- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
We took a drive on Saturday above Marble, CO heading over Lead King Basin which was a first for me. I've been up and over Schofield Pass several times, but hadn't made it to Lead King which is just the next valley over. The road on the way up is smooth but steep, lot of switchbacks and it gains elevation quick! We topped out at the summit close to 11,000 feet and took a little lunch break, taking in the views. There was still plenty snow on some of the surrounding mountain tops and the wildflowers were in bloom. As we headed back down the backside, a massive high-mountain Summer storm rolled over the mountains, the temperature dropped and it started raining. After the rain cleared there was a lot of steam rising off the snowy mountain above, that was neat to see!
We connected back with Schofield Pass and headed up, curious of the road was opened yet... there had been a massive rockslide earlier this year and often the trail is blocked by snow until late in the Summer. Fortunately someone had cleared the rockslide, but as we came into the Devils Punchbowl is became obvious that snow was still blocking the trail over to Crested Butte. We carefully turned back, thinking that it won't be more than another week or two before the snow is gone and the trail is open again.
We descended the loose, rocky trail down to the town of Crystal, CO and then the amazing Crystal Mill, where we stopped for some pics. We worked our way down off the trail, then stopped in Marble and took a tour of some of the local sculptures carve out of Marble. After that we headed to Glenwood Springs for a killer dinner at The Pullman! :greg:
Had to park next to the Ferrari, to make the owner jealous...
We connected back with Schofield Pass and headed up, curious of the road was opened yet... there had been a massive rockslide earlier this year and often the trail is blocked by snow until late in the Summer. Fortunately someone had cleared the rockslide, but as we came into the Devils Punchbowl is became obvious that snow was still blocking the trail over to Crested Butte. We carefully turned back, thinking that it won't be more than another week or two before the snow is gone and the trail is open again.
We descended the loose, rocky trail down to the town of Crystal, CO and then the amazing Crystal Mill, where we stopped for some pics. We worked our way down off the trail, then stopped in Marble and took a tour of some of the local sculptures carve out of Marble. After that we headed to Glenwood Springs for a killer dinner at The Pullman! :greg:
Had to park next to the Ferrari, to make the owner jealous...
