Our second full day exploring the trails from Silverton was going to be epic.
While reading up on the area, we discovered that we could get to the headwaters of the Rio Grande River. That would be so cool to see. Now, in my head, the headwaters to a river are more like a spring or small place with water. Can’t you just picture it? High in an alpine meadow sits a small lake that drains every so gracefully down a meandering waterfall with perfectly placed rocks. Yeah, no. The headwaters of the Rio Grande aren’t that majestic. Still super cool, though and I’m glad we got to see it.
On this day, we left Silverton on the same trail as the day before. Again my eyes were fixed on the beaver ponds looking for the mamma moose and her baby. I had my camera ready while I looked and looked and looked. Nothing. I could picture Ray, our camp host, shaking his head at us when we got back because we went by too late and too loud again.
Our first event was supposed to be crossing Stony Pass but we had an adventurous detour along the way. We wanted to see the Buffalo Boy Tram House and get to two grave sites near the top. Old grave sites are fascinating to me. Looking at the old headstones, I imagine what that person’s life was. While pretty, this was not a popular detour. It was steep and the switchbacks were tight, making the 4-seaters in our group do a three-point turn at each one. We didn’t even get to see the grave sites or the radio tower because someone put a giant fence across the trail. There were a few trailers and several NO TRESPASSING signs which we thought was odd on a known trail. This probably wasn’t a smart place to be so we quickly turned around and headed back to the main trail.
The drive up to Stony Pass ran next to some water for a tiny stretch before we started the climb. The trail went back and forth as we climbed up to 12,650 feet. Again the sign marking Stony Pass was so very small. I guess Southern Colorado decided less is more on the high mountain pass and Continental Divide signs. Time to bring down my sign expectations. We did see one small mention of the Continental Divide, though. Just on the other side of the top of the pass is part of the 3,100 mile long Continental Divide Trail that goes from the Montana-Canada border in the north all the way down to the New Mexico-Mexico border in the south all along the Continental Divide. That would be a cool hike! The trailhead sign was the only reference so far on our trip that we were anywhere close to the Continental Divide. Such a bummer.
The eastern side of Stony Pass is much greener than the western side in much the same way as the geography of our country. After winding back down to the treeline, the trail meandered through pine and aspen trees and wide open meadows. We passed Sheep Mountain before reaching a fork in the road. Straight ahead went to the Rio Grande Reservoir and a right turn led to Kite Lake. Our plan for the day was to have lunch at the lake so to the right we went. Looking down into the meadow on our right we could see the trail travel through it and disappear into a wooded area at the back. This was going to be a fun trail as it also involved at least one creek crossing!
Living in the parched desert, we get as excited as a child on Christmas morning when we get to cross water. Most times we are crossing a skinny little creek that barely makes a splash. But when we get to a good sized one, we make the most of it. First we check it and make sure it’s safe to cross. Then we’ll drive through, make a little splash and get a better look. Then, if it’s really a good one, I get out and Mark goes back for another pass. While Mark goes back through I find a good spot for filming. I give him the “thumbs up” and he comes through it again with purpose, many times making a great splash. This was exactly the scenario for this creek.
Mark motioned that we’d go through first and he’d come back. While the others waited, he drove me to the other side and I found a good perch for the money shot. Then he came barreling through. Look close at tail end of the video as the sheet of water falls over the front of the roof! He said there was so much water in the floor that he pulled out the drain plug while I filmed everyone else. He was soaked and I was glad to be “team photographer” at that point. This was a 10 on the fun creek crossing meter!
After our stream crossing escapade, we continued onto Kite Lake. Lunch time was upon us and I was hungry. This was a “whoop-dee-doo” trial with lots of short up and downs until we got to the wooded edge of the meadow. Water had run down the mountain from yesterday’s rain which resulted in small mud puddles at the bottom of almost every “whoop.” Some of the puddles were big enough to splash mud up into the RZR on our clothes and goggles. Memo to self: let the mud dry on your goggles before wiping away. The trail then hit the trees and it was a fun one. Narrow without being scary, a little windy with a few more muddy water crossings. There was even an old broken wooden bridge of sorts and I thought again about the hardy souls that traversed this land on horseback. I’ll keep my RZR with 4-point seat harnesses and helmets, thank you very much.
After the wooded section we were back in an open meadow as the trail climbed to Kite Lake at 12,086 feet. At one point the trail was also a river where yesterday’s rain was cascading down the rocky trail as we drove up. The alpine lake was a great place for lunch. As we pulled up, we noticed a perfectly sized section that fit all of our RZR’s with enough room to get out and walk around. We feasted on sandwiches, chips and cookies while taking in the pretty view before us. I erred badly not taking enough pictures. You’re going to have to trust me on its grandeur and check it out for yourself in person.
It was time for the Rio Grande!
Back down the trail we went, down the rocky section with cascading water, through the woods and back through the creek we went until we hit the familiar fork in the road. A sharp right and we were on our way to the Rio Grande Reservoir. I was so excited. Perhaps I built it up too much in my head because now the headwaters were not only a sparkling spring rising from the mountain but there were also perfect deer and other forest animals nearby. I tell ya, I had a total Disney movie in my head, complete with sappy music.
The trail went up for a bit then continued up a steep and rocky section in the trees. This part wasn’t fun. It was narrow with little room to pass if needed. The rocks were big enough and the trail eroded away that it was slow going. Really slow going. For me, this trail sucked. I wondered if we’d even make it there and back before dark. The trail crested, then went down. We careened a little faster down as it sometimes felt like a controlled slide. We came upon to large quads blocking the trail with nobody on them. On the other side of them was a truck on the side of the trail, kind of wedged into the trees with two flat tires. Keith got his air compressor out and went to work airing up the tires with no luck. One tire was sitting completely flat on the rim and the other had a cut in it. These tires were not fixable where they sat in the middle of nowhere. We offered to call for help when we got a signal and they had already sent someone else to do that so after we made our way around the quads we continued on. Thankfully that rocky section came to an end shortly after that and we were back to nice dirt trails.
The clouds ahead of us were getting dark, really dark and we were losing our audience as we continued on. That steep and rocky section used more gas than we wanted and nobody wanted to head back with less than a half of a tank. We were so close, we couldn’t stop now! We decided to go 10 more miles and whatever we saw, we saw. We ended up going 12 and found a nice turnout on the dirt road overlooking the reservoir. Turns out the apparent beginning of the Rio Grande is just a big reservoir. While it was pretty, it wasn’t remotely close to what I’d pictured in my head. We stood there a few minutes taking pictures. There was a flock of geese in a marshy area and some cows on the other side. You could tell where water had been in recent years and how their awful winter had reduced the water here by a lot. This was one spot where we had good enough reception to check those dark and looming clouds. If we left quickly, we’d surely make it back to camp before any rain so we loaded up and headed back.
Still we hurried to beat the storm. We hustled along the nice dirt roads and hit the rocky section none of us liked. Our progress ended quickly when a young woman motioned for us to stop as she walked towards us. She told us about a forest service ranger whose truck was blocking the trail helping a truck that was broken down. Wow, it had been at least an hour, we thought for sure help had arrived long ago for the truck with two flat tires. This lady that had stopped us was part of a group that was stuck on the other side of the broken truck and they’d been there a while. Mark, ever the problem solver, got out to investigate. Surely the forest service truck could move so everyone could pass. What good was any help coming going to be if nobody could get there? Thankfully, the ranger agreed to move her truck so everyone could pass. As we went by, I asked the stranded people if they needed food or water, fully prepared to give them all we had. The lady replied that they were fine and a ride out was close. At that moment, I was so thankful Mark had spent the extra money on new tires with a strong sidewall rating for the RZR. At the time of purchase I wasn’t happy with the extra cost but right then I didn’t care at all.
The rest of the drive back was beautiful and uneventful. We beat the storm and got our fancy cover on the RZR with a few minutes to spare. The storm was a good one when it hit, lots of lightning and thunder. After it cleared out we had a nice evening complete with another campfire. Ray the camp host came by and we showed him our creek crossing videos and he scolded us again for leaving too late and missing the mamma moose and her baby. Another fabulous day even if the headwaters were nothing close to what I pictured.