Last Update: 6/22/1999 - Jens Moller

Off the Main Road

This is an exceptionally good start point for people planning a 4 Wheel Drive trip over either Tin Cup Pass or Hancock Pass - you'll pass near here if you go over one and come back on the other. Camping here will allow you to start fresh in the morning and enjoy the area at your own pace.

The dirt road leading to the camp ground had a few pot holes in it. If you take your time, its not hard to navigate in pretty much any car. We came in my 1981 Subaru. You'll head downhill and cross a narrow bridge across Chalk Creek and into the Camp Ground. During the summer, there will be a host's trailer parked at the entrance towards St. Elmo. The person here will assist you to find a place, help you make change (it cost $10.00 per vehicle to camp there on June 18, 1999) and also sell you some firewood if you need it ($4.00 per bundle when I was there last).

We got there on Friday at around 4:00 pm in the afternoon and the Campground was about half full (it has at least 15 camp sites). The Road goes on down towards the remains of the town of Alpine. I haven't been down that way.

There are out-houses here for Camper use and you have a choice of being close to Chalk Creek (camp on the south side of the road), or a bit uphill from it if you camped on the other side of the road. We stayed at camp site #7 - it is fairly close to the outhouse. We set up 2 tents - one for me, and the other for my daughter and her 2 friends. The ground is covered with small rocks, so you will want an air mattress to sleep on. I have a small inflater that plugs into my cars lighter and is designed for camping and water-sports that filled all the mattresses up in just a few minutes. At an altitude of over 9,000 feet above sea level, you get breathless pretty quick if you are not used to it.

Outhouse is centrally located to all camp sites next to the road running thru the campground

Making Smores

Each camp site has a steel fire-ring. This is the only place that you are allowed to build a fire. It also has a steel grate that can be flipped over and its height adjusted (with a bit of struggle) so that you can cook on it. I brought my own small camp grill - mostly because its a whole lot easier to cook on than the provided camp grill. I also brought my own charcoal cooking briquets and some starter fluid to get everything burning. Many people buy a small package of 'Match-Light' pre soaked charcoal, so that they don't need to bring any charcoal lighter fluid. With this, we had dinner going fairly quickly - Steaks and hotdogs.

Afterwards, I dumped the hot coals into the fire-ring and started a wood fire and roasted marshmallows. There are many large rocks in this area - If you move them around, remember to rest - you are at around 9,000 feet above sea level.

There are no services to speak of here. A mile down the road at St. Elmo there is a general store, but it doesn't sell much in the way of camping supplies (its mostly a gift shop with just a few frozen foods and soft drinks for tourists - its a great store, but its not an outfitter shop). So before you come, make sure that you at least have:

• A tent or camper to sleep in (it can get mighty cold at night). 2 smaller tents are better than one really large tent - they will hold the heat in better and are easier to find a place for.
• A dozen or more dry matches.
• Food and something to drink (no Alcohol please). A few canned goods that everyone likes can be handy to have in case you can't cook outside because of the weather, or you get stuck somewhere (for example: stew, beans, corn, etc).
• Cold fresh water (don't drink from the creek!).
• Sleeping Bags (if in a tent). Make sure that these are rated for at least 30 degrees Fahrenheit - it gets cold at light at these altitudes. Make sure that you fit completely into it before you set out for your camping trip.
• Air Mattresses (if in a tent).
• Paper towels and a roll of toilet paper.
• A Camping Lantern (if battery operated, bring a spare set of new batteries for it).
• A small first aid kit (Aspirin, band-aids, etc.).
• Toothpaste/tooth brush, and other toiletries.
• Anything special that you personally need.

There are no showers in the area and I promise you that the water is mighty cold in the creek - you won't be doing any skinny dipping here, at least not more than once. Never put anything into a campfire that will not burn to completely to ashes. Never leave a campfire unattended. Before going to sleep at night make sure that your campfire is completely burned out (pour water onto it and stir the ashes just to be completely sure). Don't cut trees, if they were live they will probably not burn - either bring your own dry wood or purchase some from the campground host.

The girls set their tent up in a level area back 50 feet from the road

History

There is also a graveyard down the road from the campground. It should come in handy for those who like to tell ghost stories around the campfire.

Comments? Questions? contact Jens Moller

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