Bolam Pass to Hermosa Creek & Mineral Creek

Four days off a week gives us many opportunities to camp at spots that we've noted on previous exploratory drives. The map below shows our route from Hwy 145 (near Rico) to the turn off at Cayton Campground, the road that heads to Bolam Pass. An interesting note: the Graysill mines at Bolam Pass mined Uranium that became valuable when the U.S. was building atomic bombs during WWII. The road over the pass is a little rough but nothing that Thundra couldn't handle; four wheel drive is not necessary, but high clearance with good tires is absolute. The road over the pass descends to Hermosa Creek where we spotted several nice camping sites and chose a wonderful spot for our first night right next to the creek...(red dot marks the spot). The sound of flowing water, and the fishing, were fabulous!  

                                                                        

An old structure still standing at the Graysill mine area.

A beautiful shot of Hermosa Creek and our camp spot.

This is a catch-and-release area for native Cutthroat trout - artificial lures and flies only. I caught six of these little guys the first day and three more the next morning. The fish are small but it is so cool to see them in the stream and watch them come up and grab your fly. The first stream trout I've ever caught fly fishing! Super fun!

The road over the mountains ends at Purgatory and highway 550. From Purgatory we headed north past Silverton to Mineral Creek. There are numerous campgrounds along this creek which, we had noted on a previous day trip. We planned to camp at Goldenhorn. This camping area is a couple of miles off highway 550. The campground was very busy, but we were able to secure a very nice, private spot under a canopy of trees. We stayed here for two nights. (Purple dot marks this spot).

The camp site wasn't too close to the creek so, we walked over to it several times during the two days for some exploring and fishing. This area did not disappoint! We found a small, lovely waterfall pouring through large boulders on both sides of the creek which made for a spectacular view and a great spot for fishing! 

As soon as my first cast landed on the water the fish were attacking it! Although I missed the first four or five, I finally landed a nice wild rainbow trout about 9 inches long, a little fighter! I also caught several small brook trout while there. 

                              Thanks for going along on this adventure with us. More to come soon.