My Trails

As I slowly transition my travels from the lofty mountains of Colorado to the warmer climate in New Mexico, I noticed Great Sand Dunes National Park was on the way. It didn’t look like there was any National Forest nearby where I could camp so I decided to stay in the park for a couple days. I also needed to dump and fill with water, and knew I could do both there.

The campground had two loops, one that was first come basis, and another that was reservation only. A few of the sites in the reservation loop could be used if they were not reserved for the night. It was a very confusing system and puzzling to figure out. Two other campers and I looking for a site were not sure if we had to call Reserve.Gov or just pay at the entrance. The camp host finally assured us we could pay here.

I never expected to find the campground so full. It was after Labor Day and I was arriving on a Wednesday. I thought that after the kids went back to school and the weather turned to Fall that the parks would be less crowded. I mentioned this to a park employee and she told me that that is what a lot of people think. The reality is that retired people are out in force thinking the same way I do.

There is not much to see at Great Sand Dunes National Park. Once you walk through the visitor center – two thirds of which is dedicated to a gift shop – and climb up the sand dunes, you’ve pretty much seen it all.

The geology and history of the park were interesting. The sign markers spend a lot of detail telling how the blowing sand from the San Luis Valley got trapped in a basin of the Cristo Mountains and was piled as high as 750 feet.

I climbed part way up the dunes on my second day at the park. One of the attractions for adventurous people who visit the park is sledding the dunes. They use special sleds and snowboards, made slippery with a special wax applied to the bottom surface. I saw quite a few falls but the sand cushions a lot of the impact. I’m sure there are some that take on more hill than skill level and get hurt, too.

I left the park on Friday and traveled west to South Fork, Colorado. South Fork is surrounded by national forest and I explored a few roads looking for a dispersed campsite to ride out the weekend. I looked at a couple pay campgrounds on the Beaver Creek Road but I didn’t think they were as special as the price indicated. I finally met a forest employee and asked him about free camping and he directed me to the Park Creek Road.

I’m not sure what the elevation is here because I have no cell signal. I have a feeling it is probably close to 9000. I’m not very far from the Continental Divide and it was only 25 degrees this morning. It is a pretty campsite, nestled in a valley of lush meadows, surrounded by tall pines and Aspen just starting to change to fall color, and a gentle, clear stream beside my rig. The only thing that gives me pause is the fact it is hunting season, and pickups with quads loaded on trailers have been driving by all morning.

With all the cold weather at my 9500 foot camp, I was determined to find a place where I could sit in the sun and bake. In the morning I drove east on Route 50, and as soon as I crested the Continental Divide at Monarch Pass and started down the other side, the sun came out and the air had a more gentler feel. With the sun on my face and optimism that summer would last another week, I turned north at Salida and drove to Leadville.

Leadville is over 10,000 feet high, and in a hot summer, the perfect place to be. I rationalized that it would be good to explore the area for a few days and mark down future camps. As long as it doesn’t get way below freezing, I should be okay.

From other blogs I knew where a good dispersed camping place was. I followed a road called Half Moon up into the San Isabel National Forest, found a perfect spot, and set up camp.

The sun was warm so I jumped on Honda to explore the forest road past my camp. As I drove the road I found three forest campgrounds and two trailheads that hikers use to climb into the 14,000 foot peaks. I stopped at one trailhead and walked a half mile to where it joined the Continental Divide Trail, just to say I was on it again.

On the way back I pulled into one of the forest service campgrounds to check it out. I first stopped to read the board and see what they charge. I was a little surprised to see it was $16. The sites were tight, the road was in bad need of grading, and I couldn’t see any water spigots. As I drove the loop a pickup chased after me and flagged me down. I turned Honda off and said, “Hi.”

“You can’t ride that in here!”, was the first thing out of his mouth.

“Sure I can. This is licensed for highway use.”

“It doesn’t matter! “, he shot back. “This is a private campground.”

“Isn’t this a forest service campground?”

“It is run by a private concessionare. We get a lot of off road people driving through here with their noisy machines. Campers can’t even sit outside and enjoy their dinner.”

I explained to him that I was just looking for possible places to camp while I was there. I told him that I drove slowly through campgrounds and was respectful of people camping. He kind of softened then and agreed that I was being respectful. It probably helped when he realized I was the same age as he and not some smart-allic kid on a dirt bike.

I asked him why with all the beautiful dispersed campsites along the road would anyone spend $16 to camp here?

“Well, you have the outhouses”, was all he could come up with.

I have run into the concessionare campgrounds before. The forest service doesn’t have the time or resources to take care of campgrounds and they must be having trouble getting camp hosts. This guy said he takes care of three campgrounds and I’m sure it is a paid position. I’m afraid the next change that will come with turning forest campgrounds over to private companies is the end of discounts for seniors.

It has been raining here for four days. I wouldn’t mind the rain so much but along with it has come chilly temperatures. A few night have been below freezing and the days seldom get out of the 50’s. I don’t like running my heater all the time so I sit under a blanket in the morning and evenings. This is not my idea of migrating with the weather so I guess it is time to find a warmer location.

About the only thing I have done this week – except for staying cooped up inside my camper – is get in short walks when the rain reluctantly lets up. I did build a fire one evening to burn some trash, but the sticks I found were so wet the fire was stubborn to light. I have a stream near Minnie so getting water for washing and flushing is convenient.

Two days ago a moose and her two young ones walked by my camp. That was pretty cool! I opened the door and took several pictures. I was afraid of scaring them off but they were pretty tame.

