Taylor Canyon and the Fossil Ridge Wilderness

Near Crested Butte, almost July and snow is still on the mountains

It's Columbine time!

North of Gunnison on the way to Crested Butte, Colorado Hwy 135 climbs gradually into some beautiful and rugged territory in the Gunnison National Forest.  We had never been to this part of Colorado and decided to spend several days in a forest campground in Taylor Canyon.  This beautiful canyon, cut by the Taylor River, starts at the small town of Almont and ascends into the high country, ending in a gorgeous lake created by an earthen dam at the head of the canyon.

Taylor Lake

Letting tons of water out of the lake into Taylor River

We stayed at Lottis Creek Campground, just a few miles from Taylor Lake.  Lottis Creek flows into the Taylor River right at the campground and both rivers were running very high.  Many rivers in the West are at record highs because of the late snows this year.  It’s a good thing we enjoy the sound of running water because there was no getting away from it.  But fortunately, in our opinion, it doesn't get much better than sleeping next to a river.

Union Park Trail -- wet and rocky!

Our days went by fast as we took several hikes, did some car touring to Taylor Lake and an afternoon trip into Crested Butte for sight-seeing and ice cream.  We checked out other possible campsites north and a bit west of Crested Butte, but decided we didn’t want to torture Silver.  The roads were rough in places and although Silver could have made it most of the way, there were some serious potholes and rocky areas that would have been a challenge or perhaps even potential damage to Silver, so we decided to stay in our campsite by Taylor River and Lottis Creek.

Yes, this is the trail -- not the creek

We took three hikes although two of them were short.  The first day our goal was to hike the Lottis Creek Trail from our campground into the Fossil Ridge Wilderness.  The trail started out easy enough following the creek through a meadow for about half a mile before it split, with the Union Park Trail climbing about 7 miles to a huge high-country meadow and the Lottis Creek Trail climbing Fossil Ridge into the wilderness. 

River (left) and trail running side by side

We should have known by the high levels of all the creeks and rivers we’ve seen so far this spring that crossing the creek would be a problem.  However, we didn’t know there wasn’t a bridge and we weren’t prepared for just how high the water was running.  (Many Texas rivers don’t have as much water in them as this creek did.)  After a bit of scouting up and down, we decided against the crossing.  Maybe if we had brought sandals to change into, we would have attempted it but the idea of walking the rest of the trail in sopping wet boots and socks or crossing barefoot with all those slippery rocks wasn’t appealing. 

Arnica

Phlox and wild strawberry blooms -- Flowers were beautiful along the trail

Instead, we opted for the Union Park Trail which also followed Lottis Creek but didn’t cross it immediately.  The water was so high in the creek that it overflowed its banks and the trail had water a foot or deeper for much of the way.  It was also extremely rocky and not much fun to walk.  We slogged on for a bit and eventually got to the creek crossing only to see it wasn’t going to be any easier than the first crossing.  It just wasn’t our day.  

Cows in the forest

On the way back down, we ran into a heard of cows being driven up to Union Park for summer grazing.  (Many of our National Forests are open to grazing.) Two cowboys and two dogs were hurrying those cows right along.  It was fun to watch the dogs and cowboys at work.  We wished for Maya as she would have enjoyed the cows and working dogs.  But considering trail conditions, we were glad we left her napping.

Maya gets to go on a longer trail with us!

The next day we tried to enter Fossil Ridge Wilderness via the Summerville Trail, about five miles down the road.  Success at last – we got into the wilderness!  The trail followed a creek that truly was a creek and easy enough to cross in most places.  The first mile was a moderate climb and much less rocky than the Union Park Trail.  We hit a long series of switchbacks that were more challenging to climb but we eventually topped out.  However, we could see that there would be more climbing if we continued.  We enjoyed the view, rested a bit then headed back to have lunch with Maya.

One of the perks of hiking -- a swim

Since the Summerville trail was so enjoyable for that first mile, we decided it was suitable for Maya.  The next morning as we were loading our packs, Maya got excited.  She knew she was going hiking with us.  We all had a lovely walk of about 2 miles round trip and Maya did great.  That dog does get up a head of steam going downhill though and we must slow her down as she can lose control and start to roll.  She was one tuckered dog that afternoon and slept very well that night.  The next morning, she was none the worse for wear, so we think we can take her for longer distance hikes if the trail is an easy one.  We will just see…

After the hike -- one tired dog!

