Roughing It With Ease
With its location along the Rio Grande River amidst the San Juan Mountains of the Colorado Rockies, our temporary residence didn't have cabled electricity, meaning the ranch runs on solar and/or generated power; no TVs or telephones, which went right along with non-existent cell or radio service. Best have your business done before coming into this joint. After a great home-cooked supper, our night life consisted of sitting around and consuming some frosty beverages along with some war stories and shop talk. The live music was provided compliments of the local coyotes howlin' in the not-so-far distance.
If you plan to ride this area of San Juans, which sits north of the Weminuche Wilderness along the Continental Divide toward Spring Creek Pass, a high altitude setup for you and your pony is a must. Our trek through this area averaged an altitude of nearly 12,000 feet, with a couple of ridge crossings putting us at nearly 13,000 feet.
The morning of Day 2 we were gifted with crystal clear skies. The sunshine had my racing and riding buddy of 25 years, Ken Huismann, and myself, all pumped up for Lost Trail Ranch proprietor Bob Getz to show us around his backyard and huge playground. Getz is the third generation on this ranch and knows these mountains like no one else, exploring them year-round.
We rode out the front gate of the ranch and jumped on the Stony Pass Road that skirts along the north edge of the ranch property heading up the Rio Grande River, riding through Brewster Park, under Bandit Rock and over Timber Hill. This seven-mile jaunt took us to the Confluence, the beginning of the Rio Grande, It's also the end of a packed snowmobile trail that was established due to a lynx study going on in this area.
The Confluence is like the front entrance to snowmobile heaven. The existing trail ended and the 12 to 18 inches of pristine powder lying in wide open creek drainages that are aiming toward the high country began.