2011 Site location/directions!
dirty...@riseup.net
Piedra location (same directions as below).
Despite the location of many amazing possible sites, we have concluded
that Piedra is by far the most resilient to our impact, and offers many
other pros that outweigh the cons.
We are, however, this year focusing on encouraging folks to spread out a
lot more than in years past, deeper into the Weminuche Wilderness, which
is Colorado's largest and wildest.
See you there!
___
The time has come to openly release the directions to the site of this
year's Wild Roots Feral Futures gathering. Though the gathering takes
place for a one week duration, we invite everyone to arrive a little early
and leave a little late. After all, we need help setting up and cleaning
up!
Base camp is located in the Piedra Area along the Piedra River (below the
Wiminuchee Wilderness north of Highway 160 between Durango/Bayfeild and
Pagosa Springs, CO. Turn left when headed east from Durango to Pagosa on
1st Fork Road (FR 622) which is on the east side of the Piedra river.
The site is 5 or 6 miles up. You'll see a T in the road sign with a right
hand turn but right after the sign and before the turn there's a parking
area to the left with a sign by the trailhead that's labeled Sheep Creek
Trail Head. That's the main parking/entrance and there's LOTS of camping
and extra parking up top and LOTS of camping up above or down below on the
way down the mountain side, or all the way down by the river.
The site features a natural hot springs along the side of the river, but
we'll save those directions for those of you who show up in the woods!
Here are some maps that may help a bit:
http://mapshare.delorme.com/Consumer/V.aspx?p=jy67bc7f
http://mapshare.delorme.com/Consumer/V.aspx?p=ql6vpff5
http://mapshare.delorme.com/Consumer/V.aspx?p=bt64zyy8
Site directions/location:
Drive East from Durango, CO on US Hwy 160 for approximately 35 miles (West
from Pagosa Springs). Turn left (if headed East from Durango) on FS622,
the dirt road on the East side of the Piedra river, NOT the one on the
West side of the river. Drive for about 5 to 5 1/2 miles until you see the
turn-out & parking area on your left, which is pretty obvious. There
should be a sign that says Sheep Creek trailhead, and a trail going down
the hill. If you come to a bridge that the road crosses, you've gone way
too far. That's the definite turn-around point.
At the turn off of HWY 160 onto FS622 is a sign that says 'Piedra Resort,'
and the first road sign you see DOES have a 622 sign, a little forest
service colored one, but the bigger road sign says Archuleta County 166.
The first half-mile or so of the road has washboards right now, but the
rest is okay. You cross two cattle guards on the way in and right at the
site there's a yellow T-in-the-road sign.
Most of the space is up top, but the trail goes down the hill to another
meadow or two and then down to the river where there's another spacious
meadow, and then upriver to the hot springs. The river is still high (but
peaked and dropping) but as of yesterday at least one hot spring is
uncovered and good for soaking. The trail pretty much ends at the springs,
and sorta restarts on the other side of the river, so you know you've
reached the springs if the trail ends. they're little pools down
along-side the edge of the river, with camping spots above the bank a
little ways.
This is the FS map, but it doesn't show the exact FS road (it's right at
the bottom tip of where it says "Piedra Area," right on the edge of the
wilderness): http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/sanjuan/maps/sjnf-map.htm (Search
"Devil Mountain, Colorado," or "Piedra, Colorado" on Google Earth and/or
other map websites.)
It's a good site, because we have two towns to hit up for town runs,
Pagosa and Durango, and then also little Bayfield in between. It's close
to both NM and the San Luis Valley (just over Wolf Creek Pass from
Pagosa). Please be kind to the locals!
Let us know if there's anything confusing about these directions, or
anything else we can do.
More site information:
The Feral Futures rewilding gathering is taking place along the Piedra
River in the San Juan National Forest of Southwest Colorado. Nearby is the
Weminuche Wilderness Area, Colorado’s largest Wilderness Area. This is
high elevation so those coming from lower elevations should be aware that
time is often needed to adjust.
The Piedra Area and its adjacent roadless areas may be the largest expanse
of contiguous, undeveloped forest remaining in Colorado. Only the nearby
Hermosa Roadless Area may compare. The greater Piedra Roadless Area
includes the mid-elevation stretches of the Piedra River and a half-dozen
major tributaries. Piedra contains a large amount of the remaining
old-growth ponderosa pine in the San Juans along the Piedra River and the
lower reaches of its tributaries. River otters were successfully
reintroduced into the river in the 1980s. The River and its tributaries
provide excellent habitat for native Colorado River cutthroat trout, and
Piedra also harbors some of the San Juan's best habitat for the northern
goshawk.
The 1993 Colorado Wilderness Act designated a 60,000-acre portion of the
114,000-acre Piedra roadless area as a special management area equivalent
to wilderness in all respects other than reservation of wilderness water
rights. Approximately 12,000 acres of the RARE II roadless area have been
modified by timber harvest and road construction in the last twenty years.
This leaves 40,000 acres of remaining roadless lands contiguous to the
existing Piedra Area.
(Info from the San Juan Citizens Alliance website)