David’s Stats:

Days Hiked   3

        
Total Miles Hiked   9.26  
Ave. Miles per Day     3.09
Total Elevation Gain     1,627
Ave. Elevation Gain per day  542

Yoga in the Forest

The San Juan Mountains along the Silver Thread Scenic Byway

Refreshed and recharged, we were ready to move on to Colorado. Ultimately, we planned to spend time in the Crested Butte area but were not in a big hurry to get there.  We took our time and meandered along the Silver Thread Scenic Byway, a beautiful drive from Creede to near Gunnison.  Last summer we drove a section of the byway near Lake City as we were exploring that part of Colorado and this year we were excited to see the entire length of the byway.  

Climbing through the San Juan Mountains was breathtaking and there were a few mountain passes that were not for the faint of heart.  I was glad David was driving although Silver, our RV, is not very long and fairly easy to drive even on steep and windy roads.  

Along the trail to the waterfall

We decided to stop early and enjoy a nice afternoon and evening in a forest campground, called Silver Thread, right off the Silver Thread Scenic Byway (go figure).  The campground was about 10,000 feet in elevation and located in an aspen grove near a gentle stream.  It was small with only 10 camping sites, and we were the only campers there that afternoon and night.  We took advantage of the solitude enjoying a hike by the stream to a little waterfall and then practiced some yoga in the forest.

Easy pose is one that Maya does well

David and I both have been taking Yoga classes at Morning Glory Yoga Studio in Nacogdoches (a great place, by the way) and we are determined to keep up a practice while we are traveling this summer.  It isn’t always easy, as many times there just isn’t a very flat place and people kind of look at you funny if you are in a Warrior pose on top of the picnic table.  But Silver Thread Campground was perfect and we didn’t have any audience except for Maya.

Cat - Cow - Dog

Maya is ready to be a prop for my triangle pose if I loose my balance

Maya enjoys watching us and being a prop sometimes and a serious hindrance at other times.  But she keeps us paying attention and being solid and well-balanced in our poses.  If we aren’t, we are likely to take a tumble.

Maya assists greatly in legs against an aspen pose

Down Dog, Up Dog

We spent a very peaceful and beautiful night in the forest and then traveled on to Gunnison the next day.  This morning we are headed out to the Gunnison National Forest and Fossil Ridge Wilderness near Crested Butte and I’m not sure when we will have Internet again.  So, it may be a week or 10 days before the next blog.  Until then, Oooommm.

Recharging in Chama

Downtown Chama across from the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR station

After almost 2 weeks in forest campgrounds it was definitely time to charge up the electronics and apply a little soap and water to all those dirty hiking clothes.  In the forest, water is not always available or potable if it is available, so only those things that must be washed everyday are washed and everything else gets a little attention if there is some spare water.  Our solar panels do a great job of keeping things running in the RV if there is sun and if we conserve power.  However, we must use batteries to run the computer, camera, etc. and charging batteries for all the electronics can be a problem.  (What ever happened to the days of double A s?)

RV sites by the Chama River at Sky Mountain RV

The plan then, was to spend a couple of days in Chama, NM to clean up and charge up.  We have been through Chama many times but were always in a rush to get somewhere else.  This trip we decided to make a little time to explore Chama while getting our chores done.

Our RV, Silver, faces the Chama River

We stayed at a commercial RV park, Sky Mountain Resort RV that was located about a mile south of town on the Chama River.  Our camping spot was next to the river, with great views and lots of shade -- just perfect for our needs and there was even a free pancake breakfast in celebration of Father’s Day.  We couldn’t have asked for more.

Owner, Bill, makes good pancakes!

Between laundry, buying groceries and cleaning poor old dusty Silver, we did some sightseeing in Chama.  A scenic little village with several historic houses and buildings, Chama is best known for the narrow-gage section of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad that runs from Chama to Antonito, CO.  Known as the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, it used to support the mining operations in the San Juan Mountains but today it is a tourist train.  Yes, this is a ‘sister’ line to the Chili Line that ran from Santa Fe to Antonito, CO that I talked about in my last blog.

