Press "Enter" to skip to content

Tag: mining history

Ouray Solstice HikingOuray Solstice Hiking

Ouray Solstice Hiking

Upper Cascade Falls & Baldy Peak
Saturday & Sunday, June 21-22, 2014

This weekend for the summer solstice, Diane and I headed down to Ouray to get in a little hiking in the San Juan Mountains. Since there’s still a lot of snow up high and it would be our first time really hiking in the mountains this year, we decided to start with some lower elevation hikes close to town between 8,000 and 10,000 feet. When we arrived, we setup camp just above town in the Amphitheater Campground and then got started on our first hike up to the Upper Cascade Creek Falls and Chief Ouray Mine. The hike started out easy, but soon it quickly climbed over 1,000 feet up a series of switchbacks. First we reached the Upper Cascade Falls and took a few photos and then we crossed the creek and continued on to the remains of the Chief Ouray Mine located high above town.

CONTINUE READINGOuray Solstice Hiking
Leave a Comment
Silverton & OuraySilverton & Ouray

Silverton & Ouray

Saturday, June 14, 2014

The desert has been heating up recently and I’ve been looking to start getting up into the mountains soon. The first reports of roads opening up in the San Juan Mountains have been coming in, so I decided to head up towards Silverton and Ouray to see just how fast the snow was melting this year so I could start planning some mountain hiking trips. Much of Colorado’s high country got a lot of snow this year, so trails and roads are opening up later than they typically would. There is still a lot of snow up in the mountains, but it appears to be melting fast.

CONTINUE READINGSilverton & Ouray
4 Comments
Kodels CanyonKodels Canyon

Kodels Canyon

Monday, April 21, 2014

After hiking up the Fruita Dugway just over a week ago and being treated to some nice views down into Kodels Canyon for part of the way, I decided that I wanted to check out that canyon soon. I wasn’t expecting much on this short hike after work, but there were a lot of great sights in this short canyon at the very western edge of the Colorado National Monument. My understanding is that this canyon is named after an old prospector who had a cabin near the mouth of the canyon. He apparently dug the mine that is located up the canyon a short way and worked the claim for at least 30 years until around 1930.

CONTINUE READINGKodels Canyon
Leave a Comment
Red Mountain Fall ColorsRed Mountain Fall Colors

Red Mountain Fall Colors

Fall Colors 2013
Saturday, September 28, 2013

Getting out on the last weekend of September to check out the fall colors in Colorado is kind of a tradition of mine, and this year would be no different, even if the colors are a little behind this year. On Saturday, Kelly and I headed up to the San Juan Mountains between Ouray and Silverton for a day trip just to see how the colors were. We found the best color between Ouray and Red Mountain Pass with the best display around Ironton Park and Crystal Lake. Lucky for us, a recent storm had capped the surrounding mountains with fresh snow, too! We spent the morning hiking around Crystal Lake and taking plenty of photos.

CONTINUE READINGRed Mountain Fall Colors
Leave a Comment