Ouray - Silverton - Cinnamon Pass - Lake City
The Amphitheatre campground was a nice one, nestled high over the town with great views of Ouray. My originally designated camp site had a magnificent view of the campground dumpster, so it was fine with me that I pitched my tent at the host's campsite.
Ouray from Amphitheater road
Laying in the tent at night and listening to the various sounds and conversations of others around the campground can be "entertaining". This night, to my right I heard someone laughing continuously and talking with a terrible British accent. It sounded like Mike Myers from Saturday Night Live when he'd do a Keith Richards imitation. In fact, I was convinced Mike was camping next to me for quite some time, until it sunk in that this was a real person's accent. I like hearing Brit accents and his laugh was infectious... for about 15 minutes. An hour later I was trying to figure out how to murder him. He was obviously drunk, but never stopped laughing until the wee hours.
My thoughts were interrupted by the late arrival of campers to my left and a sudden horrible ripping sound, followed by the giggling voice of a woman saying "I told you barking spiders were indigenous to Colorado!" Maybe they are, but the one she had with her was big enough to be on a leash.
The next morning while making my breakfast of champions, my host came out and we had a good talk. I'd noticed his license plate showed "10th Mountain Division" and I mentioned what I knew about the elite unit from WWII. He was a WWII vet, in great physical and mental condition and told me his background of having been a mountain climber and ski jumper in upstate NY before joining the unit. He said his father was Oliver Perry-Smith, a renowned mountaineer who was highly respected in Europe for his climbs. He brought out a book and photos of his father's climbing experiences and told me to Google his dad for more info.
We talked of the experiences his unit went through in WWII and he mentioned a movie was about to be released on the story of one of the battles. I really enjoyed listening to him and was honored to meet him. He looked to be about 80, but his eyes were as sharp and clear as a young man. He said he wintered in Steamboat Springs but skied all year. He winked and said "Don't ever get old" as he walked away. I always enjoy meeting and talking with older folks - so many treasures that are overlooked.
As I headed out of the campground I saw "Brian" who'd also invited me to share his campsite earlier. He was loaded for bear with a truck and trailer hauling a Toyota FJ and a KTM dirt bike, as well as lots of other goodies. Brian was from Gainesville, Texas and heading up Engineer Pass for the day. We wished each other well and I headed down for caffeine in town.
After a great cup of coffee or two, the plan was to head to Silverton, the next town at the end of the famous Million Dollar Highway, and then take the rough, high mountain pass road over to Lake City. I decided to detour and took the forest road up to Yankee Boy Basin to see how the bike might handle the pass roads loaded. The road to Yankee Boy was a well maintained forest road, with a few rough sections, but it was no test for what I'd be facing later in the day, but at least I could stretch my legs a little.
Entering the pass road to the basin
Reminds of that motel in Cody
The ride up was beautiful but had some challenges with all the water from the recent rains and some of the areas were tricky. Loose rocks and heavy, slow moving bikes can be a handful at times. Speed and momentum are your friends, however there were a lot of rental Jeeps on the road, driving very slowly and meeting each other, which made for several stops and lost momentum for me.
I reached the top area with about 1/8 of a mile from the absolute end of the road. I had to stop for a breather and walked up a bit further. I could tell there was no way to reach the last section, as the road now had a stream running down the width of it and there was loose rock at a very steep incline just out of the water. Without the gear, I'd have tried it but since I had a long ways to go this day it wasn’t worth the risk vs reward.
There were a few ATV's there and I talked with three guys from Missouri who had been doing the mountain passes in the area. They concurred with my decision not to go the last little bit of the road, saying they had had difficulty even on their four wheelers.
These Missouri boys spotted some mountain goats high on the cliffs
The ride back down was a challenge with the wet rocks, made even more so by the occasional jeep stopped in the middle of the road. At one point I crested a rise on a really tricky section to find a crew cab diesel parked dead center in the road. I managed to squirt by it with only one choice of travel, only to find a fat tourist woman in little white tennis shoes teetering and wobbling like an oversized ballerina right in the way. There was no other line to take and I had to lock it up and almost crash to miss her.
Further down the pass, I saw a gaggle of dirt bikes and riders having come down off Imogene Pass and consulting their maps. In a show of bravado I flew past, getting major air and doing a full lock cross-up on the BMW, simultaneously shouting "Posers!" and flashing the Hook' em Horns sign in midair before landing full throttle and showering them with roost.
Actually that's a lie. But I did get some looks when I passed them on the heavily loaded bike. I think they took it as somewhat of a challenge as they all raced after me and passed me further down. It was fun.
Back on the blacktop, I headed down the Million Dollar Highway and had only gone a short distance when a Harley biker passed in the other lane motioning "down" with his hand. I rounded the next bend to see an accident on a sharp curve. EMS and police were there having just loaded the rider into the ambulance. Looked like a Harley with ape hanger bars had hit a car. Guessing the bike either slid out or couldn't make the sharp curve, or the car had come into his lane. I said a prayer for the rider as I went past for Silverton.
