The 30th Anniversary Tour, 9.19.22 - 10.15.22, Part 3 of 12: The Million Dollar Highway, Owl Creek Pass

With no specific sunrise plan for the day, Bridgit and I slept in (that meant getting up around 6:30AM) and went out to breakfast in Ridgway. From there the idea was to drive the Jeep up the Million Dollar Highway to Molas Pass. From Ridgway it was a short drive to the scenic town of Ouray. Ouray has a famous hot springs resort and is also the starting point for the Million Dollar Highway. This highway runs about twenty-five miles from Ouray up and over 11,018’ Red Mountain Pass and down the other side to the historic mining town of Silverton. Legend has it that the road got its name because it cost a million dollars per mile to build, although there are several other legends about how it got the name. Though it ran through Red Mountain Pass in the late 1800’s, it was improved for auto travel and reopened in 1924. The stretch between Ouray and Silverton over the pass is a winding narrow two lane paved road with no guardrails and steep, sheer drop-offs. It is not for people with a fear of exposure although truckers and RVs drive it regularly.

As we left Ouray and began to climb, we passed two roads of great interest to me. One was the beginning of what is known as the Alpine Loop, a long jeep road that goes over Cinnamon Pass all the way to Lake City and returns over Engineer Pass. This was another consideration for our itinerary but we just didn’t have time for it on this trip. The second road just out of Ouray was the road that leads to Camp Bird and Yankee Boy Basin. Yankee Boy Basin is known as one of the most spectacular and beautiful flower basins in the world and the main route you pass through to climb Mount Sneffels. From this road another turn leads over Imogene Pass which takes you into Telluride.

As we made our way towards Red Mountain Pass, the aspens were in great form. Coming around a bend we struck gold, quite literally. Right next to the highway was the Hayden Trailhead and Crystal Lake. The entire mountainside above the lake was completely covered in prime yellow quaking aspen trees. It was such an onslaught of color it took our breath away and we had to pull over to walk around and soak it all in.

**Crystal Lake inlet looking up towards Red Mountain**

After leaving Crystal Lake we steadily climbed up to Red Mountain Pass. There were many great views along the way. Over the pass the good color continued as we dropped into Silverton and on to Molas Pass. We took a break at Molas Lake but here I was shooting into the morning sun so there were no great photos. Molas Lake would be really nice in the late afternoon with the Needle Mountains rising as a backdrop. We made Molas Pass our turnaround point and drove back the way we came to our campground.

**Looking back down Red Mountain Pass towards Ouray**

After lunch we set out for our afternoon adventure. This was one of the things I was looking forward to the most about our visit to the Ridgway area. In my research for photography I had come across a photo of Owl Creek Pass. I could tell it wasn’t taken from the pass itself which really has limited views, but from somewhere overlooking the pass from a distance. It had a stellar view of the pass with Chimney Rock and Courthouse Mountain and the entire foreground was covered in brilliant yellow aspens. The shot was taken right as the sun was almost to the horizon and with no peaks to block the setting sun, the light was almost sideways and just lit up the aspens and Chimney Rock. I wanted that shot. Badly. Poring over my maps I was confused because I didn’t see any trails that could possibly lead to wherever this photo had been taken. I hit pay dirt when I started looking at Google Earth. I basically followed the end of Cimarron Ridge from Owl Creek Pass and staying on the spine of the ridge proper I found a rocky outcropping. It was about a mile from the pass and six hundred feet higher than the pass. When I placed my cursor on the rock outcropping and turned one hundred eighty degrees, there was the view exactly. I knew a hundred percent that this was the spot the photo had been taken from. So that meant whoever took it climbed the ridge through open forest with no trail to guide him. I drew a route on my Gaia app and downloaded it so I could follow it without a cellular signal before I even left for the trip.

Bridgit and I had left camp early enough to explore the pass area before heading up the ridge. We stopped at Vista Point again and then stopped and walked around Deb’s Meadow which is just below the pass. Deb’s Meadow is the famous meadow from the film True Grit. This was the spot of the showdown between Rooster Cogburn and the outlaws. Robert Duvall and his men are at one end of Deb’s Meadow and he hollers, “I call that big talk from a one-eyed fat man” whereas The Duke replies, “Fill your hand you son of a bitch”. Then he puts the reins between his teeth and charges across Deb’s Meadow with both guns blazing. Doesn’t get much better than that!

**Aspens along the road to Owl Creek Pass**

Our plan was to hike up to the rock outcropping about two hours before sundown. We packed sandwiches for dinner and brought our headlamps for hiking back down in the dark. Between the headlamps and my navigation app I figured it shouldn’t be too hard to make it one mile back down to the Jeep. We parked at the small turnout at the pass, got our packs and camera gear together and started off into the forest. I had envisioned a fairly easy climb straight up the spine of the ridge but we encountered a lot of deadfall that made the going a bit more challenging. After an initial short level stretch we began to climb in earnest. Zig-zagging back and forth to work our way around the numerous downed trees, we pretty much knew we just had to stay on the spine. The GPS route we had downloaded was helpful to ensure we didn’t stray too far left or right. I thought we would be skirting around the side of a hump along the way but the route just naturally took us over the top of it. Then we had to drop back down about two hundred feet before climbing again so the total elevation gain ended up being more like eight hundred feet. Despite having no trail and crawling over tons of trees, Bridgit kept a smile on her face and seemed to enjoy the challenge and exhilaration of off trail travel. Our climb up the spine of Cimarron Ridge was all in the trees but looking up the sky was getting blacker with threatening clouds. I was already thinking this sunset idea could turn out to be a total bust but we kept going because we had rain gear and nothing better to do.

After what felt like more than the predicted mile, we began to break out of the trees and above us and to our left we spotted the large rock outcropping so I knew we were not only on track but almost to our spot. As we came out of the trees we had one last open grassy hillside to climb and we were on a flat spot next to the outcropping. Looking across Owl Creek Pass we could see Chimney Rock and Courthouse Mountain but we also saw a pitch black sky behind it and what looked like rain in the clouds. Out of the trees the wind was getting really strong. Luckily, just below the rocks yet still on the ridge we found shelter from the strongest winds so we dug out our sandwiches and waited to see what was going to happen. Miraculously, as we munched away, the dark clouds began to lift and dissipate, the winds died down and the sun began to work its way through the cloud cover and light up the surrounding ridges and peaks. It kept getting better and better and with the low light sneaking under darker clouds we had some tremendous light up on our lonesome perch. We even got a rainbow briefly. All in all it was a huge success.

We would have waited until the sun fully set but as it sank lower, once again the clouds began to build and we could tell the sun wasn’t going to make another appearance before setting below the horizon. After a great photo session we made our way back down into the timber and got back to the Jeep just before darkness settled in. We both agreed the whole experience was a blast and we’re so glad we went.