The Galloping Goose Trail is a 21 mile route traveling from Lizard Head Pass to Telluride. It mostly follows the old rail bed of the historic train that served the southwest Colorado mountain area until the early 1950s.
The middle segments of the trail can be accessed near where the trail passes under Highway 145 through a tunnel There are several pull over places in the vicinity of the Ophir Road junction with Highway 145 a few miles south of Telluride.
An unmarked forest road a few hundred yards south of the Ophir Road connects to the trail and it is also possible to start at the east side of the tunnel. From this starting area it is 3.5 miles to Sunshine Road, where the route then continues on County Roads. In this area the jagged Ophir Needles towers overhead.
A short distance from this starting point there is an interpretive sign for the Silver Bell Tailings Impoundment, a cleanup project to protect the water resources. There are also views of the large pipes carrying high pressure water flow from Trout Lake and Hope Lake to energize the Ames power plant.
One of the streams that contribute to the South Fork of the San Miguel River and eventually the San Miguel River has a waterfall that is easily viewed.
There is a good foot bridge to get across this stream. In the vicinity of the bridge there are piles of very large old timbers, perhaps the materials of one of the many trestles that were needed by the Galloping Goose.
The old rail bed is hung along the side of this canyon and the views along this section are probably the most spectacular of the whole 21 mile route. To the west is a sheer vertical wall of stone towering over a large scree slope.
To the east is the intense green of the river valley with the dozen or so homes of the village of Ames lying below the Ophir Needles. The forest in this area is mostly Aspens and Spruce Fir Forest. In the valley below there is a Nature Conservancy Preserve with short trails and beaver dams visible.
This segment of the trail has several sections where the old rail ties seem to be still in place. There are also stacks of old ties along the trail.
Besides the many rail road ties and several poles that look like telegraph lines, there is a site that appears to be a water tank site. There are several lengths of old metal pipe and some masonry work.
The last mile of this 3.5 mile segment has several creeks to cross. In spring, these creeks may be running full and more, overflowing their banks and using the trail as a channel for a short section. The largest of these creeks appears to be located at a ruined trestle site as there are many collapsed timbers piled up along the steep slopes of the wide drainage area.
It is possible to detour down into Ames to see the somewhat famous power plant. This is the site of the world’s first alternating current power plant, the type of power that we all use now. The power from this plant was originally used at the nearby mining sites.
There are two water sources, Trout Lake and Hope Lake, both good hiking areas. The information I found about the plant output is 115,000 volts, and 3.75 megawatts, enough power for a town of 4000. From the power plant I hiked up the county roads back to my starting point.
My total hike time for about 7.0 miles was 3:15 hours. I hiked on a 70 F degree late August day and carried 3 liters of water. I saw 2 other hikers and 11 mountain bike riders during my hike.
No comments:
Post a Comment