The Million Dollar Highway outside Ouray - so named as its cost was staggering for the time it was built
The Million Dollar is a classic, amazing road through the Western Rockies, cut on the edge of cliffs and winding high into the mountains. It’s a really great ride or drive, roughly an hour to Silverton.
The Million Dollar lived up to its reputation, as it always does, with amazing views, perilous drop-offs and high mountain curvy roadway. I picked up an R1150GS with Jesse cases and rode behind him for a ways, enjoying the beautiful highway and scenery.
Silverton was a fun town. Hadn't been there in years and forgot how much I liked it. It was relatively tourist free and I found out later the train from Durango had been blocked by a rockslide, which explained the lack of tourists.
I searched the little shops for a new lighter, since my fancy little survival torch had decided to fracture and dump the butane - nothing like having a survival lighter in your emergency kit only to find it dead. A Zippo came to the rescue until I found a better one.
Next to one of the shops, I saw a couple of KLR's and riders so I struck up conversation. Ken and Ben, father and son, were from Austin and heading up Engineer Pass over to Lake City. I had decided to take Cinnamon Pass to Lake City as I'd heard differing accounts of the condition of Engineer. A loaded R1100GS is not the appropriate tool for riding the mine road passes, so I knew a real challenge lay ahead for me. Aside from the weight, the bike is made for highway travel as well and has mushy steering compared to a light dirt bike, so maneuvering is hard amidst loose rock.
Having bought some pricey elk jerky and found a cheap Zippo, I headed to the bike to stuff in the tank bag when saw a biker couple sitting on a bench looking at the BMW. I overheard them talking to someone and mentioning they were from Lubbock so we started talking. In the midst of conversation, an SUV did a fast screeching donut in the street and pulled up behind my bike. The driver rolled down the window and asked if I wanted to sell the GS for "cash right now". I laughed and waved. He smiled and burned out.
Back to my conversation with the couple, they were hardcore bikers who were now in Christian motorcycle and prison ministry. That is near and dear to my heart, having worked in homeless and street ministries myself. A group of them had ridden up from Lubbock for a couple of days and were having a good time. A couple of other guys came up and we had a good conversation. Before I left, they gathered around and prayed a great prayer over me and for my protection on the rest of my trip.
My new buds - "Mountain" is the little guy in the flag bandana
I grabbed lunch at the Brown Bear Cafe and checked my maps, enjoying the food and dessert - hot blueberry cobbler covered with ice cream and whipped cream!
Coming out of the cafe I found a KTM rider hanging out near the GS and we talked for a while. Tom was up from California and had a shiny new KTM 525 he was planning on getting dirty in the area.
A final pic in case I died on Cinnamon Pass
I realized my Camelbak was empty and went into a shop for a few bottles of water to fill it. When I came out and was filling the pouch, a guy walked over to look at the bike and we started talking. He looked somehow familiar and in conversation mentioned he was from Terlingua, Texas. It was then I recognized him as "Uncle Roger" from ride reports on the internet. He rode motorcycles and was well known in the dual sport community who gathered out in the Big Bend region yearly.
I mentioned a friend who rode to Big Bend frequently and it turned out Roger knew him well, so well in fact he pulled out his phone and called him while we were talking. It is a small world indeed.
Roger from Terlingua aka “Uncle”
He'd been up for the Horizon's Unlimited event, a gathering of adventure riders, then had gone to the BMW event at Paonia and was now camping and hanging out around Silverton. It was fun meeting a guy from my favorite Texas town. Roger asked where I was headed and when I said "over Cinnamon", he pointed and said "On this? No thanks!" and walked away.
It was clouding up as I headed away from the Million Dollar Highway, through Silverton and out the dirt road for Animas Forks and Cinnamon Pass. The temp began to drop, passing old mines and rotted remains of wealth from yesteryear.
The further I got from Silverton, the more the road got a little more challenging until I reached the entrance for either Cinnamon or Engineer pass. I stayed on the Cinnamon section and the road immediately got steep and rocky but the BMW took it in stride. The first thousand feet in elevation was a workout on the rough road, with no stopping until I found one small section of a switchback turn wide enough and smooth enough to stop, where I looked back down the valley for a last time.
That was the point of no return, and from then on, the difficulty had me sweating and working hard to keep from dropping the bike. I had to really stay focused and concentrate. It was serious work almost all the way to the top, wrestling the bike over and around rocks and ledges covered with water drainage. I was sweating profusely in the cool air and breathing hard from the workout.
All things considered, the big bike handled the tough stuff surprisingly well - certainly not like a dirt bike, but considering the load I was carrying it did well. I couldn't really stand up on the pegs because the bucking rear end would toss the tent and pad forward under my rear and then I couldn't sit down. I finally had to do the ride sitting down, which is much more difficult in rough conditions.
As I neared the top of the pass, the road improved some which I was grateful for and I was able to relax some. The pass roads deteriorate very quickly being above the tree line being exposed to the storms and snow. When the snow melts, the road then becomes a river bed for runoff and the lower switchback sections usually become very rutted and filled with loose rock. Sometimes repairs have been done, which are often quickly destroyed, but luckily for me the top was in good shape. Usually it's by far the worst.
