Crystal Mill / Lead King Basin 4x4 Trail
Marble, Colorado
Lead King Basin and the Crystal Miil trail started with a beautiful scenic drive from the group's campsite on the south side of Schofield Pass through Gothic, CO
heading back into Crested Butte and then going west over Kebler Pass through the largest contiguous stands of Aspen in North America, to Paonia, then turning east on CO 133 over McClure Pass to County Rd 3 to Marble.
Once in Marble we met up with another club member, Craig Mathews and then proceeded to the trail head,
where everyone aired down and disconnected before starting up the trail.
Initially the trail climbed up and then ran along a shelf road next to the Crystal River, as seen from above. The trail then headed back down to the river, with spectacular views of waterfalls feeding into it.
Here is a shot of one waterfall in the background with Mark and Sherri's Jeep,
and next Sam's Jeep,
followed by Michael Sheets in his Cherokee XJ,
and then Gary Sheets in his Rubicon,
and in the tailgunner position is Craig Mathews in his Rubicon.
The famous Crystal Mill (said to be the most photographed site in Colorado) near Marble, Colorado is shown here in early summer splendor. It was built in 1892 to generate compressed air power for use in two nearby mines and was operated by a horizontal wheel, whose shaft rose up the vertical encasement you see below the shack. The stream on the left was damned to create a small lake to provide consistent power.
And of course, the traditional line-up photo at the top with Crystal Mill behind,
from left to right, Mark & Sherri's Rubicon, Sam's Sahara TJ, Michael's Cherokee XJ, Gary's Rubicon, and Craig's Rubicon.
After the photo session, the group headed up to Crystal city for lunch.
Great views and a nice warm day to help digest our lunch.
Everybody was able to find a shade tree while eating and discussing the day's sights.
After lunch, Sam and Craig drove up the Schofield Pass trail to confirm its closure,
and yep, it was definitely closed due to a large avalanche over the last winter. It was just starting to melt down and with the undermelt, not looking too stable. If the snowpack let loose it would lead to one heck of a ride down the valley.
So the group headed up the Lead King Basin fork to view some more spectacular sights.
This season is reoprted to be the best for wild flowers over the last 10 years. Here is a close-up shot of a wild mountain White Columbine.
and hillsides just ablaze with color.
And here is Sherri's waterfall. A nice, quiet, serene place to meditate and relax.
All in all, a great day on some moderate trails, beautiful weather, and awesome sights
making for great pictures, so a good time was had by all.
Lead King Basin July 2004
Yosemite Sam
On The Rocks Jeep Club
