of vehicles out on the trail. One group was a club of Toyota / Lexus SUV owners that numbered over 70 vehicles. Nearly every pull off was packed with these folks which made it difficult for anyone else. Glad they were having fun but with a group this size you're really overwhelming the capacity of the trail.
