Enough of this staying inside. I am ready to get out and play. There was a large group leaving town this
morning to head over Ophir, into Telluride, then across Last Dollar into
Ridgeway before returning to Silverton.
That was a bit ambitious for this recovering low-oxygen-sat gal, so we
and James & Wendy just drove to Ophir Pass and across the ledge road before
turning around and heading back into Silverton for lunch at The Pitts. I took my oximeter and monitored my oxygen
sats. Didn't over-do, and feeling pretty
good this afternoon.
Ophir is one of my favorite passes
early in the season. I like it best when
we go before the trail is opened all the way.
One year, we managed to be the first Jeep across. A lot of the snow is gone, but still some awesome
snow drifts along the top of the pass.
This trail climbs to an elevation of
about 11,800 feet. It was originally an
old Navajo Indian's trail. White trappers
began using the trail in the 1860s, and it soon became a recognized route,
becoming a wagon trail, and wait for it . . . a TOLL ROAD!
One of my favorite Ophir stories comes
from "Backcountry Adventures Colorado" by Peter Massey, Jeanne Wilson
and Angela Titus. It tells us that Ophir
was frequently snowbound due to avalanches.
In December 1883, the townspeople were anxiously awaiting their mail
carrier, Swen Nilson who had left Silverton with 60 pounds of Christmas
packages & letters for them. He
never showed. They were all sure he had absconded
with their goodies. After two years of
searching, his brother finally found Swen's skeleton with the mail sack still
around his neck.
Not only are these thru the dirty window shots -
they are from the backseat!
Going into the drifts:
Jim & James setting up the Go-Pro camera:
Trail closing in on us:
Looking back:
Checking out the shelf road for up-coming traffic below before we start across:
These poor people didn't get across:
The little town of Ophir:
Headed back the way we came:
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