Songline for Wolf Creek Pass

09-09-2005, 10:37 PM

You'll know you're almost home
when you reach that pull out in the road,
the one where you put your chains on -
or take them off.
Immediately after is the last bridge
that goes over the Rio Grande.
The river is just a creek here,
headwaters a few miles away
90 degrees due west
at the Continental Divide,

Big up country starts now!

Gear down here and start to gather speed.
Consider the laws of classical physics:
Force equal mass times acceleration.
The area under a curve -
defined by topography and road.
Vectors become a calculus of place.
And in those days, that road was narrow -
two lanes, no guardrails.
The mountain demanded that physics turn to dance -
A syncopated rhythm, improvisational jazz beat.

Up ahead now, there's a semi,
going far too slow.
And I have a record to break.
Besides, I never cared much for brakes.
In the mountains,
use your gears!

Don't burn out going down.
Don't brake going up.

Swing out and around
into that outer lane,
tires skittering near edge -
sharp-curve-drive-through-the-fear
1,000 foot drop off !
Pay it no mind.
Keep your eyes where you want your tires to go.
You are staying on the road!

Then swing back in,
smooth and easy.
It was a riff done by girl and car,
road and mountain -
accelerating into those curves,
not moving the way fear demanded.
Fear would have you look over the edge,
stand on your brakes,
skid out of control,
spin over and down.

The trucker flashes his lights, blinking
ON OFF! ON OFF!
TWICE - in admiration -
I lift one hand from the wheel, turn
and blow him a kiss.

But the road claimed my attention
like a jealous lover.
You learn to respect the pass,
listen to its demands
after 7 years of travel -
sometimes in winter blizzards,
sometimes in sudden washouts of summer rain.
And don't forget the occasional avalanche
thrown in just to see if you're paying attention.
Wolf Creek always has its moods.
And so do I.

Today, I am in love
with this pass, these mountains, these curves
these spring wildflowers,
which have come out just for me, waving,
as I take those sharp turns effortlessly, flying,
my small Subaru purring like a great cat,
sure-footed
hugging the road tight
with the embrace of that lover,
returned home after a long absence.

A few days later, sitting in the faculty lounge,
I'll boast to a friend - a professor and a librarian,
as well as a philosopher and fellow poet
but above all, my main competition
in a serious contest -
Who could do Wolf Creek - the Best!

"Did the entire pass averaging 50 miles an hour,"
I'd say casually.
He'd flung his coffee cup down with a sound
like a gauntlet being flung!
"Prove it!"
So I did.

Looked him straight in the eye,
took a long drag on my cigarette and said
"Let's go!"
A couple of college teachers cutting class
on a warm spring day,
leaving behind our students like shadows
in empty classrooms.

My friend had given me the music for Wolf Creek -
Jean Luc Ponte’s incredible jazz violin
It happened to be in my cassette deck
the day I drove the Wolf Creek Invitational.
I hope in return, I gave him good company,
talking poetry and the philosophy of road advisories -
A couple of kids dragging the main strip,
Highway 160 between Pagosa Springs and South Fork
showing off how well WE BELONGED there,
turning a little Subaru
into a living thing
that danced through the mountains.

The real kids behind us
were going back to the city in search of better things.
We'd already found them,
topping the summit of that pass -
Wolf Creek!
Elevation: ten thousand, eight hundred and sixty feet.
Chain law
no longer
in effect!

wolf · 09-10-2005, 01:59 AM

And then the fire fell off the end of Earl's Cee-gar and dropped on down sorta rolled around and lit in the cuff of Earl's pants and burned a hole in his sock yeah it sorta set him right on fire ...

busterb · 09-11-2005, 09:15 PM

and Earl had to wake-up Leroy so he could see the damnest wreck in years.

mrnoodle · 09-12-2005, 10:20 AM

nice! you captured it.

you have to have driven wolf creek pass a few times to feel what she's talking about. Even at the speed limit, if there's a little snow on the road, the uninitiated will leave pucker marks on your car seat.

hey marichiko, did you ever drive over Yankee Boy Basin?

09-12-2005, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrnoodle

nice! you captured it.

you have to have driven wolf creek pass a few times to feel what she's talking about. Even at the speed limit, if there's a little snow on the road, the uninitiated will leave pucker marks on your car seat.

hey marichiko, did you ever drive over Yankee Boy Basin?

