Trip Report: San Juans part 2
In southwest Colorado, there are a lot of “slot” canyons down in the San Juan Mountains. The only problem is, they are pretty much all swiftwater routes and you can only run them for, at best, a month out of the year. The window is extremely small. September is the only month that it is really possible to do these canyons. You must be patient and wait for the spring/summer run off to finish so the water levels are safe, and then you need to run the canyons before the snow starts to fly and covers them with a layer of white, hiding them from view until the cycle starts all over again.
Peter has been wanting to test his metal in the San Juan’s for quite a while. He had been eying the weather, water levels, his testosterone levels, and like cyclists riding down the road they all aligned and Peter had picked the canyons he wanted to do. As we were discussing the potential candidates for our adventure, Peter realized the canyon he really wanted to do was going to be a bit of an issue. The road to it had apparently suffered quite a bit of damage this last winter (like a lot of other roads we’ve experienced this year) and it was going to add about 5 miles of hiking.
After learning that fun fact, I offered an alternative. A place I had first heard about because of a riddle. My friend Scott sent me a picture of these gorgeous waterfalls with no location, but a riddle next to it to help you figure out where it was. I have to admit, I am absolutely terrible at riddles. I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever figured one out on my own. I stared at that thing and soon had to say to myself “well, looks like you’re never going to these falls.”
Luckily for me, Scott is a lot better at it than I am and he figured it out within a day or two. I have looked all over for the original photo and riddle and I can’t find it anywhere. But that’s beside the point. Scott had correctly figured out where and what they were. I won’t actually be giving you the name of this spot, instead I’ll give you one other hint besides it’s in the San Juan’s. It’s a hidden gem next to one of the most iconic spots in Colorado. That’s your hint.
I showed pictures of it to Peter which made a smile creep across his face. “Oh, I have beta for those falls as a canyoneering route.” Hearing that not only could we go check out these falls, but that we could add a bit of spice to our waterfall viewing pleasure, I got pretty fricken excited.
The day came and we loaded up the 4runner. Using a rack for our gear so we had enough space for 3 people (Peter, Lauren and myself) and sweet Missy. Once Lauren got off work, we triple checked every strap and that we got all of Missy’s things and hit the road. We knew we wouldn’t be getting to camp until late that night. Google Maps was telling us it was almost a four-and-a-half-hour drive, and that’s without stopping for gas and food. It definitely wasn’t the first time we’ve arrived to camp at or after midnight where all you can see is the canopy of stars overhead, and it won’t be the last.
As we neared Ouray, Colorado I tagged Peter in to drive as I was getting a bit tired. After Peter hopped in the driver's seat, he told me he wasn’t going to let me drive over Red Mountain Pass in my condition any way. Climbing up the pass we couldn’t see passed the glow of the headlights. Yet you could still get the sense that any wrong turn would be quite costly. Coming around the sharp curves you could see where the lights stopped and the darkness began. I could tell there was something big there, but I couldn’t see a thing. I’m sure my imagination would have ran wild at what could be down there if my eyelids weren’t so heavy.
After what seemed like an eternity, we finally started bouncing down a dirt road. We could tell that fall was starting to settle in as even through the darkness you could see a dim glow along the mountainsides from all the bushes and shrubs that had already started their process to winter hibernation. With the windows down, we could definitely feel why the colors had already started changing, the air was crisp and cold, it had definitely dipped passed what I would call “cool”.
Peter and I were both looking on our phones to try and figure out exactly where we were. We both had put the canyon into our GPS devices so we don’t do anything stupid, like get lost somehow. It also meant we could pick a camp spot near the entrance for our route. We found a nook that looked like it might have a little cover from the cold mountain breeze that was whipping our faces. It was right next to the road, but when you’re on a mountainside in the dark, you can’t be too picky. After getting our tents and sleeping pads in order, we got a small fire going so we could warm up a bit before crawling into our bags for the night.
It was late, it was cold, we were tired, and it wasn’t long before the allure of being curled up in a nice warm sleeping bag was too much and I had to give into it. Lauren and I tried to crawling in, only to realize that our brand-new pad was leaking... We tried blowing it up multiple times and making sure everything was sealed but it didn’t matter. Within a few minutes, we were lying flat on the ground with rocks getting all too friendly with our nether regions. We ended up grabbing our wetsuits and laying them on the ground and grabbed every extra blanket and sleeping bag we had to make it as comfortable as we could.
