| Difficulty: | Number: | Miles: | Altitude: | Obstacles: | Time: |
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| Moderate 5 | FT 540, FR 953.1 | 6.0 | 10,200 to 12,050 ft. | Mud 1 | 3-4 hours |
Gunnison Ranger District
Gunnison, CO 81230
Closure:
July - Best
August - Best
September - Fall colors mid to late September
October - Closed by early snows
Accessed:
From Pitkin, CO head northeast on Main Street toward 6th St 0.4 miles. Turn left onto State Street for 0.3 miles. Continue on County Rd 76 for 0.4 miles. Continue on Forest Service FR765 for 6.1 miles. Turn right onto Forest Service road FR540, Napoleon Pass road.
At the north end of the 4WD road near Tin Cup is the cemetary for the town. It is called "The Cemetary of Four Knolls" with each knoll representing a different group, Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant. The fourth and most used in the early days was for those with no religion.
Discovered in the early 1880's the Gold Cup mine was a large operation south of Tin Cup which produced $7,000,000 in gold and silver. It kept producing through the mild recession in the mid 1880's and didn't close down until 1917.
The road over Napoleon Pass was used to haul ore down to Pitkin where the railroad ran up and through the Alpine Tunnel and down to St. Elmo then on out to Buena Vista.
Helmuth, Ed and Gloria. The Passes of Colorado Boulder, Colorado: Pruett, 1994. Print.
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Road climbing to Gold Cup Mine photo by: Adam Mehlberg 2014 |
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After about 3 miles you will come to a small meadow with the remains of the Gold Cup Mine. The tailing pile, steam engine, and ore chute are on one side of the meadow with the miners quarters on the other.
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Gold Cup Mine with Napoleon Pass in the background photo by: Adam Mehlberg |
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Gold Cup Mine ore chute photo by: Adam Mehlberg |
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Gold Cup Mine tailing pile photo by: Adam Mehlberg |
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Gold Cup Mine steam engine photo by: Adam Mehlberg |
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photo by: Karla H. |
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photo by: Karla H. |
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photo by: Karla H. |
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Gold Cup Mine steam engine photo by: Adam Mehlberg |
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Gold Cup Mine photo by: Adam Mehlberg 2014 |
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Gold Cup Mine photo by: Adam Mehlberg 2014 |
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Gold Cup Mine photo by: Adam Mehlberg 2014 |
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Just past the Gold Cup Mine is an intersection. The right is the continuation of FR 953.1 which dead ends in 0.5 miles. To the left is FT 540 that continues to Napoleon Pass and presents the obstacle for this route. You must cross a wide and muddy section of Middle Willow Creek that appears to be very deep. Approach this crossing with care because it is deep as it appears.
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Obstacle, crossing Middle Willow Creek photo by: Adam Mehlberg |
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Obstacle, crossing Middle Willow Creek photo by: Karla H. |
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Once across the creek you will pass through a section of private property with a gate before climbing into a heavily forested area known as Bone Basin.
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Making timberline photo by: Adam Mehlberg 2014 |
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After reaching timberline you will have Napoleon Pass in view flanked by Napoleon Mountain on one side and Fitzpatrick Peak on the other. From the top of Napoleon Pass you will have views to the north of the Taylor Park valley surrounded by the Collegiate Peaks.
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Napoleon Pass in the distance photo by: Adam Mehlberg |
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Looking back toward Taylor Park photo by: Adam Mehlberg |
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Napoleon Pass photo by: Adam Mehlberg |
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After dropping over the south side of Napoleon Pass you will travel just less than a mile before coming to an intersection at the bottom of a short switchback. To the right is FT 540.1A that goes one mile up to the tailings of an old mine. The left will continue on FT 540 and come to another intersection after 0.75 miles. To the left is FR 763.3A which only goes a short distance to private property. To the right, or continuing down hill, is FT 540.
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Road down to FR 765 photo by: Adam Mehlberg 2014 |
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You will begin a descent crossing Graphite Creek twice before connecting with FR 765. From here a right will take you back over Cumberland Pass to Tincup, or a left will take you to Pitkin.