I have spent most of my life in Texas, in Texas we have an abundance of heat. I was expecting cold weather on this trip, but I was not expecting mid 20 degree temperatures at 5am, I am used to low 70s in the morning, not the mid 20s. It is amazing how much of a difference 9000 feet of elevation can make. Thankfully I thought ahead and brought some extra blankets that I lovingly shoved into my sleeping bag for some added warmth. After warming up from my brisk more for about an hour I finally crawled out of my tent and proceeded to make my self breakfast.

With no real agenda for the day and having spent my previous two days driving 8-11 hours each day I decided that an R&R day was in order. So whats the first thing I went and did? Driving the mountain pass and exploring of course.

The RV camp I had spotted and passed up on the previous day turned out to be right off a forest service road that eventually led into the West Fork campground area, which is about 10 minutes away from the East Fork campground area. Both sites were absolutely beautiful and felt quite remote. Oh and the West Fork campground had a powered well instead of the old hand pumps that were in East Fork, fancy.

Takes a good dozen pumps before you get water out of too. East Fork Campground, Colorado.

One of many various ranches along highway 160.

The road heading into the West Fork Campground

After spending some time exploring the West Fork area I headed back to highway 160 wanting to drive to the top of Wolf Creek pass and back for a fun drive. Texas doesn’t exactly have any mountain passes after all and driving while, it can be a hassle when it is necessary, it can also be a real joy when done for pleasure.

On my way up the mountain I found a small hike known as Treasure Falls. the falls faced west and I decided that the lighting would be better in the evening so I just read the trail head sign and snapped a photo before returning to my mountain drive.

After hitting the summit I turned around and headed back down towards Pagosa Springs for supplies.

Raised trucks with larger off road tires were quite the common site up here, but who needs a 4x4 truck when you have a hatchback that doubles as one.

After getting my supplies I headed back into camp and ate lunch. At this point it hit me just how tired I had become due to lack of sleep and the quick addition of an extra 9,000 in altitude. I laid down for a nap and woke up almost two hours later. When I awoke I found that the temperature had dropped and the sky had become overcast. Eventually the skies started a slow lazy drizzle on and off for the next few hours.

However the overcast conditions didn’t last for long and the blue sky broke through around 6pm. With the sunlight now getting lower in the sky I jumped back in my car to go hike up to Treasure Falls.

It’s a short walk, only about a ¼ of a mile long, however there are multiple overlook spots and the waterfall and surrounding areas are gorgeous.