On Friday August 2nd, the last day of trails at All-4-Fun, the plan was to do some trails on our own. Jed headed back to Denver with his broken clutch linkage, and others in our camp decided on a relaxing trip to Telluride. So Bobbette Mathews-TJ (with sons Thomas & Michael) and I decided to head over Stony Pass & Kite Lake Trails.
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| Low clouds tell of a rainy day in the morning... |
We looked for the Jeep Exclusive Club out of Amarillo on the CB at the trailhead around 9:15am, but couldn’t reach anyone, so we started on up. Just east of Howardsville & north of Silverton, the trail is fairly easy and smooth. It quickly rises up Cunningham Gulch though, and at Road 3D, some switchbacks up are common. Once above timberline, the trail become a little rocky and steep until you reach the top of Stony Pass at 12,650’.
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| Heading up towards Stony Pass... |
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and looking down from the same spot. |
The trail is fairly easy, just steep... |
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| Marmots hang out in the rocks near the top of the pass... |
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| AHHH, the top... |
A large group of vehicle arrived at the pass minutes later, so we headed down the east side after some photos. The east side crosses the headwaters of the Rio Grande River and borders the Weminuche Wilderness to the south. The FR 520 is much gradual in descent, as the upper section has a few switchbacks.
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| Looking SE, we stop near the top... |
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Purple flowers dotted the hillside on the east side... |
We passed the headwaters of the Rio Grande seen here... |
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These sheep herders were packing around 12,000'... |
About 4 miles east of Stony Pass, we turned SW on FR 506 up the beautiful Bear Creek valley on our way to Kite Lake 6 miles up. The lower sections of the Kite Lake trail would be challenging in the rains, as numerous small mudpuddles dot the trail. Halfway up, a nice meadow opens up. I let Molly out and she ran up the hillside along the trail for a good mile or so.
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| Starting up Bear Creek Valley... |
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A nice elk... |
A beautiful meadow, just before the trail gets rocky... |
Once back into the trees, the trail really gets fun and is the best part of the day. Moderate sized rocky sections are common, and the trail gets narrow thru trees and willows. Finally reaching the end of the trail, Kite Lake opens up at the top of a wide basin. A great place for lunch!
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The trail gets small, narrow and rocky up to Kite Lake... |
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Flowers along the trail... |
Peaceful Kite Lake for lunch... |
After lunch, we re-traced our tracks back down to the Stony Pass road. I let Molly out again to run, but a storm came rumbling down the valley towards us. A little wet and muddy, I picked up Molly out of the rain. Well, no problem with dust on the way back to camp this time. Rains followed us up Stony Pass. We reached Howardsville again, and we were back in camp early around 3:30pm.
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The meadow heading down... |
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Some switchbacks off the west side of Stony Pass heading back to Silverton... |
Micheal Elliott has had a fun week! |
Yep, time for some air in the tires, and I put my full Jeep top on for the trip back to Denver in the morning. The hamburgers and hotdogs were ready at 6:30pm under the big top. Even a welcome rain shower at 5:30 didn't damper any spirits. The band was playing, and everyone was all smiles after a fun week. Little did I to know that night I would be winning a new XD9001 winch at WARN NIGHT! What a great week! What a FUN ALL-4-FUN 2002 in Silverton, Colorado!!! Wahoooo!!
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All chow down on burgers and dogs for dinner by WARN... |
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Can you believe Harold called my name??! |
Cory and her sister Macayla dance with the live band. |
WHAT A WEEK! SEE YA NEXT YEAR!!
Bill Hallinan HoboJeepers
Other All-4-Fun 2002 Trip Reports
Sat: Kendall Mtn. Sun: POWER GULCH TOUR Mon: Cinnamon Pass/Carson Townsite
Tue: Brown's Gulch/Corkscrew Gulch/Ross Basin/Colorado Basin
Wed: Manufacture DayThur: Black Bear Pass/Imogene Pass Fri: Stony Pass/Kite Lake
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