Part 2 of the Durango-Silverton series
After a fun filled adventure to Cascade Canyon on the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (detailed in the previous post) I felt like the trip was incomplete. This is because the train normally operates with Silverton as a destination. But at the time we visited, this particular route was closed due to hazardous conditions. We were not wanting to let obstacles get in the way. So we decided to take a truck to Silverton as a day trip . Hazards did get in the way, but we made it.
Snowfall
On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving 2021 in our cabin in Durango, we woke up to great news. It had snowed overnight. If we went out the back door onto the mountainside we could even see some of it. I was excited and then quickly disappointed. In the area of Durango that we could see from our cabin deck, there was very little snow.
Notable Stops
Well we didn’t let it deter us. We still had plans to take the trip to Silverton after all. It only took about five minutes travelling north of town to figure out that it did snow. In fact, it had snowed quite heavily. We passed Honeyville Specialty honey, and the Pinkerton Hot Springs (which we would visit the next morning) and made it to Purgatory Resort before we needed to make a stop. We had noticed a traffic sign warning that “chain law was in effect,” so we pulled into Purgatory. There we would take some photos and go over our options.
After a short time sightseeing in Purgatory, we went into the resort office to chat with the concierge. He explained the chain law, and said that the road is not closed, but that we should just drive extra careful. Chain law requires either 4 wheel drive or tire chains to proceed. We had neither, so we just took the route very carefully. Multiple times we were passed by sedans going way too fast with zero likelihood they had 4-wheel drive and no visible chains. It didn’t matter; we just wanted to take a slow scenic drive and do it safe.
Sightseeing in the Snow: Getting Stuck
Whenever there was a chance to pull off of the road we would take it. Get out of the truck, take some photos and then get back on the road. This worked the first couple of times but we got stuck in a fresh blanket of powder somewhere halfway up the mountainside. The situation was not a full on panic, because the back tires were spinning but inching ever so slightly forward. The problem for us was the sharp curve just before where we were, and traffic.
What we wanted to do was gun it, slide forward very slowly, until the tires hit the road and then took off, breaking to slow back down. But what kept happening was the cars wouldn’t stop coming and as soon as we had the speed to make it on the road we had to stop for a car coming around the curve. I finally convinced my wife to just do it, while I stood further back in the road to slow down approaching traffic. She made it, and we carried on to Silverton.
I cannot possibly convey in words how beautiful the scenery was on the drive. The freshly snow capped mountain peaks lit by the noon sun, the green pines, the red rocks, only photographs can begin to describe. It also takes the feeling of the crisp mountain air on your face and the taste of it as you breathe it in to fully appreciate just where you are. And just like that we were approaching Silverton.
Silverton Origins:
Silverton is located just north of Durango in a remote part of the western San Juan Mountains. Originally called “Bakers Park”, it sits in a flat area of the Animas River Valley surrounded by steep peaks. It had its first mining claims in 1860, near the end of the Colorado Gold Rush, when the town was still territory of the Utes. The town was established shortly after the Utes ceded the region in 1873 and then boomed from silver mining until the Panic of 1893 and the collapse of the silver market. It would boom again from gold mining until the recession caused by the Panic of 1907. The last mine closed in 1992 and now the community depends primarily on tourism and government preservation.
Geology
The western part of the San Juan Mountains has been carved by glaciers and streams from a great domed volcanic field. A nearly 1 mile thick deposit of tuffs, breccias, and flows rests horizontally upon the older tilted and eroded metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. The metamorphic rocks are Pre-Cambrian schist, gneiss, quartzite and slate, and the sedimentary are Cambrian to Late Cretaceous. Volcanic activity from the Late Cretaceous to the Eocene and in some parts Tertiary periods has resulted in intrusions by many irregular igneous bodies of quartz monzonite, many dikes of andesite and latite and by a few dikes of granite and rhyolite.
The Silverton region is the site of the dominant geological features of the Western San Juan Mountains, the Silverton Caldera, which is a roughly elliptical basin that formed in the middle Tertiary period. Silverton itself lies in a flat and open area of the Animas Valley, with a roughly circular area of around 18 ½ square miles of mountainous country also included. Within this area nearly a dozen horn-like peaks and sharp ridges separated by deep glacial cirques rise to altitudes of 13,000 feet or more.
Our Visit
Our first stop upon passing the large sign delineating our entrance to Silverton was the Chamber of Commerce office. We picked up a few postcards and one pressed penny before advancing to Main Street. After perusing through a few souvenir shops, we spent the majority of our time inside Silverton Minerals & Gifts. There I would purchase a bag full of samples of local minerals. I simply cannot state how much I loved that little shop.
Being on a tight schedule to make it back to Durango, we explored on foot for around an hour more. We then made our way up the hill on the north side of town. There we were treated to a spectacular view of the lonely peak central to the backdrop of the town itself. After stopping on the way out at the general store for food and hydration we began the drive back. We only planned on one little diversion at a scenic overlook.
Taking A Hike
Around halfway back to Durango we stopped to explore the Molas Overlook just off of the highway. The stairs were frozen and covered with ice and snow but we carefully walked up to take in the view. It was well worth it. We would stay parked here, and hike across the highway 1.5 miles down the Molas Pass to the Little Molas Lake Recreation site. The highlight of this hike was most definitely the freshly laid snow. In some places was up to my hips.
Before departing on the hike, we made sure we were clothed properly. We also made sure we had enough water and cell phone battery in case of emergency. It should have only taken about an hour round trip. Due to the snowy terrain, it ended up taking around 2 and half hours. In my opinion it was time well spent. Every so often we would see deer and other tracks of wildlife in the area. And much more often we had to stop so I could play in the snow. This was the first time in 30 years I had the chance to just let loose in snow that deep. So I took it.
Little Molas Lake
Once we made it down to Little Molas Lake, we found the recreation site completely deserted. The sound of maybe one ATV passed as we rested. The lake was completely frozen. We found a map and then made our way towards the restrooms which were all locked up with padlocks. Bummer, the trees would have to make due. We chose a small hilltop campsite overlooking the frozen lake and rested on the snowy grass while taking various photographs. Once well rested, we packed up and started the return leg of the journey. Luckily we made it back to the truck just before sundown. Then it was back to Durango.
Sources:
https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0378a/report.pdf
Geology and Ore Deposits of the South Silverton Mining Area, San Juan County Colorado
Geological Survey Professional Paper 378-A, By David J. Varnes
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