Day 6 of our 9 pass tour was going to serve up move spectacular scenery as well as one of Colorado’s more notorious 4 wheel drive passes. Today’s goal was to pass through Marble, stop at the Crystal Mill, Summit Schofield Pass and find camping near Crested Butte.

After finishing yet another wonderful breakfast we hit the road heading south towards Marble.  Marble offers a very interesting stop. The Yule Marble Quarry has provided marble for construction of a number of monuments in Washington DC. Even though the quarry itself cannot be visited there is an interesting self guided tour through the historic processing facility and the current load out yard.  We spent some time here admiring the huge blocks of white Marble.

We continued south to the Crystal Mill. The road becomes rocky and should only be driven with a high clearance 4wd past Marble.  The Crystal Mill is very popular photographic image. Most people have seen a picture of it and it is a treat to see the old mill in person. We took our time to get some good photos and enjoy the mill and waterfall.

Heading further south brought us the were the road passes the Lead King Basin turn off and start ascending towards the Devils Punch Bowl. The road becomes narrow with limited pullouts. To help with passing I would leave the group at a pullout and move to the next to hold traffic and call the rest of the group up. This way we prevented getting into a situation where we might have to back the trailers.

Around 3/4 of a mile before the punchbowl is where the road starts to get very technical traversing through shale scree slopes.  The road starts to climb and there are some off camber sections. Passing in this section is not possible. I consider this section to be more of a hazard than the climb next to the punch bowl.

We carefully climbed through this section to the bridge were we pulled over to let some ATVs and Motorcycles through. I asked one of the bikes to hold the traffic at the top until we came through.  If you have the capability having as member walk to the top with a radio is a great option here.

I discussed the punchbowl section with our group. There is a section near the start of the climb where there are some off camber ledges and I discussed hugging the inside wall in this section. It is a little disconcerting having to head straight into the cliff making the left turn at the last moment.

In marble we had another FJ join up with us that was pulling an Adventure Trailer.  We started off keeping spacing of a few hundred feet. Adequate spacing is very important so you do not come up on the rear of another vehicle in a difficult section.

I started off first with the FJ in 4 low and the trailer in tow. Progressing up I encountered no problems with the accent. Stopping in a flatter section it was quite the site to look back and see the 3 other FJs with 2 pulling trailers.

Once at the top of the punchbowl it was all smiles with the being the first accent of this trail by the other members of our group.  The others stopped at the top had a hard time believing that we came through the section towing trailers. I always tell them that the trailer can go more places than the FJs.

Underway again to clear out the parking area at the top we passed through a group of jeeps and had some surprised looks. The ford at the top of the punchbowl was only about 1’ deep and presented no problems.

Schofield Park offered to great views and easy driving after all the banging around for the last 3 hours. We crested Schofield and took the token group photo.

With the evening approaching it was time to find a camp site. I knew of a location in Rustlers Gulch that offers good sites by the creek. We made this location and found space available for us. With camp set it was time to enjoy a group meal and warm fire.

Day 6 Google Earth KML file

Day 7