Tonto Trails

One of the goals of this trip was to discover what types of trails we would feel comfortable sending clients out in vehicles that have been especially prepared for off road, rugged driving, but still need a steady hand at the wheel (and spotter on the ground) when things get rough. We have been using our knowledge of the area, maps, and guides to pick routes and this time we were using "Colorado Backroads & 4 Wheel Drive Trails" by Wells and Peterson.

Pearl Pass is marked as a red, or very challenging route in this guide, and maps of the area have highlighted boxes that say "4 wheel expert driving only". So what does that mean? How much are we going to bang around and how much would someone not used to these conditions bang up our vehicles?

As it turns out the beginning of the trail from the Crested Butte side on Brush Creek road is easy and enjoyable. We started out kind of late in the day so we went about 10 miles in and found some fantastic boondock sites all along the road. We camped overlooking the valley and sunset and took a hike up into the golden Aspen trees before setting up for dinner. Overnight the temperature dropped significantly so we added on the room that fits below the tent to have a warm place to change. The rooftop tent was cozy and warm all night and did not flap around in the wind.

In the morning we headed further up the road with some fun creek crossings and steep climbs. The road got significantly more rocky, but nothing that the high clearance Land Cruiser couldn't handle easily with a driver being cautious. There was a huge open valley that was too good not to stop for some pictures and it was a good test to see how easily the tent, table, and a modest lunch could be set up! One person seemed to be able to get most things set up in about ten minutes, with the tent only taking up a small amount of that time. That is all good news if there is bad weather arriving or you are just too plain tired from all the fun adventuring to really want any hassle.

After preparing a few sandwiches we decided to continue up the road a short bit to the trailhead for the "Twin Lakes" hike. Granted it was already late in the day, and we still had the most challenging section of trail to do, but we figured that we had everything we needed to boondock somewhere just below or on the other side of the pass if it got too late. That is the essence of Overlanding with everything you need, when you want to do a side trip, and it gets late in the day, you can stop just about anywhere with a flat spot and you are home!

The "Twin Lakes" hike was a three mile out and back that was absolutely gorgeous. We were pinching ourselves at the great weather and beautiful scenery and talking about how much we wanted to share this special place. So far the road in was absolutely doable for clients and the rewards were well worth it.

After the hike we entered the "red" section of the route and wow, it was a significant difference! There was a huge rock talus that we had to cross with a very very narrow path through and a significant climb. This is where things started to get interesting and there was still about 4 miles to go. The trail continued up some very steep terrain with narrow ledges and some rock climbing. There was one turn that was at a very steep angle and loose rock that didn't leave much room for error. Having one person spotting was a must for about 60% of the terrain and that meant I was out walking at 10,000 ft uphill at least as fast as the truck was moving!

At the top of Pearl Pass the scenery was amazing. The altitude was 12,705ft and John could feel the effects with a headache and shortness of breath. This does not make for great sleeping even on the warmest of nights, and we knew that it would be a harsh cold stop at the summit. We could see some clouds in the distance, and felt that it was a good idea to keep rolling to find a place down low for boondocking.

Of course, THIS was the more difficult side. The trail immediately fell into another talus that surely was laid as glaciers receded in the area, and the boulders were huge, loose, and the route through them narrow, steep and curvy. In one of the switchback sections we followed a bit of a drainage and then there was a large drop off a series of rocks that we had to consider very carefully. With delicate maneuvering we managed to come down with only a short fuel tank rub, but the consequences could have been higher if we hadn't had the experience or planning.

This trail was actually in great condition compared to what it could have been. This area typically has snow until late in the season and the day we were going through it actually started to hail and snow. There are some huts on the north side of the pass that are used by hikers and winter backcountry skiers and they would feel very remote for much of the year.

We continued on and found a site to stop with the wind block of some tall pine trees near a creek. The temperature continued to drop through the night and we made a nice camp, cooking up some homemade soup and lighting a big fire in the fire pit. Tomorrow we would do the last three miles of dirt road, easy, and then a beautiful paved road into Aspen. This area was incredible to explore, and either side of the pass has its charms. On a low precipitation year it might be one to do again, but drivers beware!

This is an update that we wrote way back in 2010 that I am sorry never made it onto the site. It was the last long, and best, trip we did in the van in Mexico. We continued to explore around Jalisco and Nayarit through 2012, but as I started working as director of the Costa Verde International School we never got this kind of time and freedom to explore again! All good things will continue in the future..

Many people are afraid to get off the toll roads in Mexico, but every once in awhile we got itchy and here is a little example of what can happen “off” the nice pavement…

We notice from the toll road that there is a consistent plume of white, pure smoke coming from some hills in the distance……

Roll up to a very well developed geothermal energy production area…. Steam pushing through valves and turbines and out through stacks all over the side of a pine forested mountain. The mixture of industrial construction, large tree cut fenced areas with miles of pipes, and the knowledge that there was clean energy being produced here makes you consider carefully how land can be managed and used. And then on the side of a the road a young man approaches the van to hand you a flier for a natural sulfur hot spring open for soaking! Mulit-use land! As it turned out, around the corner from all the energy production were many sites of natural human energy rejuvenation. Families and tourists were spread around different thermal springs to soak up the healing properties of the springs and breathe in the clean mountain air.

