Lake City/Creede area in the Fall???

I was just curious if anyone has seen/shot this area in the fall?

I would like to check it out sometime. There is also a nice waterfall down that way called North Clear Creek Falls.

Thanks

Awesome area to shoot! Now, I should say that Lake City is one of my all-time favorite mountain towns, so I'm a bit biased. The trees are dense and generally very mature, and last year the golds at peak (which was around the 22-24th, incidently) were just spectacular.

Head up Henson Creek, which is just west of town, and you'll find some really interesting old mining sites, the nearly completely barren ghost town of Capitol City, and much more as you make you way up and over Engineer Pass.

Drive up Slumgullion Pass, and on the north side of the pass there will be a scenic overlook. From there you have a fantastic view of Uncompahgre Peak.

North Clear Creek Falls are wonderful to shoot, and I think most people would highly recommend them.

Much of the area is either National Forest or BLM, so aside from Lake City itself there's virtually no recent human development in the area (which is why I love it so much), and even on a weekend, the traffic on 149 is so incredibly light that you can drive as leisurely as you like.

I've got plenty of other places to recommend, but I'll let others do that.

Mark,

Thanks for the great tips.

Do you know if it would be worth checking out if a person doesn't have a 4x4? I have heard that the falls are not far from the road. But I don't know about the other roads. I think I remmember hearing Engineer Pass was for 4x4s only.

Can I get to decent fall color lookouts with a standard car?

Thanks

I did a fair share of exploring the creede area with my WRX. Its AWD but has no clearence, and I had a good time.

NCC Falls is about 100 yards off the highway, and the road is paved that far. Beyond the falls turnoff, it's a well-maintained dirt road that is stunning in the fall. I've driven my Toyota Camry there with no problems. My favorite area is a good-sized beaver pond maybe a mile down the dirt road past the falls. Lots of good camping areas as well.

Great advice and help guys.

I like that photo Mark took of the Falls. I notice the shots I see of it are all from above. Is it possible to get down below for other compositional angles?

Does anyone have any more shots of that area that they would care to share or a link to photos of it?

Thanks again,

Yes, you can scramble down to the river. BTW -- I'm missing a 77mm lens cap -- let me know if you find it!


http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/content/yfp/place.php?page_id=2&filter_state=&place_id=273

Something I've noticed consistently is that the aspens in the vicinity of that stretch of highway encompassing N. Clear Creek Falls tends to turn early, like at peak right now. I have no firsthand knowledge this year, but have observed this on multiples years past. The same does not hold true for aspens around Lake City and up the pass roads, though.

I just read an older post from earlier this year that stated that the road to Capitol City and Whitmore Falls was drivable in a standard vehicle.

http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/bbs.cgi?a=vm&mr=9196&b=se&st=0&la=28&ph=22&sid=2604&u=2604

I also read Mark Aultman's post from last year which confirmed your observation of colors turning a little earlier in that area. If I do make the trip it wouldn't be until the 25th. Hopefully it will still have decent color by then.

Here's a shot of the beaver pond that Erik mentioned. Poorly composed, but it will give you an idea of what he's talking about.

I'm not sure if I'd recommend trying Engineer is a low clearance vehicle. I definitely wouldn't try it on the the Ouray side. On the Lake City side, it's a fairly rough road all the way up, but nothing that you couldn't accomplish if you took it slow. It's not a technical 4x4 road, in that there are no large boulders in the road and whatnot, yet it's pocketed with tons of smaller rocks and in areas, if I remember correctly, washboards. So it's a bouncy ride regardless of what you're driving. Perhaps someone who lives a bit more locally or has made the trip over Engineer more recently than I have can give you a better idea of what you'd be facing.

I still recommend taking the drive on 149, even if you aren't able to get "off-road."

Here and here are a couple generic shots from the area around NCCF, just to give you an idea of what the colors looked like last year.

I'll see if I can dig up my shots from up Henson Creek last year...I know I put them around here somewhere...

I was doing some research online regarding the Alpine Loop (Engineer Pass and Cinnamon Pass roads) . I found one site reporting some serious damage to the road during 2006:
http://www.sangres.com/byways/alpine.htm

However I don't plan on driving the entire loop, probably only the easier parts on the Lake City side - to Capitol City and just past Lake San Cristobal.

I will probably call the Lake City Camber of Commerce before leaving just to check out conditions if I do decide to go.

Total crap shot that shows you the view from Slumgullion Pass looking westward. Lake City is down to the lower right. This is a throw-away shot I found in my files, and I just now did a very quick PP job on it, so sorry about the quality.

Here is a shot of the old Capitol City site. Another quick PP job just to show you the area. I apologize again

Another from Capitol City. That's pretty much the last building standing. There are three or four modern homes in this area, one of which was for sale last time I was there. Just my luck that I misplaced that spare $200,000 I had laying around.

A random hillside along Henson Creek.

Totally botched shot from the Ute-Ule mine westward up Henson Creek towards Capitol City. Much of the original mining camp is still standing, although it's on private property and wandering around probably is not the best idea. But it's a very interesting site, especially if you long for the Colorado of the past like me.

One final shot from Slumgullion Pass to show the colors.

Don't let my lack of talent dissuade you from visiting the area. While it's hardly the most stunning Fall location in Colorado, it's definitely an area worth seeing firsthand.

Mark,

Thanks for the images. I really like the color and photographic options.

Derek

Derek, I was just up on the Loop over Labor Day. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, in terms of the road changing dramatically. (Cinammon Pass even showed signs of work that made it easier in spots.) Unless it snows a lot, you won't have much more than basic washboard/potholes to deal with. And I agree with the comments about 149 ... one of my favorite quiet drives in Colorado.