Silverton, Colorado

View of Silverton from USH 550

On our trip to Colorado, one of the few 'planned' destinations was the cute town of Silverton. Silverton is an old historic mining town nestled in the mountains north of Durango, famous for its steam train, mining tours, and expansive off-road trails. Only one highway goes in and out of Silverton, and during the winter it is often inaccessible by road. There is one campground available on the outskirts of town, but we decided to stay in a beautiful campground outside of town called Molas Lake Campground. The sites were simple and lacking any hook-ups, but there was water available at the office and outhouses within decent walking distance. They also have picnic areas and grills at most of the campsites, and a variety of site choices depending on where and how you want to camp (woods, lakeside, tent, RV).

Molas Lake Campground

What sold us was the view at this place. Molas Lake reflects the nearby mountains with an almost pristine quality when the wind is calm, and the fish are active and ready to be caught. Generators are also banned throughout most of the park, so the campground was peacefully quiet most of the time.Charlie was a big fan of the lake. Thanks to the long leads that I had, he was able to romp in the water and chase the ducks (who were only slightly annoyed by his antics) while I stayed warm and dry on the shore. Although we didn't get much chance to seek them out, there also several biking, hiking, and walking trails that had access points stemming from the campground.

After settling in, we made our way back to the town of Silverton to explore and stop by the visitor's center. Charlie came along with us and surprisingly, was on his best behavior. He was able to share the sidewalk with gaggles of tourists and other dogs, and sat politely as families passed us by while we waited outside the visitors center. He even gained some new fans as children came up to play with him. So, we were surprised after all this good behavior when he started growling and barking for absolutely no reason. When we realized why, we had to take a video.

 

The poor pup was TERRIFIED of this strange wooden man. Even passerby's couldn't help but stop and laugh at his misfortune, but eventually we showed some mercy and moved on. 

Our surrender point

We decided to head back out of town and make our way to another 4X4 trail, one that did not consist of a sandy deathtrap. The trail led to a glacier lake known as Clear Lake. After a great deal of nerve-wracking time passed by, we managed to make it to a clearing before the final leg of the trail. The view here was like something from Lord of the Rings, and a drainage waterfall from the lake poured next to the trail. At this point we were skeptical about our ability to continue onwards, as we could see the next set of switchbacks and we were dubious about our ability to make them without plummeting to a fiery doom. As we sat and debated our plans, we watched two small jeeps coming down from the lake at what looked like a 45 degree angle. That made our decision for us, and for the sake of ours and Chuckie's lives, we accepted defeat. The lack of oxygen to the engine and, lets face it, the immense size of his truck were becoming dangerous factors.

The Fellowship of the Chuck

Spooky Mine

As I prepared myself for the fearsome trek back down the mountain, I decided to explore a little bit on foot and came across one of the mines that once made Silverton famous. The water coming out was full of iron, making everywhere the water flowed turn orange. Lucky for my curiosity, the entrance to the mine was blocked off with a grate, preventing a dangerously inquisitive person such as myself from entering. I was also able to find a spot where the water from the glacier lake was flowing in a place that wouldn't risk my life to get to. For kicks I tried a drink of it, and found it was cold and fresh tasting; its too bad we weren't able to make it to the lake, since I imagine it would have been beautiful. The trip back down was slightly less nerve wracking, but our increased pace and jolty ride was not something enjoyed by Charlie. He looked somewhat carsick and was sitting goofy. The picture isn't that great, but I thought it was a funny pose.

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We made it to the bottom alive and happy, and we rewarded our nerves of steel with some frolicking in a nearby creek. The water was freezing and I ended up splitting the bottom of my foot open, but Charlie and the rest of the dogs were having a blast trying to attack the fast current of the creek. I guess you win some, and you lose some.