Entering the barren scree fields near the top of Cinnamon Pass
Cresting the top, I was met with a blast of cold air and high wind from the Lake City side. Black clouds were ahead and I hoped and prayed the rain would hold off until I got further down. I didn't relish the thought of going down steep rocky areas covered in water. I took a break at the top with a group of ATV riders up there. A woman offered to take a picture of me by the sign which I appreciated.
Poser
Turns out they were a couple of families from Oklahoma and had all ridden up on ATV's. Three of the riders were 10 year old boys and one had come over to see my bike. He was beaming proud of his ride up and the helmet he was wearing, but he also wanted me to know he was wearing a Camelbak too. I gave him a "high five" for his accomplishment. His father wanted to know more about the Beemer as he had been wanting an adventure bike to do trips like mine.
As we talked a red Toyota FJ crested the top and I heard "Hey Joseph!" - it was Brian from Amphitheatre campground. He'd done Engineer Pass and now Cinnamon in the Toyota. We said our "seeya's" and I thanked them for the pics and headed on down the mountain to try and beat the rain.
The ride down was good, with some iffy spots for sure, but on the way I began to really appreciate this bike. No, it's not a 250 lb KTM or 300 lb XR, but the beast handled decently considering all the gear on it and my riding weight.
BMW had done a great job of creating a motorcycle that could travel thousands of miles at highway speeds comfortably, and then take the rider to some out of the way places on dirt rails. Jack of all trades and master of none? Maybe, but it's a hell of a bike if you ask me. Undoubtedly the Ohlins suspension made the difference on this ride and they earned their (or my?) money on these pass roads.
The Lake City side of Cinnamon was far easier than the way up, something I was happy about now that I'd had a workout and some serious butt-clenching moments.
Heading down to Lake City
As the road improved nearing the base of the mountain, the rain started and I rode the last miles to Lake City in a gentle rain.
The cold rain on my face as I wound down the mountain is something I'll remember for a while.
The tiny quaint town Lake City was wet and rainy. Passing through I saw nothing but "No Vacancy" signs. Wondering if I'd have to press on to Gunnison, I saw the Quiet Moose Lodge outside of town and pulled in. I was greeted by "Bruno", who was dressed in chef whites with a French accent. He had a room available and put me down for 7 pm reservations in the little restaurant.
The rooms were older but decent and I found out why I needed reservations for the restaurant. The food and atmosphere were great - but what would you expect from a French chef? His wife and daughters served the food and treated the diners as if we were in their own home. It was a great meal and a great day!
The Route:
The Black Canyon of Gunnison
I woke up feeling nauseated - possibly from a small bird I swallowed between Ouray and Silverton. Feeling sluggish, I spent the morning in Lake City though my plan was to head north for Gunnison and the Black Canyon area.
Morning over Lake City
Downtown
Posting from the library's wifi
I caught Hwy 149 North towards Gunnison and - wait for it - it turned out to be a beautiful road and a great ride. The scenery was good, the road a wide and fast one with big sweepers as you got further north. The sun was out and it was an awesome day to ride.
My speed brought me up behind a BMW R1200GSA who was following two women on Harleys. I tracked with them a while until the intersection at Hwy 50 and 149 where I turned east to Gunnison and they went west to Montrose.
I wandered downtown Gunnison for a bit then headed west on 50 towards Montrose. (By the way, it's pronounced "Mont Rose" by the locals, so say that when you're there for brownie points)
A Gunnison local
Behind the trailer that’s behind the mud dragster, there’s a BMW rider removing his Touratech panniers. He was attempting to remove a broken side rack to have it welded at the shop behind the trailer. Sorry I didn't get a pic so you'll just have to use your imagination
A view from Highway 50
I took Hwy 92 off of 50, since it looked twisty and interesting. It led across the dam on the Gunnison River and into the mountains.
Hwy 92 turned out to be one of the better roads I've ridden. I know, I’ve said that about many roads on this trip but it's true. I’d have to put it in the Top 10 and probably the Top 5 so far.
It follows the Gunnison river canyon and twists and turns as it goes on the edge of cliffs higher and higher. No guardrails until you get very high up and then only a few. The road winds through aspen groves and lots of S curves only to suddenly swing out to the edge of spectacular views of the canyon. The pucker factor was high at times.
The canyon is spectacular and just gets deeper and deeper
I rode Hwy 92 for about 25 miles before reversing back towards Gunnison, enjoying every mile of it.
Back on 50 after coming off 92, I spotted a dirt road that said "Lake City Cutoff". I couldn't resist the gravel road and had a ball riding it for 16 miles over to 149. It was rough in a few spots but a great ride.
Back on blacktop and heading south on Hwy 149 to Lake City again, I could see rain ahead and finally ran into it for the last 10 miles of twisties through the canyon.
Though I’d been queasy all day, the rides were awesome. I'd never been to the Gunnison area and Hwy 149 was a great ride. Hwy 92 topped it by a mile and ranks as one of the greats on this trip.
The Route: