Journey to the Western Front pt. 3
From the beginning of this trip, I had a few locales scoped out which were supposed to offer great views of the aspen trees. Some I had been to before (Crested Butte/Gunnison). Others I had not. One location I had never heard of ended up being the most memorable out of any of them but not because of the colors, which still weren’t at their peak, but due to the uniqueness of the location — Silver Jack Reservoir.
Silver Jack is a large lake reservoir located southwest of Crested Butte. The lake is nestled deep in the Uncompahgre National Forest, where the cattle outnumber the people. No, this is not an exaggeration and honestly, I prefer it. I had only done a little research on this location and that little research identified this as a good leaf peeping location. That was more than enough to land it as the next stop on my list.
Upon leaving Crested Butte, I traveled through Gunnison, past Blue Mesa Reservoir (another beauty), and in to the area surrounding the reservoir. Initially, you pass through a number of privately-owned homes and then make your descent down a gravel road. As I drove through, I ran in to a fellow car camper, another photographer. When I got out of the Jeep, I could see he was in disarray so I spoke with him for a bit. Apparently, he was trying to capture drone footage of the unique rock faces when it lost connection. However, this mishap did not prevent him from making the best of being in the area. He grumbled a few words or worry and then continued taking a series of time-lapse photos of the aspen trees against the backdrop of the mountainous cliffs in the distance. I was in disbelief both at his resolve and the beauty of Silver Jack.
It’s hard to stay mad in a place this beautiful. I decided to join him in his photographic activities.
What stood out to me most about Silver Jack was the unique coloring of the mountain rocks. There were layers of dark mixed with chalky white rock, resulting in absolutely beautiful patterns. I spent a little more time driving around the rest of the area, which was fully populated with open-grazing cattle.
And these cows had NO fear of humans or vehicles. They did not flinch when I drove up to them, attempting to prod them in to moving out of the middle of the road. Their lack of concern gave me one thought — “bet these guys are not camera shy”, which obviously prompted a photoshoot.
After the photoshoot, I set up camp in my Jeep with an amazing view of the landscape as my backdrop. The next morning, I would be heading to my last destination of the trip, my all-time favorite — Telluride.
Telluride is tiny, modern and has great food. All qualities hard to pass up when you are looking to get a little bit of civilization after a few days in the wilderness. Unfortunately, staying overnight is expensive so I only visited during the days when I wanted to get a little food, a shower or just hang around and visit the shops.
Over the course of two days, I did a little exploring of the town and stayed in dispersed camping sites in the evenings. My go-to sites in this area were Alta Lakes and Lizard Head Pass campgrounds.
Both offer great views, although the road to Alta Lakes is treacherous to say the least. They are both about 45 minutes away from the town and offer free, primitive camping spots as well a fun hikes.
The first evening, I stayed in the campground near Lizard Head Pass which featured a number of open camp spots right off the main highway. The drive up is fantastic if you go while it is still light outside. Tons of open fields and mountains to behold. I stopped on the side of the highway various times just to get some photos, as the fog rolled past the mountains.
These campsites offer great views of the San Miguel mountain peaks, open spaces, huge boulders for sitting or making coffee and are surprisingly quiet, despite being so close to the highway. Across the highway, there is a trailhead which also offers trash dumpsters and vaulted toilets. Having been to a number of dispersed sites over the last few years, this is uncommon yet much welcomed sight.
The following evening decided to stay in my number one camping spot — Alta Lakes.
My first experience with Alta Lakes was during my first trip out west back in 2019. At that time, I didn’t have a Jeep but was renting a small crossover vehicle. During that trip, I was caught off guard by the high lodging prices and lack of available camping in town. As nighttime came, I had to find a place to get some rest.
Needing a place to stay, I asked some of the fine residents of Telluride for recommendations and Alta Lakes campground kept coming up so I decided to roll the dice. It was my first time doing any dispersed camping so I had no idea about primitive roads and high clearance vehicles. That lack of knowledge was a huge disadvantage because as made the drive up, I almost had to change my underwear. It ended in one of the most epic experiences of my life. Since that time, any trip to Colorado is not complete without a stay in the Alta Lakes campground.
This stay, however, took a weird turn.
Around mid-day it began raining in Telluride and continued throughout the evening. Once it died down, I decided to head up to the campground so I could set up camp. On my way up, I was absolutely stunned by the overcast, mountain fog and the after-rain colors. The beauty of Colorado was absolutely stunning.
As I arrived at the campsite, I parked my Jeep, set up for the evening and began doing my camping routine of walking around the site with my camera. This campground differs from many that I’ve been to in that it is right on a lake which sits directly in front of a mountain peak. And if you were to turn around, you’d be right in the middle of the woods. Tolkien could not have imagined a better scene.
Nighttime approached and I retired to the back of the Jeep to get some rest but throughout the evening, the rain started again. Figuring it was light rain, I decided not to worry. My main concern was the cold weather and high elevation mixed with the rain could make for hazardous conditions. I took a chance.
The next morning, it was still raining and a fog had completely engulfed the entire area. No big deal…I’ll just make some breakfast, set the camera up for a Timelapse and head back down, I thought. And then the hail started coming down. Beads of ice started falling almost as soon as I set the camera up and while I tried to wait it out for about twenty minutes, my nerves could not take it. So I hurried to pack up but it just kept coming down even harder.
As I drove back down to the main road, preparing to start my journey back home I realized something — that moment was reflective of my entire trip. I had a loose plan when I started out but every time I thought I knew where to go next, something would happen that made those plans change.
Go out to see peak colors — a week too early.
Planning to camp out and stay in hostels the entire time — friends offer you a place to crash.
Driving back from looking at the trees so you can get some rest — herd of sheep bombards the Jeep.
These trips always offer something unexpected and at this point, I’ve learned to embrace the uncertainty. The best plan might just be no plan at all.