Thank you, Noodle. And I was talking about the Pass in the old days before they improved the road. Now Wolf Creek is down right boring! You have to go over Red Mountain, instead, if you want to have a little fun.

Yankee Boy Basin? Of course! As well as Imogene, Land's End off the Colorado Plateau, and let's not forget the Devil's Staircase in Utah (although I did that one in a Toyota 4wd drive truck, not a Suburu).

Thanks for the compliment.

mrnoodle · 09-12-2005, 11:20 AM

I mentioned YBB because my dad took us there in a station wagon one time when I was a kid. It remains in the top two terrifying driving experiences of my life.

I don't offroad intentionally -- it's usually because I'm trying to get to a hunting spot or because I'm lost

You crazy kids and your jeeps.

here are pics, so the rest can know what you're missing in your flatlands

09-12-2005, 12:18 PM

Yankee Boy is a trip! That's where I learned the trick of keeping my eyes where I want the tires to go. Works like a charm. If I keep my eyes where I'm AFRAID my tires will go, damned if they don't start to wander in that direction!

Happy Monkey · 09-12-2005, 12:24 PM

In that second picture, it's funny - I'd be more freaked out by driving under that overhang than I would be driving at the base of the cliff. Even though the overhang protects you from rockslides, which are much more likely than the whole cliff breaking off.

mrnoodle · 09-12-2005, 12:42 PM

The thing is, imagine being oncoming traffic. That's where you pray the snowmelt hasn't loosened the edge of the road significantly.

The wetness on the road in the first pic is urine.

mari, got any wolf creek pics? all the ones I found on GIS didn't do it justice.

Hobbs · 09-12-2005, 01:42 PM

Wolf creek pass on the way to Montrose and ultimatly Gunni, CO. 11 pm after a heavy rain. Tired from 8 hours of driving from Phoenix. Deer standing in the shadows waiting to leap out at a moments notice. The road signs lie. When they say 25 mph curve, they acutally mean 15 mph. I came out of that drive with a migraine and finger impression permantantly imbedded in my steering wheel.

We opted for Red Mountain pass on the way home.

09-12-2005, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrnoodle

The thing is, imagine being oncoming traffic. That's where you pray the snowmelt hasn't loosened the edge of the road significantly.

The wetness on the road in the first pic is urine.

mari, got any wolf creek pics? all the ones I found on GIS didn't do it justice.

Here's a couple:

The first in driving west down from the summit
The second is the summit

09-12-2005, 04:59 PM

and then there's these:

going thru one of Wolf's tunnels in the rain
rockslide onto highway (not uncommon!)

BigV · 09-12-2005, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marichiko

rockslide onto highway (not uncommon!)

different pass, same danger...

Quote:

"There were large boulders the size of minivans or cars strewn all the way across all four lanes," said witness Rik Anderson.

09-12-2005, 07:04 PM

I know the road, BigV. I've spent my share of time kicking around in the Pacific Northwest. One of my favorite memories is driving down coastal road 1 in Oregon a bit south of Coos Bay, if I remember correctly, and coming round a bend to quite literally encounter the ocean, 500 feet or so below. Apparently some unsually heavy rains had undercut the road, and away it went into the ocean and the highway department hadn't yet put up the barricades (must have just happened!) I managed to stop in time, pulled the car to the side of the road and climbed down to explore tide pools until the shaking stopped!

Tonchi · 09-14-2005, 02:00 AM

Memories! I drove over Wolf Creek Pass twice in one day, back in the winter of 1971

(sigh) I was living in Albuquerque then, and a ski instructor who I had a crush on had gone up there for the weekend. It seemed like a good idea at the time to "surprise" him by driving up myself, so I tossed some gear in my Gold Duster and took off for Colorado. Once I finally got to the pass I discovered that I should have been in a jeep before even thinking about getting over something that extreme. But I was crazy enough in those days to drive it anyway, and somehow I made it over. Thank God the plows had been through recently, because the reason my cute little ski instructor wanted to go up there was the 100-foot plus base on the runs, the deepest snow they had ever measured up to that time. Unfortunately, after getting a ways down the other side of the pass, I realized I had no idea where to go next. There was supposed to be a ski resort but I couldn't find it. No businesses where I could stop and ask, no signs, and it would start getting dark in an hour or two. So I eventually turned around and went back over the pass and home to Albuquerque, terrified of any part of the road which was in shadow because I knew it would freeze the minute there was no sun on it. Geez, what a day!

