Drifting Around Mayflower Gulch

Drift peak (13915) September 10, 2025

When I backed out of the driveway, the stars sparkled in a clear sky. When I came out of Eisenhower Tunnel, it was raining. The weather report didn’t say that. I thought since I had come this far I would see how it was along CO91. I missed Mayflower Gulch and drove up to Fremont pass. As I was turning around across from Climax mine, the 13er trio of Clinton, McNamee & Travor had snow on their peaks(pic1). It was misting and I could see some sky because the clouds were moving to the east(pic2). Hopeful as I went S I saw blue(pic3). By the time I got to Mayflower Gulch(pic4), it was a go to climb Drift(pic5).

According to Summit County trail regulations, my ebike was legal to use so my plan was to bike as far as I could go. Besides I could bike up the trail further than the car could go (pic6). On the way up Mayflower gulch, I dodged some puddles and some rocks but the road was a solid ride all the way to the foot of Drift. I went E through the first gate(pic7), passed an old cabin(pic8) and took the right hand Y to go through another gate(pic9). I biked up a little hill and came down into the bowl of beautiful fall colors and several mining ruins(pic10). The sun was cresting(pic11). The road began to deteriorate and where it ended at treeline(pic12), I parked the bike. Pic13 of where I was going and climbing to.

Going up the saddle was now a thin dirt path. I thought, this would be pretty easy, until it disappeared about 50ft after entering the rocks(pic14). And when I thought I had lost the path, I found another one in a tundra field leading to a sharp ridge(pic15). I followed it to a false summit. This pattern repeated itself to the top of Drift. When I was on the last long saddle(pic16), I felt like I was hiking on top of the world because the rest of it sheared 1000ft down on both sides of the ridge. When I saw the rusty colored band and a prospect hole, I could see that I was making progress. This was evidence of past mining activity(pic17). On the last hump to Drift, I found sections of a path to the left to get around towers & crevices(pic18), flowers(pic19) and up the real false summit(pic20) and saw a pole, and then, I summited(13915)(pic21). There even was a register box(pic22). How cool was that: perfect weather, long mesmerizing views and a congratulatory moment. I spent more time than I usually did on the summit. Theres something about solitude, with its silence and stillness that provides comfort during times like this. Perhaps the real reason is it’s a source of recovery.

The return was the reverse of the route. Pic23 of flowers blooming their hearts out before the next freeze. I retrieved the bike and it was a sweet ride. However, my phone fell out of my pocket and stopped taking pictures. I visited the remnants of the Boston mine/town area. This was a late 19^th C mining town for gold and silver but gold was more prolific. Geologically, a fault trapped the two veins housing the gold which made extraction extremely difficult & expensive from the ore. The most interesting part of my research was the 2024 interview with Marv Colsman, who spent his childhood in one of the wooden cabins in this gulch. Sleeping in a bunk bed with no electricity, his mother cooked their family meals on a cast iron stove. During the day while his father mined, he hiked, read whatever books they could get and played games with other children. He said despite what people think, the cabins were warm and cozy during the cold winters.

On the way down pic24 was torn tree bark that deer were eating. I made it back to the car in one piece but my boots did not(pic25). Hiking on the pointy sharp rock cut the last of their life out of them. Amazingly my phone started working again and because it landed back side down in a protective case, I figured it would be fine. However a week later the phone stopped working. On my drive home, the aspens were beginning to turn yellow(pic26).

In sum this was an awesome and satisfying trip. The timing was right, the skies clear blue, the sun felt comfortable and the 4WD road/trail was easily negotiable. Once on Drift mountain, there was plenty of Class1-3 variety with Class4 as an option for taking on the towers heads-on(pic27). Routefinding was obvious, even when it faded and the rocks weren’t too friendly RT to the summit, as evidenced by my boots. The elevation was a gradual gain where the last push up to the summit was heart pounding. RT was about 8m, not including exploring the ghost town route and a lollipop pattern with the option of wandering around the buildings. I saw people come and go but solitude was mine once I was going up to Drift. I would say that although the gold didn’t make the miners rich; the views(pic28) from this gulch will forever be rich.