Switzerland Trail
Switzerland Trail isn't one we think of running very often. It's pretty mellow and it's usually crowded, so we usually opt for trails a little further from Denver. But TrailDamage.com started 10 years ago in June of 2000 when Monica was testing her stock Jeep Wrangler. That Jeep was sold and she has a new, stock Jeep Wrangler Rubicon so it was time to run the trail again. Support from the rest of the group was massive, and we ended up with a big group of happy people all day.
Like always, it was difficult to get the group through Boulder intact. We were pretty split up on the way up the canyon, but we all came together at the turnoff for Sugarloaf Road. We started the Sugarloaf Mountain trail and stopped to air down at the parking area for Switzerland Trail. It was full of cars and people.
The weather couldn't have been better as we started the trail. It's an easy trail, really, as it follows an old railroad bed. But the scenery is worth it, and everyone enjoyed themselves.
The plan was to take the trail north through the town of Sunset and all the way to the end. Then we would turn around and do the north end again, back to the town of Sunset where we would catch the Pennsylvania Gulch trail. We passed through Sunset but we didn't make it very far until we found an abandoned Jeep Grand Cherokee with a completely flat tire. Unfortunately, it was impossible to get around it.
We all got out to discuss what to do. We had only been there about five minutes when a Pinzgauer full of people appeared on the other side of the dead Jeep. It turned out to be the owners of the Jeep, and it was just a coincidence that they showed up when they did. It had been there since the night before, and the driver was concerned about tearing up the tire if she drove it any farther. Everyone was sure it would be fine, so she carefully drove it another 25 feet or so where it could be pulled to the side.
We couldn't believe our luck! We continued past them and finished the trail. We turned around at the end and saw them again on our way by in the other direction. They told us that they had everything they needed so we left them to their trail repairs.
When we got back to Sunset and the trailhead for Pennsylvania Gulch we were done with Switzerland Trail. It promised to be a good summer!
Reports from Other Days: 5
Use the arrows or dots to flip through the previews of the other reports for Switzerland Trail. Click one of them to read more and see all of the photos from that day.
