The Narrow Gauge Circle Mavens Meet in the San Juans! All the authors of the Narrow Gauge Circle met in one place for the first time today. Mark Evans, Ted Kierscey, Jerry Clark and Miles Lumbard toured U.S. Basin, Red Mountain Mining District, and Guston. We found the site of Old Congress town, and located the remains of the Congress Mine. All in all, we had a good day. An appropriate celebration was held at the Outlaw after the days adventures.

Trip Length: 3 Hours from Ouray. Allow time for photo stops which will increase the trip to 5 or 6 hours.

Difficulty Rating: Starts out as a 2, increasing to a 3 in the muddy sections.

Trail Condition: A number of muddy sections add interest to the driving. There are a number of narrow sections which make passing difficult. U.S. Basin is one of the hidden jewels in the San Juans. We saw three other vehicles during our entire trip. We would have seen that many vehicles every 5 minutes along Engineer Pass today. The lower end of the area around Guston is being logged so the road is pretty churned up. No real pucker points on this trail but don't do it in the family sedan.

Sites along the trail: A number of abandoned mines and mills appear along the trail. The wildflower fields at the higher elevations are spectacular. At the start of the trail, the road offers views down into Chattanooga Loop. After you travel above Red Mountain Pass, the lower section of the Ophir Pass Road and the eastern side of the Black Bear Road are in view across the valley. As the road descends, you have the option to return to US 550 or continue along the mountain to the Red Mining District and Guston. There are a number of famous mines along this route. Most of the largest producing mines in the Red Mountain District can be viewed up close and personal on the trail. Use extreme caution when walking around these mine structures. There are a lot of dangerous areas close to the structures.

This is the turn off from 550 to US Basin (75k)

View of the Brooklyn Mine (75k)

View of Bear Mountain from the Brooklyn Mine (can you see the bear?) (75k)

View of the Brooklyn Mine (75k)

Mark and Ted chilling out in the San Juan Mountains (75k)

Looking down on the hattanooga Loop area of 550 (75k)

Hide the women and children! what's this monster in the mirror? (75k)

View of a collapsed structure at the Congress Mine site. (75k)

View of collapsed structures at the Congress Mine site (75k)

"Yes Ted, this beats the heck out of being at work" (75k)

View of collapsed structures at the Congress Mine site (75k)

View of collapsed structures at the Congress Mine site (75k)

View of the Red Mountains from a trail going to Red Mountain Town from the Congress Mine site (75k)

View of the original location of Red Mountain Town (75k)

View of the original location of Red Mountain Town before the move to the current location (75k)

View of the depot area in Red Mountain town just below "The Knob" (75k)

View of the Idarado workings from Guston (75k)