We slept in the next morning because 1) we didn’t really sleep that great and 2) we weren’t going to run the canyon early in the day with the water being as cold as it was (and the overall temperature in general), we decided we’d wait until the sun was higher and the temps were warmer. Once we hobbled out of our tent and stretched out all the lovely knots that had formed overnight, I decided to walk down to the stream that we would be frolicking through later in the day.
As I made my way down the steep meadow to the creek, my feet started to get numb (hiking around in my Sanuks probably wasn’t the best idea I've ever had) as I crunched down with each step on the frosted earth. Standing above the creek on a nice little perch, I could see a beautiful waterfall with the clear blue water pool where the water comes together before continuing its stunning journey downstream.
I ran back up the hillside to tell Lauren and Peter that they needed to come down and check it out. However, when I reached camp again it took me a minute to be able to say any words at all as I caught my breath. I should really start jogging... I finally was able to speak and told them we needed to go down and explore a bit.
We gingerly made our way back down the steep meadow. Peter started walking upstream while Lauren and I went to check out the falls I had just seen. We came through a small cluster of trees and saw Peter with a big smile on his face as he just pointed. Up ahead was an absolutely stunning waterfall that cascaded down steps of rock, belling out towards the bottom until it reached the pool below. I knew I had to get down there and get a closer look.
Over time the creek had carved out steep embankments, so getting down there was a slow process in finding good footing to safely get down with my camera gear. Down in the stream, with Missy in tow, we hopped across some boulders and logs to get to the other side of the stream before coming up to another obstacle that Missy couldn’t get passed, but that I had already gotten over. Missy standing there in the stream, looking cold, a bit confused, and unsure of where to go. This, understandably, made Lauren a bit upset. She wasn’t completely keen on coming down the steep embankment, and was even less keen on trying to get Missy out by herself.
I can become a bit tunnel vision focused when I’m shooting and this was an instance of that. I should have gone back and helped Lauren but instead, I saw her coming for Missy, said sweet, and continued on my way to try and shoot these waterfalls. One big thing with adventuring with others is understanding not only their skill and abilities, but also their comfort levels. This was one of those times where I didn’t consider them and it could have really had some bad consequences.
Luckily, they did make it safely out (and I got a much needed and deserved talking to after, that at the time I didn’t think I deserved, but I absolutely did). I made it to the base of the falls and started snapping away. Towards the end, I decided to cross the stream and try and get some photos on the other side. That would be my first experience of the day with the deceptively slippery rocks. We came to realize as the day went on that the red rocks have good traction, but if it is a green or brownish tone, walk lightly.
I looked around and didn’t see Peter, Lauren, or Missy anywhere in sight, so I decided I should probably put my gear away and start to hike back towards camp. I panted my way up the steep canyon(ish) wall and my crew finally came into view. Once back at camp we quickly made some breakfast and then started getting our gear organized for the day and formulating our plan of attack. Given that we had Missy and we weren’t about to leave her in the car for hours, one person wasn’t going to be able to run the canyon. Lauren graciously volunteered to watch Missy and to also be our shuttle so we could cut off a mile or 2 of hiking.
Since this isn’t a terribly long canyoneering route, but the last two rappels are known to be tricky if you go in the wrong spot, we decided to drive down to the bottom and check out what we were getting ourselves into. As we approached the last two rappels which are back to back waterfalls that are strikingly different but both insanely beautiful. The upper falls a beautiful cascade of water down into a giant blue pool and more open area, where the lower falls have cut a slot through the rock before opening up into a very box like room.
I started getting excited and running around to take some photos before Peter had to lasso me back in to remind me that we would be back here in just a little bit, but we had some things we needed to go do first. Lauren drove us up to the drop-in point and hung out while we got suited up in our wetsuits on some nice warm rock next to a really cold blue pool. Peter, always a stickler for quality control, made sure to test out his wet suit in the pool. He confirmed that his wet suit did work, and that the water was in fact frigid.
Once we were suited up, we started our journey down the stream until we came to our first rappel. Some people I believe have jumped this during heavier flows, but it wasn’t deep enough for us to comfortably do it. We dropped down into a little hole with a waterfall in the background, the water up to our chests, we tried to move quickly because even in the wet suits, you could still feel the nip of cold from the water.
After we finished messing around in the top pool and said our goodbyes to Lauren and Missy, we dropped in just below the pool the falls to see if we could see into the small chamber. We realized we couldn’t without going swimming, we decided against it because it was a little late in the day and we wanted to just get going.
