Stillwater Pass
Stillwater Pass had always been near the top of our To Do List. It wasn't supposed to be particularly challenging or beautiful, but it was one of the Colorado staples. We were glad to finally be on it.
Most of our group did the very beginning of the trail to get to Camway Trail. After we did that trail a good portion of the group left for home while three of us continued on. It was getting late, but we should finish everything in daylight.
We weaved our way along the trail after Camway Trail, and when we got to the Gravel Mountain sign we did that trail, too. We were hoping for something adventurous (after all, it was marked as a "4x4" trail) but it wasn't much after doing North Supply Creek. There was a fun section there but it was brief.
Walt and Roger waited at the north end of the Gravel Mountain trail while Monica mapped and checked out the section of Stillwater Pass that we missed. That part contained a brief shelf road, but it wasn't a big deal.
Stillwater Pass was never very difficult. In fact, we were talking on the CB about how we were heading downhill but no one noticed a pass or anything marking the pass. It turned out that the pass was right after we finished the Gravel Mountain trail.
The descent was the most scenic section. We could see the Blue Ridge in the distance, through the trees.
We were hoping to see Lost Lake, but it was a hiking trail. It was a short hiking trail, but we were running out of daylight. We'll definitely check it out the next time we are on this trail. We ended up turning around and heading back to Stillwater Pass.
Dusk couldn't have been prettier as we followed the creek. It made everything very green and marshy. There also wasn't much beetle kill on this side, which was nice. The breeze was nice as the sun went down, and everyone seemed very content.
We hit the pavement before we were expecting it, so we had to drive a bit on the asphalt until we found a wide spot where we could pull off and air back up. Monica had plans to eat dinner in Granby on the way out, so she left earlier than Walt and Roger.
On the way back to Granby, Monica spotted Matt P. camping near the road. She pulled off to visit. Then she saw Walt followed by Roger up on the highway. She waved them down. Walt slowed down, put on his turn signal, and prepared to turn. But Roger was on autopilot and left some rubber on the road as he slammed on his brakes and barely missed hitting Walt. It made for some interesting conversation!
The sun still wasn't down and we completed a lot in one day. It felt like we really saw a lot of different areas, and it made everyone happy. We picked the right area because it snowed that day on Boreas Pass and all we had was sunshine. It was a great day!