315 Steam Engine

It was interesting to see the station and the rail yard in Chama, especially after learning about the Chili Line and trying to visualize what the Tres Piedras stop might have looked like back in the day.  At the Chama station, there are several steam engines and cars on display and one box car that you can enter.  The railroad yard itself is one of the most physically complete train yards from the steam train era.  It made me appreciate that time in railroad history.   

The rail yard at the Chama Station

A restored box car

Every morning during the season, one train leaves the Chama Station and one train departs the Antonito station.   The trains make a stop half way and passengers have the option of riding all the way or changing trains and riding back to their original station.  The route is through the San Juan Mountains and it looks like it would be a beautiful ride.  We couldn’t leave Maya all day so we didn’t take the train this time, but it sure would be a fun thing to do.  Durango has another branch of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad that also operates as a tourist train, so there is the possibility of some serious steam train riding one of these days…

No, it isn't snow, but it is cottonwood "snow."

Many cottonwoods grow along the Chama River

The Chili Line

One afternoon during our stay at Hopewell Lake we drove 18 miles back the way we had come to the small village of Tres Piedras.  Our purpose – as is often the case for these excursions – food.  We had seen a sign on our way through the day before advertising the only restaurant in town, The Chili Line Depot.  We were curious about the name and very hungry after our hike on the Continental Divide Trail that morning.

The restaurant and B&B opened around 5 years ago, and is owned and operated by a local couple that have a ranch near Tres Piedras.  The food is cooked fresh to order, local grass-fed beef, pizza and daily specials.  The 100-year-old building has had several reincarnations from a dance hall and bar where Glen Campbell used to play to a skating rink.  Now it houses the Chili Line Depot and B&B. 

This old building has seen a lot of life in its 100-plus years

The food was quite good but it was the story of the Chili Line itself that captured our imaginations.  As David ate his traditional green chili cheeseburger and I, my daily special of roasted chicken with pinyon nuts over a bed of seasoned rice with a green chili cheese sauce on top, we learned about the history of the Chili Line.  Information on the menu, old photos hung around the dining room and a short written history on our table revealed a sweet and interesting story in railroad history and the history of this part of northern New Mexico.

In 1887, the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad built a line with the intention of connecting Denver with Mexico City.  Two things were unique and ‘first’ about this rail line.  It was the first 3’ narrow gauge railroad track in the nation and it was also the first north to south line in the U.S. as most railroad lines ran east to west.

The train was known as a “mixed train,” carrying livestock, lumber, mail and some passengers mostly from Santa Fe, through Tres Piedras to Antonito, CO.  This 125-mile northern end of the railroad operated for 61 years and became known over time as the “Chili Line.”

There are a couple of theories as to how the name came to be.  One is that all along the run during harvesting season, the locals hung out their chilies to dry.  On adobe buildings and houses, along fences, any available space was utilized to dry the chilies.  Another equally compelling story is that passengers riding the train would order chilies for lunch when the train stopped in Tres Piedras and that the conductor started calling out, “Chili Stop.”  But whichever story you want to believe, the name stuck.

Lots of motorcycles in the parking lot are often a good testimony

to the quality of the food.

Stories abound about how the crew of the Chili Line enjoyed helping the residents of this remote and often harsh region of the west.  One such story says that the train’s engineers would blow the steam whistle as they approached stops and the ladies of the area would bring their washtubs down to the train to get hot water for laundry.  Supposedly the brakemen would gather newspapers in Alamosa, CO and throw them out to the women and children as the train passed by.  Most locals in the area did not have money to buy newspapers and most never traveled more than a few miles from home in their lifetimes.

One story that Maya particularly liked was that of Minnie, the newspaper delivery dog.  Minnie was a very loyal and reliable dog that lived at the Taos Junction Stop.  There was one engineer who would pick up a bone at the butcher shop in Alamosa to reward Minnie when he made his stop at Taos Junction each day.