The views while we were carefully walking down the path of red and green rocks in the stream was quite breathtaking. The mountains were reaching high into the sky as the stream with it’s clear blue-green waters flowed over a drop and out of sight. It was the type of landscape that when you see it, you just start laughing. Laughing because you don’t quite believe what you are seeing is real.
It wasn’t long before our nice walk came to a halt. We had come to our first rappel. A short drop just down from a small waterfall and into a small cavernous pool. We had found a tree to use as our anchor and I slowly started to lower myself down into the cold water. It came up to my chest, which made me very glad we decided not to jump it and set up a rope.
Just downstream from that we came to the next interesting feature. The water dropped down a multi-tiered slide, but towards the end kind of dropped off into a deep pool. Since neither of us are completely familiar with hydraulics, we opted to jump in from the rocks above past where the waterfalls into the pool. I watched as Peter carefully scooted own the rock and jumped in with a splash, as he came up out of the water, he let out an audible yell as a reminder that we were in some chilly water.
I climbed up to where Peter had jumped from and got ready. I pointed to Peter right where I was going to land and began my count down from 3. 2. 1. As I hit the water it felt like someone had stabbed my face and hand with a thousand needles. Out of an absolute reflex, as I came up for air I let out some hoots and or hollers. The water looks like ice, and it definitely feels like ice.
Moving downstream was a tedious task. Each step had to be taken with extra care so we didn’t roll an ankle or worse. Looking down at each step for the color of the rock that we could see through the crystal-clear water, remembering that for once red meant go and to walk on those rocks instead of the green ones. It didn’t matter that it was slow going; the scenery was incredible. Steep walls going up on either side with pine trees and shrubs growing tall. In some spots along the way, as you look downstream you could see the peaks standing tall in front of you.
Our next waterfall that we came to gave us some options. We could set up a rappel off of one of the many trees, or there were a couple ways to get around it to save some time in dealing with a rope. I climbed down on the right side of the canyon (as you’re looking downstream) and was able to avoid pretty much all of the water. Peter decided to go on the more direct route. If you crossed the stream, you could get down to a ledge that made it easy to jump into the deep pool. It was impressive watching Peter move so gracefully over the wet rocks, I swear he’s part mountain goat. Once on the ledge, Peter surveyed the pool, picked his spot and jumped in with all the grace of cat being dropped into a bathtub. His yelps as he came to the surface sounded like it as well.
The stream flowed onward and so did we. The next section seemed like something out of a dream. The sun had finally come out from behind the clouds and lit up this incredibly lush hallway. Vertical walls standing tall with red stone but lush green moss covering them as the blue-green waters slowly moving down. A few logs had jammed themselves into the walls, with nowhere to go but to stay locked in place, adding character to this already charismatic spot along the stream.
Right after this stunning hallway was our last 3 rappels in quick succession, but you only have to do 1 of them. After the first one, there are trails to hike out. Peter was setting up the first rappel while I finished up taking some photos of the hallway. I came around the corner and had the best view imaginable: I could see Lauren and Missy waiting for me after this rappel.
Peter and I made quick work of this stunning rappel that was right in front of a fluted waterfall. We eventually made our way out and onto the bank where Lauren and Missy were waiting and caught up about our adventures. Peter went about setting up the next rappel which would have us going down right next the best of the bunch in terms of waterfall beauty. Peter and I discussed the rappel as he thought the line we were on might swing us directly into the falls. Since I had a heavy pack and my camera gear, I wasn’t wanting to go straight into the line of fire. We decided I’d go first because we both wanted to get some pictures of someone going rappelling and a shot from down below. As I made my way down, I was able to completely miss the falls.
Once down I yelled up to Peter to let him know he could get on rope. Peter started going down, his line a little closer to the falls. As he slowly made his way down the rope, he found himself on the side of the falls, getting a lovely shower in the cold spray. It was really amazing to watch the water spray off of him and how he seemed to create curtains that would expose what was behind the falls. He came out of the falls and onto the side laughing at what had to be a pretty incredible experience. It’s one thing to see waterfalls, it’s a completely different thing to really feel and experience them.
Peter started pulling the rope and while he did, we decided that it would be best to focus on getting some photos instead of doing the last rappel. I ran around for a while, trying to get as many different and unique shots as I could at these truly spectacular falls. I again felt like I had been transported back into the Pacific Northwest with the blue waters and gorgeous pine trees.
