Trail Log · Monday to Wednesday, September 14–16, 2026
San Juans
- MonOphir · Hurricane98.1 mi
- TueOphir ×2 · Engineer · Cinnamon137.6 mi
- WedImogene · Black Bear43.9 mi
Dirt passes by day, out of Mountain Village
San Juan Mountains, southwest Colorado, three days out of Mountain Village after a 419-mile drive in on Sunday. On trail 8:23 AM Monday to 2:38 PM Wednesday in Sucia, a 2021 Jeep Wrangler JLU Sport.
Trail reviews
From our trip notes and the tracks
Ophir Pass
The shortcut from the Telluride side over to US 550, and it turned out to be our commute: we crossed it three times. West to east Monday at 9:43 AM and Tuesday at 11:52, then east to west Tuesday evening at 5:59. Signed 11,789 ft.
Hurricane Pass and Lake Como
The clouds were sitting right on the ridge when we topped Hurricane at 11:05 AM Monday, and the first look down at Lake Como came through fog rolling across the basin.
Poughkeepsie Gulch, the backwards way
Downhill from Lake Como instead of the usual climb up from the Engineer Pass road. Going that direction, the fork that bypasses the Wall is not obvious. We took the wrong one, ended up looking down the top of the Wall, and turned around. Bypass it was. The track has us at Lake Como at 11:14 AM and the Engineer road at 12:48 PM, detour included.
Engineer and Cinnamon
Tuesday was the long day: 138 miles and almost nine hours, most of it dirt. Engineer Pass at 2:00 PM, down Henson Creek to Lake City by 3:30, past Lake San Cristobal and the Sherman townsite, and over Cinnamon Pass at 4:44 with the light going long across the basins.
Imogene Pass
Up the Tomboy road out of Telluride Wednesday morning, past the Tomboy ruins, to the pass at 9:43 AM. The high point of the week: the little summit shack with its antennas, Fort Peabody on the knob above the pass, and peaks in every direction. Sucia ran on to a 13,207 ft knob just east of the pass, the top of the whole trip.
Black Bear Pass
One-way downhill from the pass toward Telluride. From the top at 12:29 PM, the two hours to the bottom of the switchbacks were the slowest miles of the trip: the steps, the shelf, the switchbacks above Bridal Veil, then the falls themselves, 365 feet with the old powerhouse perched on the lip.
If you go
- Black Bear is one-way down from the pass, so it goes last: Imogene first, Camp Bird Road, Ouray, US 550 to Red Mountain, then Black Bear home.
- Poughkeepsie downhill is a different trail than Poughkeepsie uphill. The bypass fork doesn’t read the way you’d expect from that direction; if you’re at the top of the Wall, you went past it.
- Ophir Pass is the connector between Telluride and everything on the 550 side. Plan on it.
- Mid-September brings the first yellow in the aspens, deer in the high grass, and afternoon storms. Start early.
- We based out of the Mountain Lodge in Mountain Village; the gondola into Telluride is free.
Weather
On and off rain all week: fog on Hurricane Monday, storms through the afternoons, gray skies at Bridal Veil. The National Weather Service put the San Juans under a flood watch from Wednesday noon through Thursday evening. Pack for rain in September.
Sucia
No mechanical issues all week on the 35s. Aired down above Ophir Monday morning and aired up at the base of Black Bear Wednesday at 2:45 PM.
Elevation
Feet along the track, from the USGS 10 m elevation model
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
The days
Moving 17h 47m, stopped 4h 32m across three days
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Stopped
Leg by leg
| Leg | Road | Time | Distance | Moving | Stopped | Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday, September 1498.1 mi · 4h 51m moving · +11,300 ft | ||||||
| Mountain Village to Ophir | CO 145, Ophir Rd | 8:23–9:09 AM | 14.52 mi | 32 min | 13 min | 9,531 → 10,184 ft |
| Airing down above Ophir | 9:09–9:21 AM | 12 min | 10,184 ft | |||
| Ophir Pass, west to east | Ophir Pass Rd | 9:21–10:04 AM | 6.34 mi | 40 min | 4 min | top 11,793 ft, 9:43 |
| Ophir Pass road at US 550 | 10:04–10:11 AM | 7 min | 10,069 ft | |||
| Down to Silverton, up Cement Creek | US 550, Cement Creek Rd | 10:11–10:41 AM | 12.25 mi | 27 min | 2 min | 10,079 → 10,499 ft |
| Hurricane Pass and Poughkeepsie Gulch | Hurricane Pass, Poughkeepsie Gulch | 10:41 AM–12:48 PM | 9.75 mi | 1h 41m | 27 min | top 12,730 ft, 11:05 |
| Foot of Poughkeepsie Gulch | 12:48–1:39 PM | 51 min | 9,774 ft | |||
| Engineer road down to Ouray and Ridgway | Engineer Pass Rd, US 550 | 1:39–2:20 PM | 15.60 mi | 36 min | 6 min | 9,777 → 6,985 ft |
| Ridgway | 2:20–2:33 PM | 12 min | 6,985 ft | |||
| Dallas Divide back to Telluride | CO 62, CO 145 | 2:33–3:30 PM | 39.62 mi | 56 min | 1 min | Dallas Divide 8,986 ft |
| Tuesday, September 15137.6 mi · 7h 54m moving · +16,500 ft | ||||||
| Mountain Village to Telluride | CO 145, Colorado Ave | 9:49–10:25 AM | 9.96 mi | 33 min | 3 min | 9,514 → 9,085 ft |
| Ophir Pass to Silverton | CO 145, Ophir Pass Rd, US 550 | 10:25 AM–12:22 PM | 31.65 mi | 1h 48m | 9 min | top 11,791 ft, 11:52 |
| Silverton to Animas Forks | Animas River road | 12:22–1:07 PM | 10.93 mi | 34 min | 11 min | 9,360 → 10,994 ft |
| Engineer Pass to Lake City | Engineer Pass Rd, Henson Creek | 1:07–3:41 PM | 30.49 mi | 2h 11m | 22 min | high 12,956 ft, 1:56 |
| Cinnamon Pass back to Animas Forks | Lake Fork road, Cinnamon Pass Rd | 3:41–5:00 PM | 20.76 mi | 1h 13m | 6 min | top 12,630 ft, 4:44 |
| Back down to Silverton and US 550 | Animas River road, US 550 | 5:00–5:42 PM | 17.21 mi | 40 min | 2 min | 10,978 → 10,036 ft |
| Ophir Pass, east to west, home | Ophir Pass Rd, CO 145 | 5:42–6:36 PM | 16.61 mi | 54 min | 0 | top 11,793 ft, 5:59 |
| Wednesday, September 1643.9 mi · 5h 02m moving · +9,900 ft | ||||||
| Imogene Pass | Tomboy Rd, Imogene Pass Rd | 8:12–11:05 AM | 15.51 mi | 2h 20m | 33 min | high 13,207 ft, 9:50 |
| Ouray and Red Mountain Pass | Camp Bird Rd, US 550 | 11:05–11:59 AM | 18.74 mi | 48 min | 6 min | top 11,089 ft, 11:58 |
| Black Bear Pass | Black Bear Pass Rd, Bridal Veil Falls | 11:59 AM–2:38 PM | 9.68 mi | 1h 54m | 45 min | top 12,830 ft, 12:29 |
| Total | 3 days | 279.6 mi | 17h 47m | 4h 32m | +37,700 ft | |