Campfire Tales - April, 1997

 ROLLINS PASS - WEST SIDE  

by  
Larry E Heck

Another of the many adventures of PASS PATROL

There are few passes in Colorado whose name is better known than Rollins Pass.  It began as a mule trail between Denver and Winter Park.  Indians, fur trappers, lumberjacks, and miners used it extensively long before tracks were laid across its saddle for the iron horse.

The Needle’s Eye Tunnel still attracts hundreds of visitors each year.  A rock slide closed it in 1979.  Prior to that slide, the tunnel was used by 4X4s to cross Rollins Pass.  The tunnel was repaired in 1987 but another slide closed it in 1990.  Because of that closure, there is no longer a motorized route across Rollins Pass.

The Devil’s Slide Trestles, also known as Twin Trestles, stand between the Needle's Eye and Rollins Pass.  Both trestles are considered unsafe, even for foot traffic.  They are built into the side of the mountain seemingly clinging to the cliff.

At the very top of Rollins Pass, a town named Corona was built to serve the train and for a while, the pass was frequently referred to as Corona Pass.  In order to protect the tracks across the pass from winter snows, much of it was enclosed in snow sheds.  Because the snow sheds were so extensive, exhaust from the trains was difficult to vent, creating coal gas.  It was not uncommon for workers to pass out in the tunnels from asphyxiation.

Snow plows were built using train engines with rotary snow blowers to clear the tracks beyond the ends of the snow sheds.  In one case, the brakes failed on a snow plow and it plunged down the cliff.  In the same area a train engine was swept over the edge by an avalanche.  The sites of both wrecks are still clearly evident today.

Telegraph poles stand across Rollins Pass and some sections of the original wire are burried in the grass.

The Loop Trestle was another engineering marvel.  A photograph in the Moffat Road Guide shows the tunnel below with the trestle going across the top.  On its way up, a train would pass through the tunnel, then make a complete loop and pass over the tunnel high above.  Although the tunnel has long since disappeared under many tons of rocks, the trestle still stands.

For a few years, the tracks ended on the west side of the pass at the townsite of Arrowhead, normally referred to as Arrow.  It was a busy little town with numerous businesses and sawmills.  During the time it retained its “end-of-the-track” status, the postoffice served about 2,000 people.

Our visit to get photos was scheduled for the end of September.  A snow storm closed the road above the loop trestle before we got there.  We recommend a visit in  August or even on Labor Day.

Before you begin your journey up the west side of Rollins Pass from Winter Park, we recommend you stop at the visitor center and pick up a copy of “The Moffat Road".  Numbered posts along the route are referred to in that guide and there are numerous photographs taken during the early 1900s.  For more information, write to Rollins Pass Restoration Association, P.O. Box 1082, Longmont, CO 80502-1082.

Those of you who read my stories in 4Wheel Drive and Sport Utility Magazine have probably seen the April and May tales about Pass Patrol’s posse going into Hole in the Wall near Kaycee Wyoming.  Both stories end at the private property boundary several miles west of the actual site of Hole in the Wall.  Although Hole in the Wall is on public land, it is nearly surrounded by private property and both stories encourage visitors to respect private property boundaries.

This month I received a phone call from the rancher who owns the land where the original outlaw cabins known as the Hole in the Wall Ranch once stood.  The original ranch is within site of the Hole in the Wall passage. He was pleased at our apparent respect for private property rights, but somewhat disappointed that we didn’t visit with him to gain permission to enter.  I explained that our time there was short and that we did not know how to reach him.  He invites us to return for a personally guided tour of Hole in the Wall country including the site of the original outlaw ranch, the remains of an abandoned fort, caves where signatures are written into the walls and much more.

I intend to take him up on his invitation this summer and I expect a few of you would like to tag along.  This may be a rare opportunity to visit private lands in search of the Outlaw Trail.  In addition, he says he personally knows the ranchers at Brown’s Hole, Robbers Roost, and in Alma, New Mexico where the Wild Bunch often worked under fictitious names.  He has offered to put me in touch with those people for some really great stories and visits.

Following the Outlaw Trail continues to be a fun adventure for me that began many years ago.  Every year, I think I’m getting closer to the end of my search, then someone up and moves the end.  This latest offer could lead to some really terrific adventures in the never-ending Search for the Outlaw Trail”.  Volume Five of my book under that title is currently available for $14.95 and is complete with maps and GPS positions.

Roll’um Out!

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Copyright (c) 2009 Lone Writer, LLC. All rights reserved.

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