Bolam Pass Trail was Extraordinary!

 

This vehicular trailhead starts near the Purgatory Ski Area.  The book, “Colorado Trails, Southwest Region” can help guide you to this trail that starts at the Purgatory Ski Resort.   Without the Colorado Trails Book, the trail is tricky to find.  This trail is best driven with high clearance, 4-wheel drive vehicles as it is very bumpy in spots with protruding rocks.  The Jeepster and I crossed over and through several streams; the drive-through ones were shallow, but it’s not to say that a recent rain couldn’t change that.  Also higher elevation trails such as this are best gone on in July before the rains start and not earlier as sometimes there is lingering snow across the roads.    We did see traces of snow in the higher elevations, but the trail was clear of it.

 

The Jeepster drove through a stream on the path.

 

 

At one point the Jeepster stopped the Jeep alongside the road where there was a woods, a creek was located downhill from there.  We walked down to it and were rewarded by a very beautiful waterfall!  It was there that we had lunch.  There is something about the serenity of a mountain stream tumbling over the rocks that I just can’t get enough of!

 

A beautiful waterfall was hidden away, but not impossible to get to from the road.

Bluebells lined part of this alpine lake.

The hairpin turns through the forest as well as passing by some alpine lakes made the journey exciting.  We had a snack beside one of  the lakes that was lined with bluebells along its edges.    Deep in the forest The Graysill Mine, a uranium mine, is located near the road.  Instrumental in developing the first atomic bomb, it quit operations in 1963.    A log cabin is still in existence there.  This trail is one that should be gone on slowly because of the rough road and because of the scenery.  It wouldn’t due to rush through this fantastic work of nature as one might miss something really worth seeing!  We did see a man driving his family in a jeep at a fast rate.  They passed us.  I can only imagine how bumpy it was for their two little boys and his wife!  It was pretty bumpy when we drove at a slow pace!

Magnificent mountains could be seen from the summit.

More fantastic mountains.

When we reached the summit at 11,447, we parked and took in the magnificent views of towering, faraway mountains.  We had the overlook entirely to ourselves and it was awesome!  Throughout this area were so many gorgeous camping spots available that it would be hard to choose a site.

We crossed this stable path below the scree.

The end of the road came out on route 145 above Rico. This daytrip took us some time getting home to Pagosa, but we had an early start, so we didn’t have to worry about driving back after dark.  It would be a good idea to get as early a start as possible after sunrise so you don’t get caught in an afternoon thunderstorm in the higher elevations and on roads that shouldn’t be driven on while wet with rain.  While a lot of the roads are rocky, some are dirt and are especially difficult to maneuver on when wet; also there are sometimes mountains streams to be driven through which may be too deep to drive through after a rain.   Now that the rain showers have begun, it is very possible that it is too late to drive on some of the back road trails.   Of course once bitten by the Colorado trail bug, it may be hard to accept that the window to go on many of those roads may be closed.  Tell me it isn’t true!  

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