That was definitely before the "improvements" Marichiko is talking about, although I have not seen the road since. I have one picture which I took from the top, I remember it seemed like the mountain went straight down for 5,000 feet. Never saw anything even close to that frightening until I drove in the Canadian Rockies.

09-09-2005, 10:37 PM	#1
marichiko Guest Posts: n/a	Songline for Wolf Creek Pass You'll know you're almost home when you reach that pull out in the road, the one where you put your chains on - or take them off. Immediately after is the last bridge that goes over the Rio Grande. The river is just a creek here, headwaters a few miles away 90 degrees due west at the Continental Divide, Big up country starts now! Gear down here and start to gather speed. Consider the laws of classical physics: Force equal mass times acceleration. The area under a curve - defined by topography and road. Vectors become a calculus of place. And in those days, that road was narrow - two lanes, no guardrails. The mountain demanded that physics turn to dance - A syncopated rhythm, improvisational jazz beat. Up ahead now, there's a semi, going far too slow. And I have a record to break. Besides, I never cared much for brakes. In the mountains, use your gears! Don't burn out going down. Don't brake going up. Swing out and around into that outer lane, tires skittering near edge - sharp-curve-drive-through-the-fear 1,000 foot drop off ! Pay it no mind. Keep your eyes where you want your tires to go. You are staying on the road! Then swing back in, smooth and easy. It was a riff done by girl and car, road and mountain - accelerating into those curves, not moving the way fear demanded. Fear would have you look over the edge, stand on your brakes, skid out of control, spin over and down. The trucker flashes his lights, blinking ON OFF! ON OFF! TWICE - in admiration - I lift one hand from the wheel, turn and blow him a kiss. But the road claimed my attention like a jealous lover. You learn to respect the pass, listen to its demands after 7 years of travel - sometimes in winter blizzards, sometimes in sudden washouts of summer rain. And don't forget the occasional avalanche thrown in just to see if you're paying attention. Wolf Creek always has its moods. And so do I. Today, I am in love with this pass, these mountains, these curves these spring wildflowers, which have come out just for me, waving, as I take those sharp turns effortlessly, flying, my small Subaru purring like a great cat, sure-footed hugging the road tight with the embrace of that lover, returned home after a long absence. A few days later, sitting in the faculty lounge, I'll boast to a friend - a professor and a librarian, as well as a philosopher and fellow poet but above all, my main competition in a serious contest - Who could do Wolf Creek - the Best! "Did the entire pass averaging 50 miles an hour," I'd say casually. He'd flung his coffee cup down with a sound like a gauntlet being flung! "Prove it!" So I did. Looked him straight in the eye, took a long drag on my cigarette and said "Let's go!" A couple of college teachers cutting class on a warm spring day, leaving behind our students like shadows in empty classrooms. My friend had given me the music for Wolf Creek - Jean Luc Ponte’s incredible jazz violin It happened to be in my cassette deck the day I drove the Wolf Creek Invitational. I hope in return, I gave him good company, talking poetry and the philosophy of road advisories - A couple of kids dragging the main strip, Highway 160 between Pagosa Springs and South Fork showing off how well WE BELONGED there, turning a little Subaru into a living thing that danced through the mountains. The real kids behind us were going back to the city in search of better things. We'd already found them, topping the summit of that pass - Wolf Creek! Elevation: ten thousand, eight hundred and sixty feet. Chain law no longer in effect!

09-10-2005, 01:59 AM	#2
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	And then the fire fell off the end of Earl's Cee-gar and dropped on down sorta rolled around and lit in the cuff of Earl's pants and burned a hole in his sock yeah it sorta set him right on fire ... __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

09-11-2005, 09:15 PM	#3
busterb NSABFD Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: MS. usa Posts: 3,908	and Earl had to wake-up Leroy so he could see the damnest wreck in years. __________________ I've haven't left very deep footprints in the sands of time. But, boy I've left a bunch.

