RV Trip to the High Mountains

Day 7 - September 28, 2018

Silverton - Lake City - Silverton

(The Hard Way)

The next big event arrived: Jeeping over Engineer Pass (13,000') to Lake City for lunch and then back to Silverton over Cinnamon Pass (12,600'). My father and his father have done this trip many times and I've heard the tales spun more times than I can remember. So, it was time for me to conquer the mountains with Noah and Chel. Mary & George were somewhat less enthusiastic about this adventure and I feel certain that had they known what was involved, they would've spent the day at the RV in Silverton... relaxing. 

While everyone else got ready for the early-morning departure, I walked over to rent the jeep. We hit the road on time and grabbed some first-rate breakfast sammies at The Brown Bag. The coffee was great, too. Really tasty stuff!

Time-lapse video of the trip over Engineer Pass to Lake City

Leaving the pavement and heading for Animas Forks

First stop for a photo.

Noah was having a great, bumpy time. Mary & George were wondering what they got themselves into...

There was more here than I knew about and most structures are in pretty good condition,

especially considering their age and the harsh environmental conditions.

The sky is stunningly beautiful at this elevation.

God blessed us with an absolutely perfect day for this trip.

UP...

Beautiful.

Quite the steep grade...

Note the GoPro on the hood.

I wish I had video inside the cab here. The grade increased to about 50 degrees and Chel FREAKED.

I don't remember what was happening in the backseat but I bet it wasn't good. My attention was laser-focused on getting up without rolling.

Now, there was no real danger at all. It just SEEMED like there was.

UP UP UP!

Totally focused. Both hands on the wheel.

Very near the top of Engineer Pass.

Well worth the time, effort, expense, and occasional terror to get here.

Pretty cool view at the top of the world.

Looking north towards Ouray and Ridgway.

Panoramic shot from Chel's camera.

Continuing the climb to the very top.

Map

Our GPS showed us 13,000'

Down... to Lake City.

We figured the poles that line the road are for the snowmobilers in the winter.

I thought this might be "Rose's Cabin" but it's not. I missed the sign for it and will need to go back and find it someday.

There's a suspension bridge from the parking area to this house.

Native

Nice fall colors

"Shades of Fall"

D&RGW Caboose 0588 in Lake City

We got lunch at the Lake City Cafe and it was tasty.

I think the grandparents really enjoyed being still for an hour.

Time-lapse video of the drive from Lake City to the top of Cinnamon Pass

With lunch stored, we started the trek back to Silverton.

Lake San Cristobal

The sky continued to be beautiful all day.

Back above timberline

Summit: Attained

Cinnamon Pass got its name from the cinnamon color on the surrounding mountains.

Heading down to Animas Forks, Eureka, and Silverton

Local (Marmot)

He wanted his picture taken.

When we hit the "level" grade at Eureka, I gunned it. We were in real danger of being late on the rental return and that was gonna be costly.

We did about 65 all the way down to Silverton.

We made it with a few minutes to spare.

After settling in at the RV, Chel, Noah, and I set out to find some dinner. Our plan was to get take-out from Thee Pitts Again. However, we underestimated how early Silverton shuts down in the evening. We had to dig into the supplies we had onboard, though I don't remember now what we ended up eating. All-in-all it was a good day. Mary & George won't do it again... but my brother and I are going back with Noah and my father someday.