The caravan of 8 Jeeps and a Toyota 4 Runner took off at 8:30 AM and headed south to Alma and then west toward Mosquito Pass. In the 1870's, this was the shortest and quickest way to the Leadville mines. Eventually travel moved from the high pass route to a lower but longer low pass route which we returned on to Alma. But before we even reached our turnoff to the pass, one of the Jeeps came up lame and had to be abandoned until we could return later in the day to get it repaired. The driver and his wife shared rides with others in the caravan.
Mosquito Pass is rated as a moderate route but it had some interesting areas where we had to tackle the rocks and narrow road with some finesse. The views from the top of the pass at 13,185 feet altitude were so awesome. John and I really like the mountains. We are separated from the noise of civilization and surrounded by peace, sunshine, wind and friends. I try to imagine, quite unsuccessfully, how anyone could ride up these roads in a stagecoach pulled by horses and not get shaken to death. I also can't imagine how long a trip like this would take. It took us two hours to travel eight miles in a Jeep. How long pulled by horses??
Leadville was famous for silver mining and by the 1890's it was the 2nd largest city in Colorado. At the summit was a headstone commemorating Father Dyer, the "Snowshoe Itinerant." He was a Methodist minister who started out by ministering to the miners in the area and eventually started carrying mail and gold across the pass, sometimes making the trip twice a day.
We had a picnic lunch on the shores of Turquoise Lake before returning to Leadville for an ice cream cone and then on to Weston Pass to return to Hwy. 9 back to Breckenridge. Weston Pass was a popular route for freight wagons and stage coaches as it was only 11,921 foot elevation. It was an easy drive with some very pretty scenery.
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