We intended to head to Minnie & Maggie Gulches, but we took a wrong turn after Silverton (despite Gary’s GPS), and ended up doing Corkscrew Gulch instead. Oh well, it was still fun. Dennis stalled just before the summit and had to be hauled by Gary to level ground at the top. Landon overheated just a few feet prior, and stopped to cool down while we waited for Dennis. I (Obi-Wan) really appreciated my fuel injected engine, even if it meant not driving my FSJ
to its own birthday party.
The road up the east side doesn’t appear to actually have a name according to my map. Corkscrew Gulch is the west side of the ridge we crossed. That pass was approximately 12,100 feet above sea level. The first half mile or so of road down from the pass was comprised of very tight hairpin turns, often requiring a 3-point turn even in a Wrangler. It leveled out a bit once it passed the tree line, much to the relief of my 2-yr-old son. We stopped for lunch shortly below the tree line at a little parking spot with an outhouse. The remainder of the trail was quite pretty and easy. We stopped for a group photo and to air up, and still made it back to Ouray before 3pm.
