Pearl Pass
We ran this trail as the last one in a series, making it out well past sunset. First we started with Italian Creek, then we did Taylor Pass. We split up then, and half of the group went back to Crested Butte via the highway while the rest of us went on to do Pearl Pass.
We were hoping to do Montezuma Basin but that will have to wait for another day. We passed by the trailhead for that one and kept going.
We had heard that there wasn't any snow blocking the trail and that we could go all the way through, so we worked our way to the pass. On the way, we crossed through some streams and enjoyed the views.
We came to the rockiest section and everyone spun their tires just a little. Dave caught a bad line and had to work on it a bit to get through, but no one needed any assistance.
More and more of the Montezuma Basin trail was visible the higher we got. It looks like a great trail. We also saw some extremely tight switchbacks on another mountain but we have no idea what trail that is.
It got colder and colder as we got closer to the top. There was no snow on the trail as we finally got to the pass. We all got out and took lots of pictures. The sun was finally setting and our timing was perfect. It made for some spectacular views.
We worked our way down the other side and the light left us for good soon after we started seeing trees around us. We stopped on the trail and everyone turned out their lights. We stood in the middle of the trail and looked at the stars, and it was beautiful.
When we got to the muddy section, the reflection of the moon on the watery parts made it look like the thick mud continued on for a long ways. Luckily there was only the first muddy part that sucked at our tires. We all made it through with very little effort.
The big stream crossing was a bit intimidating, because you couldn't see the bottom. It ended up being maybe a foot deep.
There were lots of people camping and it looked very inviting, but we were all hungry and we made our way back to Crested Butte in time for dinner at the last place still serving.
It was a long day but it was fantastic!
Reports from Other Days: 2
Use the arrows or dots to flip through the previews of the other reports for Pearl Pass. Click one of them to read more and see all of the photos from that day.
