TrailDamage.com - California Gulch (August 20, 2004)

California Gulch Member Report
Run on August 20, 2004

We took California Gulch to get from the end of Poughkeepsie Gulch to connect with Engineer Pass again to do the Alpine Loop. The trail was beautiful and it was some of the best scenery we had for our trip.

Lake Como is absolutely beautiful and it was fantastic to see it get smaller as we got higher. You could still see it from California Pass, like you could see the other side of California Mountain too. The view from up at the top was very impressive and you could see the rest of the trail as it snaked its way through the valley.

We didn't see any other vehicles as we made our way down to the valley floor and toward Animas Forks. The wildflowers were everywhere and the clouds were barely over our heads as they went over the tops of the mountains.

When we got to Animas Forks there were quite a few people and lots of vehicles. We checked out the buildings and a lot of people did the walking tour. It was definitely worth the extra time out of our busy wheeling schedule!

This trail was gorgeous and even though the road was very narrow in places it would be doable in any 4-wheel drive vehicle. This one is high on our list.

Also see the California Gulch Report from August 30, 2008.

Members On This Run

Aaron N.: maroon 2003 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon (TJ)
Bob S.: green 1997 Jeep Wrangler (TJ)
Brian E.: white 1998 Jeep Wrangler (TJ)
Ladd: green 2003 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon (TJ)
Mike C.: red 1998 Jeep Wrangler (TJ)
Mike S.: silver 2002 Jeep Wrangler (TJ)
Monica: red 2010 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon (JK)

Trail Movies

Panorama On The Pass (1.7 MB, WMV)

Trail Photographs

Animas Forks Building Part 1