Lauren had been hanging out at the lower falls with Peter and Missy. After a while, I had her come up while Peter watched the pup. I haven’t been taking as many shots of Lauren recently so it was nice to get back to shooting my favorite subject. Being able to share these falls with her was truly a great experience. The sun moved lower in the sky and signaled it was getting late so we should start the not so long journey back up to camp.
Settling back into our mountain nook, the sun started to cast its pink rays across the bottom of the clouds. Definitely the perfect ending to an incredible day. With the light fading, we seemed to get closer and closer to the fire. Any breeze that came through camp was immediately followed by a “brrrr” being murmured by one to all of us. We passed around the whiskey to try and warm our insides while using the fire to warm the rest of us. It wasn’t long before the day's activities caught up with all of us.
As we were getting ready to call it a night, Lauren and I realized that laying on wet wetsuits was not going to be ideal in these temperatures. We decided that using the tarp that we had wrapped everything in on the roof rack of the car would need to suffice as our extra cushioning for the night. It wasn’t the most comfortable night's sleep I’ve ever had but it was better than nothing.
The next morning, the stretching ritual started again, this time being a little bit more careful in my movements as some parts of my body appeared to be really angry and about to form a mutiny. We had quite a day in store as we made our way home. We were going to stop by the lower falls again so Peter and I could each shoot the opposite falls than we had the day before. He shot the lower falls, I shot the upper falls and we each wanted to get some shots of the other.
The light at the lower falls was amazing, the early morning light was filtering through the treetops lighting up both the upper and lower falls. The pool glowed a beautiful aqua color as a small “rock bar” jetted into the pool. Lauren and I hung out down there, me taking photos, her reading her book and occasionally moving around for me. As the sun got higher, it started to wash out a bit of the area at the lower falls. We made our way up to where Peter was at the upper falls. I could spend days just sitting at these falls, they were mesmerizing, with the lush green hillsides that seem out of place except for the reminder that the mist from the falls keeps these plants happy and healthy.
After about an hour of us shooting, we knew it was time to make our way into Silverton to get some lunch before taking our time driving home. Getting back to the paved road we were treated to fall scenes far more vibrant than we had expected on the drive-in at night. Many of the aspens were starting their fall transition, and with the sun shining it really felt like a beautiful golden fall day.
We got some pizza for lunch before starting our drive home. On the way, Peter had found a dirt road he wanted to drive up to try and get some great views from above tree line. We slowly crawled up the rocky switchbacks that winded through a beautiful aspen grove and passed old mining cabins. A couple of miles up we found an opening that gave us the big views we were looking for. Seeing the ruggedness of the San Juan Mountains for miles and miles as the ridgelines extended south. The light wasn’t anything spectacular but it didn’t matter. Those high alpine views give you such a great perspective on how big and expansive these mountains really are, and how small you truly are.
I love places like this. Places that make you feel small. Whether it’s deep in a canyon, underneath a starlit sky, or on top of a mountain. Finding places that make you feel small, help you also realize that if you’re small, your problems are even smaller. There is just something about these types of landscapes that make you feel empowered and helps give you confidence. Confidence to just be who you are and to keep going.
With that renewed sense of empowerment we started back down the mountainside and back over the last remaining section of Red Mountain Pass. Making our way down the pass towards Ouray, we couldn’t help but stop at pull off after pull off. There are so many waterfalls down in the canyon below the road, that we couldn’t see in the dark on our way out. Even my imagination couldn’t have thought up the scenes that were below us. The views that you get from the pull-offs are awe-inspiring. The water running through the main canyon was completely different than anything we had just seen. It was orange, polluted from the old mines that dot the landscape between Ouray and Silverton.
We had noticed a small canyon on the side of the road as we drove over a bridge, there was a pull-off on the left-hand side of the road right after it so we pulled over. What you don’t realize as you drive over the bridge is you are also driving over Bear Creek Falls that plunges 200 feet to another blue pool below. We were definitely not the only ones at this pull off and it was understandable as to why.
It felt like such a treat to see these amazing spots that are just along the side of the road. We hadn’t looked them up, no research was done, we just stopped. When was the last time you stopped at a random pull off while driving (and not to use the bathroom)? I know I personally don’t do it enough and I probably do it more than most. This whole trip was a reminder to take the time for those types of situations. Take the time to try and figure out the riddle (or have a friend do it for you and tell you where it is). Take the time to actually go to a place instead of saying you’ll go someday. Take the time to pull over and enjoy the road. Road trips and life are never about the end destination. They are always about the little stops and detours along the way, they are about the actual journey. So, you may as well take the time to stop and enjoy the views.
