We’ll take a short break from Telluride and check in with Ouray and Silverton this time.
The Jeep Jamboree was run out of Ouray as it is every year. Ouray is a short drive from Telluride, and a pleasant one at that. The journalists' caravan met up with the Jeep Jamboree participants at the Ouray town hall. A pancake breakfast started things off right, and the lot of us hit the trails in good spirits.
I couldn’t help notice the old-school Dodge mountain rescue wagon. The brakes looked pathetic and it was probably painful to steer, but the rest of the rig seemed good to go. There’s plenty of tire clearance under those front fenders.
As we climbed the trail the San Juan Mountains’ nickname “the Switzerland of America” slammed its way home in our collective craniums. The place is gorgeous!
These trails began as mining access roads, so there were frequent opportunities to stop and marvel at old mining equipment. A layer of rust on the heavy iron machinery only adds to its mystique. Mining was a tough job, and it took tough people to not only mine, but to brave the fierce, fickle weather in the San Juan Mountains. The promise of riches certainly made more than a few miners braver than they normally would have been.
Many of the mines are played out, but some still hold workable ore. Silverton’s name came from the town’s description: We don’t have gold, but we’ve got silver by the ton. Mining ceased in Silverton almost twenty years ago, but at least one mine could conceivably re-open if silver prices go high enough.
Even if active mining never returns to the San Juans, the scenery is enough to attract Jeepers, skiers, fishermen, backpackers, mountain bikers, and fans of blues and brews well into the future.