Once you get above the vegetation line, the surface becomes very rocky and nothing but loose rock like this.
After a final push of 1100 feet, we reached the summit.
The views of the valley were breathtaking.
It's kind of weird looking out, and seeing mountains BELOW you...
Once we drove the mild descent into Silverton, we grabbed some lunch, bought some souvenirs, it was time to head out for the next adventures of the day, Hurrican Pass to California Pass, to Animas Forks.
Now, I have been using a trail guidebook, along with GPS to make sure I stay on course, but I wasn't prepared for what was coming up soon.
Hurricane Pass is supposed to be (rated) an fairly mild trail. We climbed most of it without even needing 4WD.
As we got higher up the mountain we came to a V intersection. Checking my guidebook there was no mention of such V and the GPS showed that both sides of the V are actually trails. So, without actually knowing where the path leads off I go....LEFT. This was a serious mistake that I will never make again. Driving on the path for about 15 minutes things were going ok. It was getting a tad rockier, but nothing of concern (although the terrain would be rated moderate by the guidebook, I should have sensed something was wrong.) After another 10 minutes, it began to get narrow, and very rocky...now Im starting to get slightly concerned. I stop, check the GPS, and indeed I am still "on a trail." So foolishly I keep going. After another mile of rocky terrain, I arrive at a very peaky summit. Literally 1 foot forward, the jeep tips forward. 1 foot back, the jeep tips back...it was as if I was resting on the top of a pyramid. So, glad that I wasn't climbing anymore, I continued onwards. After 1/4 mile of even rockier terrain, I reach something that really gave me a bad feeling, but again, checking the GPS, I was on a trail, so this entire time, I am thinking I am on a correct path. I start to descend this route, and I tell the wife to get out and film me. Now, we are all tough e thugs when it comes to the interwebz, but this actually had me nervous. The real reason I wanted her out of the Jeep is so that she doesn't see me nervous and doesn't panic herself. I didn't panic, but I was nervous.
So, down I go....the slope is probably 35 degrees, if not more, on some of the the most loose terrain I have ever driven on. I could feel the rear end sliding around, but it wasn't the rear end, it was the ground underneath the rear end! Nervously, but in control, I start to descend....until I get around a slight bend which opens up a view.....of a switchback.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ul_2wUxX7A
Now I am really nervous. 500 foot drop offs, Im in a long a$$ unlimited, and I have to do Black Bear Pass style turns on some of the worst terrain I have come across. I make it past that first switchback, sweating, only to realize that I have 7 more to conquer. Great. I kept the wife out of the truck this entire time. She could barely walk on this slope and this terrain, and I was amazed I made it down. Big props to the Jeep for this one. Finally, after a heart pumping drive down, I make it off this hell on a mountain. The wife jumps back into the Jeep, and onwards.....or so I thought. We drove for about 1/4 mile on very rocky terrain again, and see a trail in the distance...
I figured, ok, we're on the right track, until I turn the next corner...which brought to straight to the edge of a cliff, and at that point I realized the real mistake I made. This was just a sideroad and not the main trail. This is a dead end. So, you guessed it, I now have to go back UP over hell on a mountain. Keeping my cool not letting my wife see me sweat, I kept making jokes like "I got this I got this" but the situation was not a joke. Lesson #1, if you have people around you that are depending on you, do not show them that you are nervous, it will make them even more nervous. Keep your cool, and logically get out of the situation. I threw her in 4LO, 1st gear, and up I went. Steady constant pace, slight drifts around the switchbacks so that I wouldn't have to back up, and steadily, I made it all the way up. The wife was pale white, as she was genuinely scared, as was I, but I didn't show it. Lesson #2, never go anywhere unless you are sure of where it leads, and lesson #3, never go anywhere unless you are positive you can get back out. I would say that if the slope was about 10 degrees steeper (maybe even 5) a vehicle wouldn't be able to drive over that loose rock, and would just dig itself in. Buttpuckering? You bet. Hell of a rush when you're safe? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Not a chance.