Tres Piedras, the old water tower for the Chili Line

Eventually, it seems, all good things come to an end and the Chili Line was no exception.  On September 1, 1941, the line was shut down.  It was no longer making a profit so the line was abandoned.  Iron from the tracks and many of the engines were sent to Alaska to help in the war effort.  Now all that remains in Tres Piedras of the Chili Line is the old water tower beside the trackless dusty grade.  That and a whole lot of memories.

As we finished our delicious dinner sitting on the front porch with Maya, I just know I heard the faint blow of a steam engine whistle carried on the cool mountain breeze.      

Hopewell Lake

Hopewell Lake, nestled in a high mountain meadow

Our last night at Columbine Campground unexpectedly dropped down into the upper 30’s and we woke to a temperature of 49 degrees in our RV.  We were not prepared for that and I couldn’t get hot coffee and steel cut oats ready fast enough.  Even Maya’s food was made with warm water. 

As the sun touched the canyon and began to warm things up, we decided a birding walk along the Columbine River would be just the thing before we packed up and headed to Hopewell Lake.  The trailhead into the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness was only about 100 yards from our campsite and Maya was perking up as we walked that way.  She was excited about our walk but I think it was all the llamas at the trailhead that had her so happy.  Maya’s other senses may be diminishing but her nose still works well.  She invited the llamas to play but they were having none of it.

We talked a little to the llama wrangler and he was putting packs on seven llamas in preparation for a trek into the wilderness.  David and I thought maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to have a llama carry your heavy stuff for you on your backpacking trip.  But I don’t know how Maya would feel about riding on a llama (or the llama would feel about carrying a dog, for that matter).

We warmed up nicely on our walk although we didn’t see that many birds.  But it was a great morning anyway and Maya was almost her old self, bouncy and up for a wade in the river.

Maya wading in the Columbine River

It was only a couple of hours to the far western part of the Carson National Forest and Hopewell Lake Campground, a new campground for us.  As we drew nearer, we became a bit concerned as it was obvious that there was a forest fire burning nearby.  We stopped at the Ranger Station in Tres Piedras to find out about the fire as we didn’t really want to inhale any more smoke than perhaps a campfire.

View of Bonita Fire a few miles from Hopewell Lake Campground

The Bonita Fire had been burning about 3 weeks, impacting a few thousand acres, thus small as forest fires go.  Thankfully, smoke was not expected to affect our campground or the nearby section of the Continental Divide Trail.  We probably would have turned back if we hadn’t stopped at the Ranger Station because there was a smoky haze in places across the road and we could smell the smoke in the RV.  But as we drove the road turned out of the smoke and the sky returned to bright, clear blue.

Maya explores the meadow next to our campsite

Maya is getting to be an excellent birder

We found a nice camping spot on the edge of a beautiful meadow very near the Continental Divide Trail (CDT).  It looked like a great place to do some birding and also an opportunity for David and me to have a short hike on the CDT which would be our first hike on the trail this summer.  (We hiked several sections of the CDT last summer, mostly in Colorado.)

Hiking the CDT from Hopewell Lake Campground

Cows on the CDT -- the trail goes through Forest Service grazing land

Isolated in high mountain meadows with views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains to the east and the Rockies to the north, small Hopewell Lake is near 10,000 feet in elevation.  Patches of snow were visible in shady places near the lake and along the trail and road. This was our most remote camping experience so far.  It was tranquil and quiet with very few fellow campers, mellow days and dark night skies filled with the Milky Way. 

A little early for wild flowers, but they are starting to bloom in the meadows

We did get in our hike on the CDT.  Maya played in the meadows and we looked for birds.  We saw another Western Tanager, a very beautiful and uncommon bird in this area.  A pair of iridescent Mountain Bluebirds were interested in our RV, probably thinking a nest underneath the solar panels would be an interesting option.  We were glad they decided against the idea as we had only a few days to spend and a traveling nest would not have made for an easy life.  Plus, it would have really messed up that whole territory thing…

David’s Stats:

Days Hiked   1 
Total Miles Hiked    6.15     
Total Elevation Gain     586
 
Birding Hikes  3