Lizard Head Pass July Wildflowers

The Lizard Head Pass, along Highway 145, south of Telluride, in southwest Colorado, is a popular area and has hiking trail heads leading in several directions. In summer, the moist meadow areas are rich in wildflowers. It is possible to hike between Lizard Head Pass and the Cross Mountain Trail Head area and view the wildflowers along with the several mountain peaks that are visible.

I started my hike on the east side of Highway 145 near the East Fork Trail Head, and started walking north through the grassy meadow. There isn’t a trail on the east side, but the walking is mostly easy. From where I started, there are good views west toward the Lizard Head, Cross Mountain and Black Face. The yellow rose blooms of the Shrubby Cinquefoil stand out all along the meadow area. There are also purpleish Daisies and Buttercups here.

One of the most eye catching of flowers in this area is the Elephant Head in the Snapdragon Family. These are in the moist spots and there are broad patches of them along the way.
 

False Hellebore often grows in dense patches but not all of them bloom. The Navajo Lake Trail on the west side of the Lizard Head Wilderness has large fields of these.

Monkshood is a tall blue flower in the Buttercup Family. At first glance it might be confused with Larkspurs. Cross Mountain is in the distance. The popular Cross Mountain Trail provides a good view on the way to the base of the Lizard Head.

Red patches of Indian Paintbrush are common and visible from a distance. I think there are many species of these in the genus Castelleja of the Snapdragon Family.

There is a creek crossing about half way to Lizard Head Pass and the Yellow Mountain group visible from the pass come into view. The north half of the east side has broad patches of Elephant Heads mixed with white Bistorts in the Buckwheat Family.

Also mixed in with the Elephant Heads are a few Rose Crowns from the Stonecrop Family. I didn’t see very many of these.

I think these are Bluebells in the Mertensia genus of the Borage Family. These are in the area close to the Lizard Head Pass interpretive area, close to where I saw the Rose Crowns.

The return hike on the west side of Highway 145 can follow a rough road that appears to be a buried power line route. The walking is easier and there are good views of the moist meadow area on the east side. Many of the same flowers are visible but more along the several creeks that flow across the trail. My total hike took about 2:30 hours for about 4 miles. The swcoloradowildflowers.com web site is an excellent source for identifying regional wildflowers.

Animas Forks toward Engineer Pass-Alpine Loop

The south end of the Engineer Pass segment of the Alpine Loop begins at the Animas Forks Ghost Town, about 12 miles north of Silverton on County Road 2 in southwest Colorado.

The Engineer Pass Road is one of several options for hikers after arriving at the historic Animas Forks site. I began hiking at the base of the ghost town and climbed toward the nearby junction with the Cinnamon Pass Road.

This road climbs steadily but not very steeply and in mid July there are lush wildflowers on the tundra slopes. The starting elevation at Animas Forks is 11,300 feet.
 

As the climbing progresses north, there are good views of the overall Animas Forks site, including the Frisco Mill located a short distance up the California Gulch Road.
 

There are a few signs of mining activity along here. The ore in this area was about 5% valuable metals and the left over tailings piles are common.

After about 1:10 hours of hiking there is a small mountain lake. There is a small old structure near the lake.

I turned around after 1:20 hours and about 2.8 miles at the junction where the Engineer Pass Road gets steeper and narrower. The road to the left leads toward Ouray. The elevation at the junction is about 12,080 feet, a climb of about 800 feet from Animas Forks. The Engineer Pass is the highest point on the Alpine Loop with an elevation of 12,800 feet. From the junction, it is about 2 more miles and 700 feet higher to get to the pass.
 

My return hike took 1:10 hours for a total hike of 2:30 hours for about 5.8 miles. There were many vehicles using the trail, but I didn’t see any other hikers, mountain bikers, or horse riders. It was a 65 F degree day with some clouds but no rain. I carried and drank 2 liters of water.

Silverton to Animas Forks-Alpine Loop

The Alpine Loop is 65 miles of scenic and historic old mining routes in the San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado. One of the access points is to follow County Road 2 north out of Silverton, CO. Two wheel drive vehicles can make it about 12 miles to the Animas Forks Ghost Town, but beyond 4WD is necessary.

