Page 1 BLACK BEAR PASS mountain trails
Page 2 KATEMCY ROCKS rock crawling
Page 3 GILMER TX rocky dirt trails

The first week in Sept. I went on vacation in Colorado near the Ouray area. For those who dont know, Ouray Co. is in the San Juan mtn range, home to several 14,000 ft peaks and many offroad jeep trails. The most spectacular of these is Black Bear Pass. This first page will document my trip over this pass.
On the way to the trail head on hwy 550 there was a shower that lasted 30 min. and was concerning because wet rocks get slippery and slippery is dangerous on 1000 ft. cliffs.

This is the tail head. Its two way traffic from hear to the top and half way down the other side. Later it becomes one way on the steep downhill section into Teluride.

Here is typical trail early on.

A little further up hwy 550 trailhead can still be seen below.

This is the first steep grade. On the steepest part, tires start to slip. Its a little nervy cause you cant see over the hood in places.

Finally past that steep part, so I thought.

This is a shelf road. They're made by cutting a notch in the side of a steep grade.

Just one of several steps. This one is nearer to the top. All could be made with a stock Jeep but you'ld have to pick your way around the larger ones.

At the top. 12,840 ft.

Doin' a little posing.

I did research on the internet before I went and was under the impression that at the top was where the steps (the most difficult part) were. I now realized that there is a big bowl at the top. Its where the bowl empties out to the valley that the steps start. The best is yet to come.

This is more of the shelf road. The bowl is huge!
This marmot is one of the locals. He's got this puzzled look on his face like he's never seen an H 3, probably hasn't. :)

Lookin' back over my sholder at the pass.

After a litte scenic and easy trail I get my first look at Teluride,Co.

A little off camber here. Its not much but at this height and steep angle it feels like more. Ya got to remember, I'm from flat country so this is something I'm not used to. If I get off camber too much at home it just rolls over on its top but here if you roll it could make for a really bad day.
Black Bear mine. What gives this pass its name.

More of the off camber steps. No I'm not tilting the camera, just look at the mountain in the background. Tires slipped just a little here. It makes me wonder how are they gonna perform on the steeper "steps" section that I'd read about. Also this is the start of the one way downhill to town. There used to be accidents when two vehicles met and tried to pass so they made it one way. No turning around after this point.
Oh Lord, what have I gotten myself into!! This is the "STEPS". DAMB! this is steep and narrow, with a 500 ft cliff on one side to boot. I had read this was a doozy. Its too bad these pics dont do it justice. My heart was in my throat for the next half mile.



This is the first of many hairpin turns or switchbacks.
A little break by small waterfall while I ponder my situation. From here I can see the narrowest part of the trail and wonder if im too wide to continue.

This is the place I cant clear (red arrow) on the trail but I can climb the rocks on the left (blue line). See wherethe rocks have been stacked up to repair 'road'.(green)
A quick look out the passenger window as I pass the red arrow. That is Bridal Vail Falls below.

More narrow spots between the first and second hairpins. If your wider than this you might not want to do this trail. H 1s beware. At this point you can't cheat by climbing uphill like I did at the previous narrow section because of bolder on driver side.
This is the second, and tightest, hairpin. I had seen this turn on a website with a Jeep on it and knew it would be tight for a Hummer. It looks tight in picture but I was please to see I could make a 3 point turn. I actually made a 5 point just to be safe.
Turn 3 and 4
Bridal Vail Falls at turn 8. End of trail empties out on county Rd.
Looking back at switchbacks. There are about 12, each of which get easier and wider as you decend.
This trail was every bit as good as I'd hoped. It's not real technical as rock crawling goes but what it lacks there it more than makes up for with exilerating height, veiws and lump in your throat nerve testing. I highly recomend this trail if you ever get near Ouray or Silverton. Another good trail is Engineer Pass and Cinnimon Pass. They're not as steep but offer better scenery and views.