Railroad Hikes?

[kaiman]

As Leigh posted earlier and if you haven't done it yet, one of my favorite railroad hikes/mountain bikes in the state is along the old Midland Railroad that once ran from Leadville to the Frying Pan River valley above Basalt via Hagerman Pass. The hike starts on the Hagerman Pass road near Turquoise Lakes and continues to Opal Lake (if you go all the way). The trail follows the old railroad grade (only a few sections still have tracks) with some interesting historical sites and great scenery along the way. The most interesting part to me is the old wooden railroad trestles that they built that must be 100 feet high in spots, but have long since collapsed:

http://hike.mountainzone.com/hotw/co/ha ... index.html

Enjoy!

kaiman

[Mark A Steiner]

by AKAMonkey » Sat Mar 27, 2010 12:42 pm
This wouldn't really be walking the tracks themselves but if you want to walk close to them for a while and still get a beautiful hike in I would suggest taking off from the Moffat Tunnel in Rollinsville and hiking up to either Arapaho Lakes or Crater Lakes. You are close enough for a good portion of the hike that you get to see and hear the train pass about every hour but you also get some amazing views and beautiful scenery. Maybe not totally what you are looking for but highly suggested for a day hike

I was thinking about Rollins Pass when this post arrived. Haven't been in the area since 2003. At that time you could drive from E Portal (near Tolland) up to the lakes, but no further due to collapsed structures higher up. It would appear the lakes area would be a good area to jump off from on foot. Maybe someone can contribute some info to this thread about hiking to the summit of Rollins Pass or in the vicinity of the summit.

Imagine what it must have been like keeping this line open in the winter before Moffat Tunnel was bored.

[JeffR]

by AKAMonkey » Sat Mar 27, 2010 12:42 pm
This wouldn't really be walking the tracks themselves but if you want to walk close to them for a while and still get a beautiful hike in I would suggest taking off from the Moffat Tunnel in Rollinsville and hiking up to either Arapaho Lakes or Crater Lakes. You are close enough for a good portion of the hike that you get to see and hear the train pass about every hour but you also get some amazing views and beautiful scenery. Maybe not totally what you are looking for but highly suggested for a day hike

I was thinking about Rollins Pass when this post arrived. Haven't been in the area since 2003. At that time you could drive from E Portal (near Tolland) up to the lakes, but no further due to collapsed structures higher up. It would appear the lakes area would be a good area to jump off from on foot. Maybe someone can contribute some info to this thread about hiking to the summit of Rollins Pass or in the vicinity of the summit.

As of recently, the road is driveable up to Needle Eye Tunnel (from the east) or Riflesight Notch (west) where it becomes blocked. The pass is not too far from either point (farther from the west) and would make for a scenic hike.

Imagine what it must have been like keeping this line open in the winter before Moffat Tunnel was bored.

I read "Rails that Climb" and was amazed at what they had to go through in winter to keep the trains running on this route.