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Howard Fork: Blixt Trail to Oscars Pass

Telluride Trails | Friday – Saturday, September 18-19, 2026

I was originally planning to spend this entire weekend celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Dominguez – Escalante Expedition, but when the weather forecast for Saturday was looking too wet for some of the backcountry roads I would need to drive, I decided at the last minute to delay my journey by a day and took Monday off from work. Surprisingly, the weather forecast was looking drier on Saturday morning in the San Juan Mountains, so I decided to squeeze in another high-country hike this season while I still could and planned to hike up the Blixt Trail from the Howard Fork to Oscars Pass and a little beyond. I left from work on Friday afternoon and made my way over the Dallas Divide and up the San Miguel River to the Ophir Pass Road in the Howard Fork where I found a campsite for the night.

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Coal Bank Pass: Spud Lake Trail & Pass Trail

Coal Bank Pass: Spud Lake Trail & Pass Trail

Wednesday & Thursday, July 26-27, 2023

While spending the latter part of this week attending the annual GIS Colorado Summer Meetup at the Chris Park Campground near Durango, I was able to get out on a couple of short hikes near Coal Bank Pass since I was in the area. On Wednesday afternoon I left work, grabbed a quick dinner in Delta and then headed down through the San Juan Mountains to the campground via the San Juan Skyway. After crossing over Red Mountain Pass and getting stopped by construction for a little while, I continued over Molas Pass and Coal Bank Pass and then turned off onto the old Lime Creek Road so I could go on a short hike to Potato Lake via the Spud Lake Trail.

Cinnamon Pass Peaks & Anvil Mountain

Friday – Sunday, September 7-9, 2018

After visiting the High Uintas Wilderness for the first time last weekend, I figured I’d stay a little closer to home this weekend to spend some quality time back in the San Juan Mountains. The summer season in the mountains is coming to an end soon and I’ll be heading off to explore the Colorado Plateau on my weekends in just a few short weeks. Midddle to late September is actually my favorite time to hike in the mountains since they are less crowded after Labor Day, the alpine tundra is already changing color, the aspen trees usually start to change color, and there are less worries about afternoon thunderstorms since the monsoon season is coming to an end. It’s a great time of the year to get in some peak bagging! Last September I headed up to Engineer Pass for a little hiking around this time of the year, so I thought I would return to the area and hit up Cinnamon Pass this time. Although I hiked to Cinnamon Mountain from the pass a few years ago, there were still a couple of peaks nearby that I hadn’t got to yet.

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Lone Cone: Westernmost Peak of the San Juans

Saturday & Sunday, August 12-13, 2017

For years I’ve explored southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah and during that time I’ve seen Lone Cone (12,613) on the horizon from all different angles. It’s the westernmost peak in the San Juan Mountains and is easily identified from a hundred miles away. During that time I’ve always thought to myself that I really should make time to climb that peak one day. Well, that day has finally come…

Silverton Wildflowers

Friday – Sunday, July 18-20, 2014

Diane and I decided to spend a relaxing weekend in the San Juan Mountains around Silverton camping, hiking, peak-bagging, driving high mountain passes and looking for wildflowers. We left after work on Friday and headed over Red Mountain Pass to the South Fork of Mineral Creek to look for a campsite. This used to be my go-to camping area near Silverton, but I couldn’t believe how many people were camped along here this weekend. It was ridiculous! As we were driving back out to find somewhere else to camp, Diane spotted a nice secluded campsite along the creek that no one was at, so we setup camp there since it was getting late. We didn’t have time to get anywhere else for sunset, so I just took a few photos over the South Fork of Mineral Creek behind out camp as the sun went down for the day.

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Tag: ophir pass

Howard Fork: Blixt Trail to Oscars Pass

Coal Bank Pass: Spud Lake Trail & Pass Trail

Cinnamon Pass Peaks & Anvil Mountain

Lone Cone: Westernmost Peak of the San Juans

Silverton Wildflowers