Bolam Pass

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Rated 3 out of 10 at its hardest to navigate areas it is easy for any 4x4 to handle. This trail can be run from either direction. It runs from highway 550 to highway 145 and is labeled Co Rd 39 or Forest rd/Co Rd 578. We ran it from the Purgatory/Durango mountain ski resort off highway 550 towards highway 145. This is not the most scenic route but the pass itself has amazing scenery. The altitude covered is 8,839 to 11,381 feet at the pass summit. You get amazing views of the San Juan and the Rico mountains.
The road is fairly rutted allowing for everything in your vehicle to find its way to the floor. There are 2 river crossings both easy to navigate. It was raining the day we ran this trail and the levels were still pretty low. The second crossing has a steep hill at the other end which could be difficult if the rocks are wet.

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The swamp look of the tree's has a very sleepy hollow appearance. There are a few rock steps which are not very high, as long as you place your tires correctly there is no need to have a spotter.
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This hard rock hill climb will require you drop it in 4lo. We heard a couple other vehicles slipping while trying to climb. It was wet so this did have some effect on the grip but I feel it will still require 4lo in the dry. There is a nice pull out right before the hill to switch to 4lo.



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At the top of the steep rock hill climb you come to a couple of switchbacks and find yourself at Grey Sill Mines. This is a historical area where they used to mine Vanadium and Uranium which was used in the first nuclear bombs. The historical buildings here were pretty cool to check out.

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Looking back on the road we just came up from.

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Next stop is a natural mountain lake and a great hiking trail to Hermosa peak. We met up with a couple of nice hikers who made a overnight camping trip on Hermosa peak. Take the opportunity to check out around the lake. Scenery here is beautiful.



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Continuing on there is a steep rocky section of road to bolam pass. Really scenic area with great photo opportunities. To the west you can see the Rico mountains and north and south are the San Juan mountains.



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The descent is steep in areas but keeping it in 4lo and going slow is very easy to navigate. Feilds of flowers make this a ideal area to get out and stretch your legs and enjoy the fragrances of mountain flowers.

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At the end you reach a dirt road area where you can see highway 145 in the distance. This route is very long at about 24 miles but very fun and full of surprises. Overall it took us about 2.5 hours including stops at all the scenic areas.

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Here is a view from the telluride side after you first turn onto CO rd 578.

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We had a great time on this trail. Hope you do too!

Trail photo from: [URL]http://www.treknow.com[/URL]