| Second day at Ouray Colorado: Today we planned to tackled some of the tougher mountain pass tracks that Ouray is so famous for. You can buy “Survivor” pins for each of these passes.
We started out on the Camp Bird Road leading to Imogene Pass and then over into the ski resort of Telluride. It was drizzling but the skies were clearing. We took 361 (Camp Bird Road) up Canyon Creek with some scenic views of the deep canyon and distant peaks. About 1.6 miles past the Camp Bird turn-off at 10,600 feet elevation we took a left, crossed Sneffels Creek and headed south on Imogene Pass Road (there is a sign here). The road became rockier and we encountered several creek crossings to a little past Upper Camp Bird. Here the road covered with loose rock began to climb drastically. We met some dirt bike riders coming down from the high pass. They advised that there was packed snow at the pass and some difficult riding ahead.
Saddened we backtracked to US 550 and had a good ride on pavement heading south toward Silverton. Some great twisties here with no railings and shear drop offs of 500 feet or more. Once again we remarked that it was not the place for knee dragging. Unlike our North Carolina roads, it is easy to pass other vehicles and make good time. The DOT gives you a lot of passing zones even if they are much shorter than what you find in other areas.
On the way toward Ophir Pass Trail we stopped and took a quick look at the entrance to Engineer Pass. It was a super steep rocky climb made even more difficult by the rain. We decided to go farther south and take the easier Ophir Pass Road to the west towards Telluride. Ophir was an easy climb to
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Jimmy Costalez and his Harley on Ophir Pass .... he made it over!
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the pass at 11,789 feet and then a moderate rocky downhill section which narrowed to one vehicle only. On the way down we encountered several vehicles and had to carefully negotiate passage. Fairly high up to our amazement we encountered a couple on a cruiser. This was no place for them as the road was covered with loose rock and steepening if they continued east. They also had to get around one pickup-mounted camper that was stopped in the tightest spot to resecure their gear. After telling them not to proceed we continued on just shaking our heads.
Entereing the tree line we were escorted part of the way by a wayward sheep making its way back home to the small residential community of Ophir. Made up of small moderately constructed homes on small lots the place had a rather bohemian feel. Here the road became paved.
We continued westward through Ophir Loop and took a right on SR 145, a paved route to the tourist town of Telluride where food and gas are on the expensive side (they don’t even post the gas prices). We had a pizza on the back deck of Jacks Bar with a view of Bridal Veil Falls and the ski runs. After lunch we walked main street and noticed everyone, including shops, seemed to have a dog or two … and they were all well behaved!!
We decided to attack Imogene Pass from the Telluride side to see how far we could get. The beginning of the climb passes several hillside residences on Tomboy Road. This climb was realtively easy but we did encounter some loose rocks and steep switchbacks. As we climbed higher the road leveled and narrowed There were sheer drop offs and beautiful views of the valley below. We tried to make it to the pass but had to turn back at the ruins of Tomboy Mine when we encountered loose, fist sized rock that was extremely difficult to negotiate. On the way down we were passed by a group of dirt bikers and we were wishing we had our KTMs.
We then took a run south on SR 145 to Rico thinking that there was a way back over to US 550. This is a great section of roads with both sweepers and tight corners in spots. We learned that this was the long way back and would take several hours. We backtracked north on SR 145 to Placerville and then east on SR 62 to Ridgeway. We returned to Ouray on US 550 south.
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