Some scary stuff, but then some stunning stuff

8-2-2021 

It’s really nice to be back in a tent again. There is just something so calming about it – the patter of a light drizzle lulling you to sleep at night, the quiet of the forest, the warmth of the morning sun gently rising you from slumber. Everything is simpler, and easier for it. I suppose I wouldn’t feel the same if I had to pack up quickly to get somewhere early in the morning – packing up can be quite an endeavor – but I had nowhere to be and was quite at my leisure. 

I rolled out of my sleeping bag around 9, having read in bed for a while while temperatures warmed. The plan was to poke over to Chimney Rock National Monument, where they had a few self-guided geology tours (which pretty much sounds like a hike that you pay for, to me…), and then scoot up to Molas Pass. But I instead found myself in conversation with a fellow camper, who had paused to compliment Jane. It ended up a kindred spirits kind of situation, and both of us had so much fun chatting that a couple hours had passed before we knew it! So, no Chimney Rock – but I very much enjoyed talking to my new friend Jeremy, so I didn’t miss it. With the past year being as rough as it has been, I think I’m just happy to meet new people again! 

Eventually I did pack up, and Jane and I headed off to Molas Pass, a place known for its gorgeous sweeping vistas. The drive was nothing short of spectacular in and of itself – as I have come to expect from Colorado! 

A very American store

It seemed like we went up for quite a long time – always chugging uphill, always passing other cars. One of the great benefits of camping out of a 60’s muscle car is that you are fast and super mobile, with plenty of power to handle altitude and long uphill drives. So while RVs puttered along doing the best they could, I whipped past without a thought. But V8 motors take a lot of air, so even Jane started to slow towards the top of our climb. Fortunately, before things got too dire, we crested Molas Pass at an impressive 10,899 feet elevation. Not too shabby! I stopped at the overlook for some photos of the incredible views. 

Getting Jane cranked back up was a bit of a challenge, in part because the motor wants a lot of air (and there’s not much of it at that altitude) and in part because the fuel pump really struggles with altitude for some reason. I’ve never figured out if it somehow vapor locks, or cavitates, or what. But it sure does like to howl. Regardless of the complaints, the car did eventually start, and then all we had to do was make it another 1.5 miles to the campsite at Molas Campground! Easy peasy. 

Except, you know, it wasn’t, because I’m especially stupid this year. 

My GPS had me turn in at a dirt road that supposedly led to my campground. It was, initially, absolutely full of devastating potholes – but no problem, we can handle that. Then it narrowed into a 1-lane track, and got quite steep and rocky. But no problem, we can handle that. I could see the campground and the RVs at it… so I kept going down this trail, figuring that that was just how it was. If a bus could get down there, so could I! I’m a lot more forgiving of roads than I should be, I guess. 

Well, about halfway down this steep track, it suddenly became clear that it was passable only by high clearance vehicles. Jane is not a high clearance vehicle. And now I had a problem… how to get off that road. 

I got out and trotted down the road a bit, and found that it did actually lead to the campground – but so did another totally normal road. So I guess I was on the “hard mode” road. But it was, indeed, quite impassable for me, with a number of tall pointy oil-pan-killing rocks and steep-sided washouts. 

So, on a steep 1-lane track, with no way forward, I did the only thing I COULD do: I backed all the way back up it. This ended up taking me a solid 30 minutes, because I had to back up three feet, stop the car, get out to assess, pull forward and reorient, back up another three feet, repeat. There were a LOT of oil-pan-killing rocks on that road, and somehow I got the feeling that nearby towns wouldn’t have that part in stock. They loomed viciously, taunting me, waiting for me to make the wrong move. Waiting for their chance to spill Jane’s heartblood across the track. Waiting to completely ruin my trip. 

Every minute that I wrangled back and forth, that feeling of dread rose higher and higher, but I knew that I had to get out. There was no other way than to go back. Eventually, a girl came along the road and I enlisted her help as a spotter, at which point things became much easier. Within a few short minutes, I found myself back at the top of that cursed road, free of my nightmare and Jane apparently unharmed aside from a very smoky-smelling clutch. It is not easy to get traction going backwards uphill in a rear wheel drive car with a light rear end. But we had made it. Of course, I took no photos of this entire endeavor, being entirely too panicked to see any levity in the situation. But here's what the road looked like:

Not so bad! A totally normal dirt road with a very nice view.

Ok, maybe a little dicey but manageable.

Oh no.

Yeah definitely not.

Heart still pounding, I trekked another ¼ mile down the highway, then turned off onto the REAL road to the campground. 

WE SURVIVED

A few short minutes later, I was ensconced in my site, a very nice shady spot with lovely views of the lake and surrounding mountains. 

I double checked all of Jane’s fluids, then sat down at the picnic table to stare into the void for a while. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve had Jane longer now and have gotten more attached, or maybe I’m just getting old and turning into a scaredy cat, but boy these kinds of events really take it out of me. Outwardly, I probably look pretty calm, because I have o choice but to work through my problems. But inwardly… woof. It’s like a kicked nest of bees in there. So I took some time to just sit and finish freaking out, since I now had the luxury of doing so. 

Finally I scraped myself together and went for a walk to inspect the campground. And wow – this one definitely ranks up there on the gorgeous scale. Situated up against Molas Lake in a saddle between a few mountains, this campground offers scenic vistas in every direction. Yeah, it was well worth the trouble of getting here (even if it was self-inflicted trouble)! 

I ended the night with a very well-deserved s’more, then headed to bed. Ridiculous to be so tired after doing nothing all day… but nearly destroying your vintage Mustang a thousand miles from home is a little stressful, in my defense! 

I’m excited to take a day off from driving tomorrow to go hiking in the area – until then, Kelly signing out!