There are several points of interest along the way. Not very far out of Silverton are the Mayflower Mill and Arrastra Gulch. Mining activity began here in 1870 with the discovery of gold and the formation of the Little Giant Mining Company. Activity continued here until 1991.

Many mining innovations occurred in this area, including the use of metal towers for trams like those visible here. These trams allowed work to continue year round. This was also the area that developed the concept and use of tailing ponds rather than dumping the waste material into the rivers.
 

Howardsville is about 4 miles north along the Alpine Loop. Founded in 1874, Howardsville was the first attempted settlement on the west slope of the Colorado Territory. The arrival of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway in Silverton in 1882 diminished Howardsville importance, but for a while it was the county Seat for all of southwest Colorado.

About 4 miles further is Eureka. There are large concrete remains of the Sunnyside Mill, but I didn’t see any interpretive information on this site. This is a ghost town that has mostly disappeared. At Eureka there is a campground and it is a staging area for ATV riders.

The road continuing north from Eureka to Animas Forks becomes narrower, steeper, and bumpier but is still drivable for most vehicles. The road follows the railroad grade that reached Animas Forks is 1904 to service the Gold Prince Mill.

There are some remnants of mining activity along the road. There are many side roads and trails in this area besides the main Alpine Loop route. Most of the visitors in this area that I saw are 4WD and ATV riders, but there are many opportunities here for hikers. Up ahead are the Animas Forks Ghost Town and the options for 4WD or hiking continuing on the Engineer Pass Road, the Cinnamon Pass Road or the California Gulch Loop Road.

Animas Forks Ghost Town-Alpine Loop

The historic mining town of Animas Forks is located about 12 miles north of Silverton, CO at the junction of the North Fork and West Fork of the Animas River. It is one of the attractions on the 65 mile Alpine Loop in the San Juan Mountains.

There is a 13 stop walking tour brochure for interpretation of the Animas Forks site. I found one at the Silverton visitor center for $1. The brochure might be available at the site, but I think they were all taken when I visited. There was an initial boom here between 1876 and 1884. A fire that started in the Kalamazoo Hotel on October 22, 1891 destroyed the hotel and 13 other buildings.
 

The Duncan House is stop No. 1 and one of the most eye catching of the remaining buildings. It was built in 1879 by miner and mail carrier William Duncan for his family.

The second stop is also a private two room residence for a miner and storekeeper and was constructed around 1898.

Stops 3 through 7 are close by and are also residence related buildings. Stop 4 is the Gustavson House built in 1907. Gustavson was a storekeeper and tram operator in nearby Eureka.
 

top 8 is the remains of the Gold Prince Mill, built in 1904 at a cost of $500,000. It was the first mill in Colorado with a steel superstructure. It only operated for six years, then was disassembled and rebuilt in nearby Eureka.

The Silverton Northern Railroad was completed in 1904 next to the mill, Stop 9, and transported the ore to the New York and San Juan Smelters in Durango. There are remains of the aerial tram at Stop 11 that brought the ore 12,600 feet from the Gold Prince Mine that is located somewhere to the west.

Stop 12 is the Columbus Mine and Columbus Mill. In 1882 the mine had a 107 foot tunnel and a 35 foot shaft into Houghton Mountain. This mine produced galena ore which is high in lead. This mine was last worked in 1939.

The Animas Forks Jail is stop 10 and is located at the edge of the community overlooking the combined North and WestForks of the Animas River. It was constructed using two by six inch boards assembled sideways for a stronger structure. The door with barred windows is on display at the San Juan County Museum in Silverton.

From the Animas Forks area there are three immediate choices for hiking in this area. The Engineer Mountain Pass Road continues north. The Cinnamon Pass Road turns east and the California Gulch Road heads west. Stop 13 at the Frisco Mill is about 0.7 miles away along the California Gulch Road.

Animas Forks to Frisco Mill-Alpine Loop

The Frisco Mill is one of the many historic mining sites on the 65 mile Alpine Loop scenic by-way in southwest Colorado. It is easy walking distance from Animas Forks along the California Gulch 4WD road. Animas Forks is about 12 miles north of Silverton, CO at the headwaters of the Animas River.