Four days ago, before all the gloomy, wet weather set in, I rode a few miles to a town called Tin Cup. Tin Cup is the site of an old mining town, abandoned when the minerals ran out, and kept alive by the few tourists that spend summer vacations there.

The cafe and store are the only businesses that I saw. In the store were racks of hats, t-shirts, and trinkets, all printed with the town name and priced to reflect a tourist establishment. On a small shelf were a few candy bars for sale, and a small cooler with a glass door held a few drinks.

While I rode the dirt, main street through town, I saw a sign that pointed to the cemetery and decided to take a look. Some of the grave markers dated back into the 1800’s and there were a few that had been erected in the last few years. What was interesting about the cemetery was how it was laid out. There were four distinct hills that defined the burial grounds, and each hill held people of different faiths. There was a Catholic knoll, a Jewish knoll, and two Protestant knolls. I’m not sure where they put the Atheists.

The sun is out now so I had better pack a few things before it starts to rain again.

It was very cold here this morning. Even though it is still summer in Colorado, the nights can get downright chilly when you’re at 9400′. This morning my thermometer said 31 degrees when I got up. I talked with another couple that camps here every year and they said that after Labor Day it is just to cold to be here. The days warm up nice as soon as the sun comes up, so it is good to sleep in if you can.

I’m camped about a mile from Taylor Park Reservoir on a forest road in the Gunnison National Forest. The area is a haven for OHV. A small community down by the reservoir rents quads and motorcycles and many visitors that come here trailer in their own. It is so friendly to OHVs that you can drive them on dirt forest roads without a vehicle license.

Yesterday I rode Honda up Cottonwood Pass Road. The road was all gravel with many washboard and pothole sections for the 15 mile drive to the top. It was really beautiful at the pass. You had views for many miles in both directions. I walked around the summit for a while, enjoying the cool air and scenery, until dark clouds moving closer convinced me to head down.

I thought it was neat that the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail crosses the road at the pass, and I sampled a bit of the path just to say I had been on it. With Honda doing all the work to get up there – over 12,000 feet of altitude – I’m quite familiar with how much harder it is to walk up.

A lot of weekenders are pulling out today. With school starting back up and many vacationers going back to work, it should be less crowded in the forests and parks. I may stay here for a couple weeks and then find someplace a little warmer.

I knew it was time to leave Caddis Flats Campground when two unfortunate things happened on Monday and Tuesday. The first thing that happened didn’t really affect me much but it was exciting anyway. I had been out doing a little hiking and panning down the river, and on my return to my camper, just as I rounded the last curve, I was met with all sorts of emergency vehicles with flashing lights parked along the road by the campground entrance. As I got closer I saw that a vehicle had lost control and rolled down the embankment where it ended up on its top. I told the Sheriff I had a camper in the campground and they eventually moved the firetruck so I could get in. The good thing was that the guy involved in the accident was not hurt.

Later that night I woke to go to the bathroom, turned on the light, and came face to face with a mouse on my counter. He didn’t seem startled at all and didn’t even run until I started chasing him with a shoe. I checked my drawer where I keep my snacks and found several things chewed. I slept very little the rest of the night, expecting the little intruder to come back and continue his ransack of my kitchen. Early the next morning I packed up Minnie and headed north.

I spent the night at a Walmart in Montrose, Colorado where I purchased two mousetraps and more snacks. Then I moved all food to cupboards that were sealed. So far my traps remain baited and ready for the next invasion. It is amazing how fast the little varmints can find a way in. All I lost was a few snacks, but I’ve heard horror stories of mice getting in the engine and chewing the wiring. I usually leave the hood open when I park now. It is supposed to discourage mice from hiding and doing mischief under there.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison is one of those places you can’t capture with a picture. Like the Grand Canyon you have to see it in person. The black volcanic rock gives the appearance of Gothic walls descending into the canyon.

I was interested in finding a campsite for the night so I drove a road that parallels the canyon to the north and skirts the southern boundary of Gunnison National Forest. I finally found a forest road that took me to a pretty camp at the base of an Aspen forest. I set up camp with the idea of exploring further up the road to see if there was any cell service.

The next day I rode about 10 miles up into the mountains. I didn’t find any more camps until almost at the top, and even then no cell signal. It would have been way too cold to camp up there anyway. Several times as I rode the narrow mountain road, cows would be standing in groups on the road. The mountain road was cut into a steep bank that offered very little pasture for the herd, but the cows seemed to be content to walk the road grazing the narrow shoulders. The problem was that when I would try to go by them, they would think I was chasing them and run up the road in panic. I usually had to drive along behind them until they would get tired enough that I could zip around.

When I looked out the window the next morning, there were 20 more cows standing in front of Minnie. I saw two move over to Honda and lick the seat. I though back to when I was on the farm and a cow ruined the seat of a motorcycle I had foolishly left parked in the pasture, so I jumped out the door and yelled at them to get out of my yard. They moved back a few feet and gave me a look like – who do you think you are? It wasn’t until I picked up a switch and swung it at them that they moved on across the road. I was going to wait until after the weekend to move, but cows and no cell convinced me to hit the road again.

Tonight I am at a campground a few miles north of Gunnison, Colorado. There is no cell signal here either, but I talked with the camp host who told me there is dispersed camping a few miles up the road by a reservoir that has good AT&T cell service. The host and his wife have AT&T phones and have to drive up there to make calls. I will pay to stay here one night and explore the area around the reservoir tomorrow.