It started raining shortly after we arrived back at the campground yesterday and continued raining most of the night. We had hopes that it would stop on Tuesday but those were false hopes. As we started off on Tuesday's trek, we were awed by the white peaks of the tallest mountains. We only drove about 7 miles south of Ouray before heading upward along Corkscrew Pass. The clouds thickened as we ascended but we still had the occasional ray of sunshine until about 10 am. By that point we were passing snow covered grass and trees but the road was just muddy until we reached the highest part of the road at about 11,000 ft. elevation. Then we encountered about a 2-3 inch snow cover and the surrounding mountain peaks were shrouded in clouds and snow.
After a short break to play in the snow and decide which trail to take down, we drove off into rain, then sleet, then snow! We got as far as Anamis Forks where we ate lunch in our Jeeps to stay dry. Just as we were about to leave, one Jeep developed problems with their transmission. 30 minutes later, it was fixed and we took off to go back the way we had come. A short way up the hill we were stopped by 3 Jeeps coming down. They advised us to turn around as just over the ridge the snow was 6-8 inches deep and sticking to the road.
The drive back, thru Silverton, was in rain, sleet and snow until we descended below 9,000 ft. and then it was just rain.
An impromptu gathering was held in our RV just before supper. It was so nice to be able to host our friends in our home and not worry about sitting on each other's laps. The chilly air made for a nice chili supper!
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