The starting elevation at Animas Forks is about 11,300 feet and the trail climbs another 360 feet in about 0.7 miles. Looking back down the trail, the rough roads to Cinnamon Pass and Engineer Pass are visible, both parts of the Alpine Loop.
 

The Frisco Mill is point of interest number 13 on the Animas Forks Walking Tour, even though it is somewhat distant from Animas Forks and not many actually walk there.

The Frisco Mill is also the site of a long tunnel where drilling began in 1877 but took many years to reach profitable ore. The project changed hands several times and had several names. The mill was built in 1903 with a design capacity of 150 tons per day and was intended to separate the valuable ore from sand, gravel, and clay.

On the way up there is a small sign that says this area is an example of Alpine Tundra, found only in the arctic and isolated high mountain areas. In mid-July there are lush wildflowers along the way. Some of the information for this area says that there were previously many more trees on the slopes, but they were taken for use as building material and firewood.
 

Looking inside, many of the beams and columns have numbers on them. It was designed and constructed at the San Juan Lumber Company in Durango, CO. Then it was disassembled, shipped to the present site and reassembled according to directions.

The California Gulch Road is a side loop off of the Alpine Loop and visits other mining sites including the Vermillion, Sound Democrat 1886, Mountain Queen 1882, and Gold Prince 1903. My hike to the Frisco Mill took 0:45 minutes for about 1.4 miles round trip from Animas Forks. All the other visitors that I saw arrived in 4WD or ATV vehicles.

Wilson Mesa Trail-Sunshine Trailhead

The Wilson Mesa Trail runs mostly east and west for about 13 miles on the northern edge of the Lizard Head Wilderness near Telluride in southwest Colorado. The east trailhead is at the south end of Sunshine Mesa Road. There are two other access points further west at Silver Pick Road and near Woods Lake.

Sunshine Mesa Road connects to the South Fork of the San Miguel Road and starts out straight, wide and smooth as it climbs. This lower road segment is a part of the Galloping Goose Trail. After the point where the Galloping Goose Trail branches off and becomes a single track trail, the Sunshine Mesa Road becomes narrow, rough and twisty with a few mud holes before arriving at the trail head.
 

The signs at the trailhead say Wilson Mesa Trail and 2 miles to the Lizard Head Trail and Bilk Creek. Practically speaking this is the trailhead for the north end of the Lizard Head Trail. The trailhead elevation is about 9760 feet.

About 0.8 miles along this wide and smooth segment, the Wilson Mesa Trail turns west and the old mining road continues south. The first 2 miles of trail are through thick Spruce, Fir and Aspen forest as the trail switchbacks down about 500 feet toward Bilk Creek and an open meadow and wetlands area. Near the bottom, there are some views of the mountains to the south.
 

The Bilk Creek crossing had a ramshackle bridge as recently as August 2009 but it appears to be gone in July 2011. The crossing was up to my knees and fairly swift in mid July, but not dangerous.
 

The segment along Bilk Creek and wetlands is the most scenic of the east end of the Wilson Mesa Trail. Looking upstream, the Wilson Peak group of mountains is on the right and the Sunshine Mountain group is on the left.
 

Looking downstream, the mountains to the north are the group on the north side of Highway 145 west of Telluride.

 About 3 miles down the trail there is a junction with the Lizard Head Trail. About 1 mile past this junction, the Wilson Mesa Trail leaves the meadow area along Bilk Creek and starts to climb towards the west. There was a herd of cows grazing comfortably near this point. After about 0.5 miles of climbing there is a large pond. I noticed a valve along the trail that makes this appear to be a constructed water management pond.

After 2:15 hours and about 5 miles, I turned around about 0.5 miles past the pond at a small creek near a fence that also appeared to be engineered for water management. On the return hike I noticed a good view up Bilk Creek that showed the Bilk Creek Falls and the Lizard Head Peak.

My return hike took 2:05 hours for a total hike of 4:20 hours for about 10 miles. I saw two motorcycle riders during my hike, but no other hikers or horse riders. At my 2:40 PM finish it was starting to cloud up, but I didn’t get caught in afternoon mid-summer rain. I carried and drank 3 liters of water on a 65 F degree day.