We took a turn at the Azufres Spa. Apparently it is the original and oldest around. Nothing fancy here, just a huge pond with some mud at the bottom that you can spread all over your body before moving to the temzcale, or sauna that is heated from steam coming right from the rocks and captured in a dark room made of old boards and tin. Then when you run screaming from the heat and smell you can slip into another pool of bubbling, murky, water around 90 degrees to “rinse” off. The sulfur and minerals in the mud are supposed to be very therapeutic and your skin does feel noticeably softer, if not also drier afterwards. However, be warned, the smell you emit for the next 24 hours can be trying. John spent the next four days trying to clean everything that he had touched in the six hours after he “soaked” at the springs and would constantly comment, “Do you still SMELL that? Or me? When will this stop?” to which Julie’s response might be “Yes, I smell the sulfur, its healing me.”

The only remedy for John was to sweat out the stench on some great mountain bike trails so we headed to Valle de Bravo. “Valle” has it all, mountain biking, sailing, waterskiing, parasailing, go-karting, and the list goes on if you live there and are a member of one of the many sporting clubs. Consider it Mexico’s mini-New Zealand. It is the get-away place for many upscale “D.F.ers”, and if you want to spend your time oogling new dirt bikes in some fancy stores you won’t be alone. This was our second time to Valle and we had a great spot to camp right in the park of Monte Alta on the well laid out mountain bike trails. We also hired “no name guide” (we never did catch his name, and don’t think he made much effort to tell us) to take us on a route outside of town. After our gringo-test ride of uphill two hours, down forty-five minutes we treated ourself with a night out on the town of Avandaro where we browsed bike shops and ate some great pizza.

Great campsite right at the summit and on the bike trails!

View of Valle de Bravo from the paragliding launching site.

We tore ourselves away from Valle and headed to the Itzaccihuatl-Popocatepetl National Park. These two volcanoes are the second and third tallest in Mexico. We approached from the west side just as dark was coming and we had to scurry for a camping spot. With no light left we found a lightly used road that seemed to go up the side of Popo into nowhere and we took it. We had a beautiful spot overlooking the lights of the valley with cool temperatures at 3,180m – 10,400ft! And there was more to go up! When we woke up in the morning John scouted the road and found that it continued and at some point would meet up with the main route, so off we went! It turned out to be some of the best 4x4ing that Tonto has done in a long time!

Volcan Popo is spewing steam and still considered active so it is off limits, but we found out that Itza is climbable, so we went to check it out. We paid the entrance to go up to the highest parking lot on the volcano and then started our hike, at 4,000m. Ouch. Lobo was having no trouble pulling John and I up the mountain and he made instant friends as we hiked up the trail. Finally at 4,500m, that’s 1500 feet of climbing at altitude, we were pretty cold and decided to have some lunch and then turn back down. There is a refugio not much further up that is used for the staging of a full ascent to “El Pecho”, but Lobo forgot his winter coat.

After a ridiculous downhill from Itza-Popo through probably the dustiest, twistiest, longest and busiest dirt road ever we pointed toward the small town of Chalula to see the Chapel of the Virgin of Remedies which is built on top of the widest, and possibly the largest, pyramid in the world. There is still some speculation on its actual size since it has been built on top of by three civilizations, culminating in the Spaniards and their chapel. There is a lovely hotel right across the street and it was time to get out of the van for a night and into a shower and a pool after all the dust. How were we to know it would be one of the worst nights sleep ever. Apparently being the Easter Vigil, all of the 36 churches (Cortez really wanted 365) sent off a firework or two to “celebrate” the resurrection of Christ. Julie even had to stop and question a nun to clarify that a bomb going off at 2:30am was a kosher form of celebration since it seemed in juxtaposition of all the candlelight vigils that normally happen during the Easter program in Northern countries.

Before we left John had read in the lonely planet about a place called Africam, described as one of those drive through zoo experiences with lions and tigers. Our expectations were low, but we felt that a look-see would be worth it, and honestly, Tonto would look bad-ass next to a African animal. Luckily Wally World was open. Grandma didn’t die on the way, and we didn’t accidentally leave the dog tied to the bumper, but he did have to go into “quarantine” because his smell might “stress” the animals. We were pretty aware that Lobo might lose his bark and sprain an ankle in the ensuing mayhem if we passed through a herd of zebra, so we were glad they had a pet care area. The motorcycle and bicycles also had to be removed before we could enter because the monkeys might be attracted to them. What mammal wouldn’t be attracted to Tonto? Of course we understood.

Then we crossed the threshold into Africam. Immediately the Giraffes, Antelope, Ostritches and some friendly Lemur were ready to great us. Sure we had to follow a line of cars, but we had Xm radio playing Jam-ON, a cold cerveza, and cameras at the ready. We were on safari.

Our fellow man checks out the big van...

The park was excellent. In operation since 1974, and well sponsored, this was not your usual third world zoo trip that leaves you depressed and seeking out the local authorities. Rather we were so happy cruising in Tonto past white rhinos and bengal tigers, strolling through the kangaroo enclosure, flirting with the Emus, and buying a stuffed blue giraffe for Lobo in the giftshop. In the end we had to go through a few closed gates to get our accessories back. That night we camped on an incredible hillside of the reservoir near the reserve in a forest like what you find in Joshua tree.