09-12-2005, 10:20 AM	#4
mrnoodle bent Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: under the weather Posts: 2,656	nice! you captured it. you have to have driven wolf creek pass a few times to feel what she's talking about. Even at the speed limit, if there's a little snow on the road, the uninitiated will leave pucker marks on your car seat. hey marichiko, did you ever drive over Yankee Boy Basin? __________________ Sìn a nall na cuaranan sin. -- Cha mhór is fheairrde thu iad, tha iad coltach ri cat air a dhathadh

09-12-2005, 11:20 AM	#6
mrnoodle bent Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: under the weather Posts: 2,656	I mentioned YBB because my dad took us there in a station wagon one time when I was a kid. It remains in the top two terrifying driving experiences of my life. I don't offroad intentionally -- it's usually because I'm trying to get to a hunting spot or because I'm lost You crazy kids and your jeeps. here are pics, so the rest can know what you're missing in your flatlands Attached Images __________________ Sìn a nall na cuaranan sin. -- Cha mhór is fheairrde thu iad, tha iad coltach ri cat air a dhathadh

09-12-2005, 12:18 PM	#7
marichiko Guest Posts: n/a	Yankee Boy is a trip! That's where I learned the trick of keeping my eyes where I want the tires to go. Works like a charm. If I keep my eyes where I'm AFRAID my tires will go, damned if they don't start to wander in that direction!

09-12-2005, 12:24 PM	#8
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	In that second picture, it's funny - I'd be more freaked out by driving under that overhang than I would be driving at the base of the cliff. Even though the overhang protects you from rockslides, which are much more likely than the whole cliff breaking off. __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

09-12-2005, 12:42 PM	#9
mrnoodle bent Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: under the weather Posts: 2,656	The thing is, imagine being oncoming traffic. That's where you pray the snowmelt hasn't loosened the edge of the road significantly. The wetness on the road in the first pic is urine. mari, got any wolf creek pics? all the ones I found on GIS didn't do it justice. __________________ Sìn a nall na cuaranan sin. -- Cha mhór is fheairrde thu iad, tha iad coltach ri cat air a dhathadh

09-12-2005, 01:42 PM	#10
Hobbs Professor for the school of ass-clownery Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Surprise! Posts: 404	Wolf creek pass on the way to Montrose and ultimatly Gunni, CO. 11 pm after a heavy rain. Tired from 8 hours of driving from Phoenix. Deer standing in the shadows waiting to leap out at a moments notice. The road signs lie. When they say 25 mph curve, they acutally mean 15 mph. I came out of that drive with a migraine and finger impression permantantly imbedded in my steering wheel. We opted for Red Mountain pass on the way home. __________________ That's it! Send in the chimps!

09-12-2005, 04:59 PM	#12
marichiko Guest Posts: n/a	and then there's these: going thru one of Wolf's tunnels in the rain rockslide onto highway (not uncommon!) Attached Images Last edited by marichiko; 09-12-2005 at 05:20 PM.

09-12-2005, 07:04 PM	#14
marichiko Guest Posts: n/a	I know the road, BigV. I've spent my share of time kicking around in the Pacific Northwest. One of my favorite memories is driving down coastal road 1 in Oregon a bit south of Coos Bay, if I remember correctly, and coming round a bend to quite literally encounter the ocean, 500 feet or so below. Apparently some unsually heavy rains had undercut the road, and away it went into the ocean and the highway department hadn't yet put up the barricades (must have just happened!) I managed to stop in time, pulled the car to the side of the road and climbed down to explore tide pools until the shaking stopped!

09-14-2005, 02:00 AM	#15
Tonchi Victim of gravity Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hiding in plain sight Posts: 1,412	Memories! I drove over Wolf Creek Pass twice in one day, back in the winter of 1971 (sigh) I was living in Albuquerque then, and a ski instructor who I had a crush on had gone up there for the weekend. It seemed like a good idea at the time to "surprise" him by driving up myself, so I tossed some gear in my Gold Duster and took off for Colorado. Once I finally got to the pass I discovered that I should have been in a jeep before even thinking about getting over something that extreme. But I was crazy enough in those days to drive it anyway, and somehow I made it over. Thank God the plows had been through recently, because the reason my cute little ski instructor wanted to go up there was the 100-foot plus base on the runs, the deepest snow they had ever measured up to that time. Unfortunately, after getting a ways down the other side of the pass, I realized I had no idea where to go next. There was supposed to be a ski resort but I couldn't find it. No businesses where I could stop and ask, no signs, and it would start getting dark in an hour or two. So I eventually turned around and went back over the pass and home to Albuquerque, terrified of any part of the road which was in shadow because I knew it would freeze the minute there was no sun on it. Geez, what a day! That was definitely before the "improvements" Marichiko is talking about, although I have not seen the road since. I have one picture which I took from the top, I remember it seemed like the mountain went straight down for 5,000 feet. Never saw anything even close to that frightening until I drove in the Canadian Rockies. __________________ Everything you've ever heard about Fresno is true.

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