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Sunday, December 9, 2018

Friendly Skies


With repairs/closures on the Million Dollar Highway between Lovely Ouray and Red Mountain Pass, we were forced to seek alternative snowshoe playgrounds...preferably some "new dots."


Son, Caleb, and Dotter-in-law, Kelli, are back in Lovely Ouray for a few (actually, Quite a few) weeks. So we are having some outdoor fun with them as they try to re-aclimate from sea level to 8 to 13 thousand feet.  


Kelli chose to stay home from this snowshoe adventure, opting instead for a massage, swim, and soak (a no-brainer). We decided to try a Blaine Basin snowshoe, if the road was not too snowed in yet. I suggested we should take Petroleous Rex over Sue Bee, just in case the road got sketchy. Well, guess what? Ole Pet Rex had a flat tire. It's Sue Bee or Nothing.

It felt weird to be heading North instead of South for an outing. We cruised through Ridgway on route 62 toward Dallas Divide. About half way there we hung a left on East Dallas Road; Ah, heading South again, aimed toward Mount Sneffels North face. Dallas Road is a long 8-ish mile haul on a gravel (read: mud/snow) county road. Dallas Road climbs steadily, to the foothill lap of Mount Sneffels, where it dead ends at two trailheads: "Blue Lakes" and "Blaine Basin."  Sue Bee was up to the task, in spite of tires two-third of the way to a recycle retirement. We were hoping to squeeze another 10,000 miles out of them once down in sunny Southern Arid-zona come January through March. 

As you might suspect, about a mile from our trailhead destination, snow and ice became problematic. In hindsight, I should have stopped and parked where the sensible lady in a new Jeep did. But I made some comment like, "Chicken," and drove on, you know, like they do in Subaru commercials.

Long story longer...I eventually slid into a bar-ditch full of snow, got stuck and high-centered, with our snow shovel hanging safe and warm back home in the garage. Not such a good commercial. So we spent a good hour warming up for our snowshoe excursion by digging Sue Bee out of her predicament...inch by inch. Meanwhile, in the middle of our efforts to free Sue Bee, the Jeep lady snowshoes by. Lesson Learned?  Probably not...



With Sue Bee dug out and pointed home, we waddled off toward Blaine Basin's trail head, following a couple fat tire bike tracks. Just shy of Blaine, the bike tracks turned west on some old Jeep trail so we paused to ponder a change of plans at the intersection. About then I vaguely recalled driving up that old Jeep road once...must of been at least 35 years ago. Seemed like it wound up a few switchbacks to a ridge top with great views of the Sneffels range. When in doubt, go for the view. We bailed on Blaine and followed the fat bike tracks. A mile later we see this guy coming down...



WTF?


Well, you never know when you'll need a ladder on a backcountry fat bike snow-ride. But his girl-friend seemed happy.



Blue skies slowly shoved clouds aside as the afternoon wore on and the old road petered into a trail. Onward and upward we slogged.





Suddenly, we broke free of forest into a spectacular, sun-kissed meadow. Ah, this was the view I recalled from long ago, only without snow. 



Caleb and I steered clear of what appeared to be a fresh "kill," fearing a mountain lion might misinterpret our intentions. Bobbie, however, snowshoed right up to it, looked it over, and said it was old and already eaten out. Whew!


After a snack in the meadow we snowshoed on. The trail became a hit and miss affair so we just meandered through the mostly aspen forest. At least it afforded some views. I was grateful to be spending some quality outdoor time with son Caleb. After the photo, we decided to begin the long trek back to Sue Bee. Skies and clouds and light couldn't have been friendlier on the return trip.







Mount Sneffels,  in the gap



Note the huge bowl of Blaine Basin, our original destination, just Left of center and two thirds of the way up.


Below is a Panorama. Scroll →


20 comments:

  1. Wonderful. Isn't it good to be home? :)

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    1. Yes! I can swim laps at the Hot Springs Pool between treks in nearby mountains :)

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  2. As usual an thrilling tale. Have a good Christmas.

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    1. You too, Dave. Thanks for checking in!
      mark

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    2. Agree, another thrilling beautiful tale of the best of Colorado's wonderment and weather.

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  3. Beautiful. Cold. A ladder!! Did you ask? Getting stuck. Ugh. I prolly would have opted for the soak and massage.

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    1. It turned out that he was a Chimney Sweep for the San Juan Hut-to-Hut trail system. :) That he was on a Fat Bike instead of a snowmobile? Well, that's damn cool!
      mark

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    2. A chimney sweep on a fat tire bike in the middle of the mountains! Wow, you never know who you are going to meet in this world and that's what makes it so interesting at times! Enjoy your time with family and thanks for the beautiful photos!

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    3. Truth is stranger than fiction! I love it!

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  4. A chimney sweep on a bike, yea that's kinda' different. Love those views. I'd have soaked.

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    1. All the huts have wood burning stoves for cooking and winter warmth. It's very popular among back county skiers, and a chimney fire would kinda ruin the trip :).

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  5. Wow Christmas came early this year in the form of a Winter Wonderland Hike and a drive down East Dallas Rd in Winter, holy cow this was a real treat for us Mark, having traveled & hiked in this area for 2 decades and now getting to almost feel like we got to experience it on a beautiful Winter day. Will be looking in on this post many times through the holidays, along with a glass of eggnog w/brandy .
    Cheers ...




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    1. A little snow makes a lot of difference...turns colorful scenery into black and whites, eh?
      Thanks to my two Sonoma Country pals for all your support and kind words.
      mark and bobbie

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    2. Yep, those black and white photos add drama, love 'em! And Doug, I agree it's nice to revisit Mark's photos and tales, especially this one.

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  6. It’s good to see that you still aren’t one of those chickens who turns around before getting stuck ;-)
    Looks like some great snow to play in, you might have to try your own fat tire in that stuff.

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    1. I am Male! :)
      I'm guessing you are still in New Mexico (shiver). Looking forward to a warm Arid-zona meet up.
      mark and bj

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  7. Wow! Just beautiful! We haven't had sun for what feels like weeks!

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    1. I can't live without sun...so I feel (imagine) your pain :(

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  8. What a gorgeous place to go play for the day! Enjoy having your son home!!

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