Another awesome Ghost Town Run in the books. Nothing better than a long weekend in the hills with good pals. Rained every day on us. A wonderful weekend with good company. Pitkin might be my favorite.

Fine views from camp (after what seemed like an extra long drive to get there). Looking up the Middle Quartz Valley. In the distance, you can make out the old railroad grade of the Denver South Park and Pacific Railroad.

Some great light for my first evening at camp!

Double Rainbow.

A fine way to end the the first night at camp.

Dave, coming into camp.

On the Napoleon Pass road.

Stopped to check out an old mine (closed)

Some fine views as you near the top of Napoleon Pass!

Hard to believe it’s been six years since we last run this pass.

Cumberland Pass in the distance.

Fine views from the pass. Collegiate Peaks and Taylor Park in the distance.

Group shot:).

Summer bloom.

Looking South.

Back down into the woods.

A fun stretch of road as we made our way to TinCup.

Stopped to have lunch at the Gold Cup Mine.

The Gold Cup Mine produced some $7,000,000 in Gold and Silver. It survived the mild recession of the 1880’s. The mine was discovered in the early 1880’s and finally closed down in 1917.

Coming into TinCup.

Sunrise on Middle Quartz Creek.

Airing Down at St. Elmo.

The old Stark family residence. The Stark family was the last to leave St. Elmo in 1958. They owned the Home Comfort Hotel, telegraph and Post Office as well as a general store to help supply the miners.

Making our way to Pomeroy Lakes.

A fine group:).

Pomeroy Lakes. Might be my new favorite spot:).

my pal the Honeybadger.

The Mary Murphy Mine was one of the more successful mines around St. Elmo- It produced more than 220,000 in Gold ( $180 Million today). The Mary Murphy Mine operated full time from 1870-1925, finally ending operation in 1954. The aerial tramway house, though falling from heavy winter snow, helped haul ore from the mines to the mill (each bucket could hold between 200-400lbs of ore). These aerial tramway houses were the precursor to todays ski lifts.

Mary Murphy Mine tramway house.

Mary Murphy Mine bunk house. Rumor has it that a nurse named Mary helped the owner of the mine get back to full health after getting ill. In return, he named the mine after her.

Inside the tramway house.

At the old town site of Hancock. As my pal Jameson said- “it probably was the first structure up as well”:).

Nearing the top of Hancock Pass.

Looking back towards St. Elmo.

Hancock Pass. 12,208 ft.

Sherrod Loop. So designed to keep the tracks of the Denver South Park and Pacific on the sunnier side of the mountain during those long winter months.

Looking up at the palisades. An impressive feat of engineering.

Italian stone masons used hand cut interlocking stones to fill a 425ft gap along the cliff side. Nothing was used to fill these stones, lasting until a rock slide in the winter of 217 damaged the road. Apparently work is under way to repair them.

Group shot at Cumberland Pass. 12,015ft.

Friends go over while I go lower.

 Town marshal Harry Rivers died in a gunfight in 1882, and marshal Andy Jameson was shot to death in 1883. TinCup was a rough place. Jim Taylor, a prospector, found gold along Willow Creek. Walking away with a TinCup full of gold. The last town election was held in 1918.

TinCup.

Mirror Lake.

Making our way to the top of TinCup Pass.

TinCup pass