Turret Trail
We were heading down Aspen Ridge toward the Turret Trail when we saw a big sign pointing the way to Turret a bit north compared to our goal. It was close enough, so we took it. It ended up meeting the other trail just west of the quarry, so it all worked out. This ended up being an odd trail from the start.
We stopped at a high point just inside the trail to find a campfire ring and some amazing views. How were we not tired of the same views all day from slightly different vantage points? We asked ourselves that question as we took more pictures of the same mountains.
There were lots of small mining prospects in the area, and when the easy road took us to the town of Turret we saw where they all must have lived at one point. We snapped some pictures of the buildings in town as we headed west into Stafford Gulch, but we soon found a large, dead tree across the trail. It was nice back in the gulch but that trail wasn't going to work out so we turned around and headed back into town.
We headed east into Cat Gulch and found another dead end, so we turned around and found our way back in town. That left only one option, so we turned north to continue following forest service road 184. That ended up being a winner, though the road was barely used. Erosion had left big cracks in a lot of the trail, and it was overgrown in spots. Still, there were 4x4 tracks on it that were relatively fresh, so we kept going.
We got to an intersection and Monica guessed that left was the way to go. Matt followed, and they soon found that was the wrong way. No one else had made the turn, so we got back together to take the other route.
Route finding was easy after that. We stopped at another wide and high spot to see the scenery again, though it wasn't ever as nice as the original overlook. We even came to a clean and new sign noting that wash-outs would be present. The warning was a little late.
Continuing on, we came to a spot where the trees were very close to the trail in an uphill section. Julie decided she'd wait as we knew the trail would eventually dead end and we didn't know the condition of the rest of it. The rest of us pressed on, moving under a green and healthy aspen that was otherwise drooping over the trail. Luckily, that was the only truly tight spot.
We passed by an old cabin, and it reminded us that the trail wasn't always so desolate. The trail went through tight ravines and up and over hills, and then down into a wash with big trees and open spots. There were even fire rings. Then we came into another ravine and saw a fence. End of the road.
We got out to stretch our legs a bit, but we didn't hang out for long. The sun was setting and Julie was waiting, so we headed back. We were gone about 25 minutes, and we found Julie waiting and enjoying the solitude. Once we were all back together it was an easy trip back.
Just before getting back to Turret we met a couple in a truck. They told us about a pig roast and the whole town was invited. We talked about it but decided to head back to our neck of the woods in Buena Vista, so we didn't stop. We ended up regretting the adventure, so we'll stop next time we hear about a party.
This was a weird trail, but in the end it was an adventure. It was a really scenic and fun day.
