I've been there once before but I must have purged the information from memory to make room for more important information, like who sang what song in the 80's.
Anyone care to give some directions? BTW, I'll be in the San Juans next Tuesday - Thursday. If anyone will be in the area and interested in meeting up, let me know.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on June 23, 2007 at 10:44 AM
I think the Charles Wells book for Southern Colorado has this trail in it. I'm not home right now, but I'll try to look it up tonight if I get a chance.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on June 23, 2007 at 11:09 AM
Sorry, I was thinking Poughkeepsie Gulch.
Strange thing is that there are two Porphyry Basins on my map (Delorme Topo USA 6). One is closer to lake city and the other is closer to Silverton. In either case, my map does not show a road to either and there is no designated trail.
I'm guessing you want to go to the Porphyry Basin near Silverton which contains Bullion King Lake. It looks like there are two choices. Climb up a trail north of Porphyry Gulch (which looks easier). The trail is slightly south of CR16 (Black Bear Pass). The other is to take the unimproved local road departing west from a switchback a little further on 550 and climb to the ridge on the north of that basin.
Mel is right, if you are thinking of the Porphyry Basin nearer to Silverton, there is an unimproved road (sometimes called Porphyry Gulch Road or Bullion King Road) to get there. Here's a page on summitpost with some more information. Todd once called a section of this road "pucker point." Hilarious. http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/151789/peak-13477-t10.html
Go past that section of this road at the rock wall and tell me your sphincter didn't contract so tight it coulda broken a pencil. (WARNING: That was just for illustrative purposes only! DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT put a pencil up there! Ever heard of lead poisoning?) The first two times I did the road in my full-size Silverado. Last year I did it in my Nissan Frontier, wondering how the hell I did it in my full-size Silverado. The second time I did it, I had Jerry Greer in the front seat and my buddy Dave Smith in the back. When we approached that point, Jerry tried to get out of the car. Ah, thank goodness for automatic door locks!
To make things easier, here you go: Just go over Red Mountain Pass southbound and it's the first dirt road on the downhill side on the right that forks off of the highway. (Black Bear Pass road is on the same side of the highway, but it's up on the pass where the highway is level, whereas this road is clearly on the downhill.) You'll know Pucker Point by your bodily function, but the road past that spot is still a little hairy, nice and narrow with steep drop-offs. Good fun!
I was doing some research and saw the previous pucker point reference by Todd. My question is, is there anyplace decent to part before hitting this section (my wife will be with me-I don't think she is going to go for this). Also how far is the walk from the parking point prior to Pucker Point to the basin?
Thanks for the directions, all. Todd, I remember Pucker Point from my previous trip to Porphyry Basin. I remember it because I stopped, looked at it and thought "There is no way this is the right way." And then I drove over it.
It wasn't as scary as driving past the snowbank going into Governor Basin, scraping the side of my truck on the snow with only about 1' on the right above a HUGE dropoff.
Finally, Dexy's Midnight Runners were horrible but for one song. I'll be hearing that in my head all night long as I'm stopping speeders on Main St. at midnight!
Posted by Jesse Speer on June 24, 2007 at 12:23 AM
Anyone have a snapshot of Pucker Point? Curiosity kills.
Thank God you're not asking for a snapshot of what happens while going over Pucker Point!!!!
If nobody has one I'll try to get one next week while I'm there. Not sure if I'll make it up to Porphyry Basin on this trip or the long one in July, though.
Posted by Todd Caudle on June 24, 2007 at 12:50 PM
There is a place to park right at the bottom of the hill before you reach the wall, aka Pucker Point. I know because I spent about 45 minutes there, looking at that section of road and building up my nerve to do it. The biggest problem for me was, aside from the narrowness of the road and the don't-stop-rolling-til-you-hit-highway-550 drop-off, was that there'd been some erosion in that section and your vehicle actually lurches towards the downhill as you're going across that section. Not only that, but there's some debris that has slid down from the hillsides above, which raises your right side a little bit while you left side is dropping into the rain-created gullies. From the parking spot before the wall you could walk into Porphyry very easily, it's only maybe a mile, maybe two. I like braving the wall just because it gives you so many more options if you drive to the end of the road.
Discussion
11 repliesAnyone care to give some directions? BTW, I'll be in the San Juans next Tuesday - Thursday. If anyone will be in the area and interested in meeting up, let me know.
Strange thing is that there are two Porphyry Basins on my map (Delorme Topo USA 6). One is closer to lake city and the other is closer to Silverton. In either case, my map does not show a road to either and there is no designated trail.
I'm guessing you want to go to the Porphyry Basin near Silverton which contains Bullion King Lake. It looks like there are two choices. Climb up a trail north of Porphyry Gulch (which looks easier). The trail is slightly south of CR16 (Black Bear Pass). The other is to take the unimproved local road departing west from a switchback a little further on 550 and climb to the ridge on the north of that basin.
http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/151789/peak-13477-t10.html
To make things easier, here you go: Just go over Red Mountain Pass southbound and it's the first dirt road on the downhill side on the right that forks off of the highway. (Black Bear Pass road is on the same side of the highway, but it's up on the pass where the highway is level, whereas this road is clearly on the downhill.) You'll know Pucker Point by your bodily function, but the road past that spot is still a little hairy, nice and narrow with steep drop-offs. Good fun!
It wasn't as scary as driving past the snowbank going into Governor Basin, scraping the side of my truck on the snow with only about 1' on the right above a HUGE dropoff.
Finally, Dexy's Midnight Runners were horrible but for one song. I'll be hearing that in my head all night long as I'm stopping speeders on Main St. at midnight!
If nobody has one I'll try to get one next week while I'm there. Not sure if I'll make it up to Porphyry Basin on this trip or the long one in July, though.