November 1998 Campfire Tales

by Larry Heck of

PASS PATROL

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Shrine Pass and Ptarmigan Pass

Shrine Pass began as an Indian trail long before such things were being recorded any where more permanent than in the dirt beside a campfire. Prospectors and fur trappers told stories of a Holy Cross as big as a mountain. Of course those fellas had story-telling reputations as big as Pass Patrol’s 4X4 Travel Club so very few people actually believed such a cross existed. Then in 1873, the Holy Cross was photographed by a fella named Jackson. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem about it. In 1929, it was declared a national monument. In 1931 the road was improved over Shrine Pass and that became the most direct route between Denver and Grand Junction. But the world turns and today Shrine Pass is nothing more than a graded national forest road. Mt. Holy Cross is no longer a national monument and if you were to pick a hundred people on the streets of Denver, you probably wouldn’t find one who knew exactly where it was.

The two photos on this page were taken in August. Since there is no snow on Mt. Holy Cross in August, we colored it in for you. In order to see the real thing, you would have to be on the Shrine Pass road in the spring during the time when all the snow has melted around the cross but not in the crevices that form the cross. Maybe 1999 will be the year I will make a special effort to get that photograph.

The cross is said to be 1,400 feet tall and 450 feet across. The crevices are 50 to 80 feet deep. During the winter, the crevices fill with snow which is the last to melt in the spring. Just as those first mountainmen declared, it is a cross as big as a mountain.

Speaking strictly from a 4-wheeling point of view, Shrine Pass is no big deal. The president could get over it in his limo. On the other hand, there are a few side roads that really are a whole lot of fun. One of them goes to Camp Hale by way of Ptarmigan Pass.

As Trapdoor and I turned onto the road over Ptarmigan Pass, I was trying to remember what year it was that I made my first trip over it. Could have been ‘88. That was the year I put it in a book titled, “1988 4X4 Trails & Tales”. On the other hand, it could have been ‘87.

The Ptarmigan Pass road turns off the Shrine Pass Road at a sign for Wearyman Creek. It begins as a narrow winding path through the forest. While in that forest, it crosses the creek a few times. At one of those crossings, another road branches off to the right. That road also goes to Camp Hale, however it does so by going over Resolution Point.

After the road leaves the forest, it stays to the high side of the valley along a path with beautiful scenery. There is nothing especially challenging about the journey. It is best described as a casual and scenic ride to some terrific picnic spots. The road passes through some flower fields, passes a few small waterfalls, and eventually gets to the summit of the pass. Elevations 11,765 ft.

The road from the top of the pass to Camp Hale is a graded gravel road. Happy Trails!

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