Before the giant rain storm this past weekend, Derek and I rode our bikes on a loop up out of Mancos that went by the Jersey Jim Lookout and around towards Dolores before dropping back down to Transfer Campground.
Jersey Jim Tower is an old Forest Service Fire Tower 55′ in the air with an open room and a 360 degree view of the beautiful San Juan Mountains. Formerly used to detect fires, the live-in tower rises from an aspen-lined meadow in the San Juan National Forest at almost 10,000 feet above sea level. The Jersey Jim was home to U.S. Forest Service fire lookouts from the 1940’s to the 1970’s. The Tower was renovated and saved from demolition in 1991 by the Jersey Jim Foundation, a non-profit volunteer organization, which operates and maintains the Tower under permit with the San Juan National Forest.
The ride was a bit muddy in places that were extra shady. The leaves on the aspens are particularly colorful this time of year and the cool temperatures and impending storm might finish them off. We rode mountain bikes because of a particularly nasty section of “trail” by the Morrison 610 intersection. I’m glad we weren’t on gravel bikes because it wouldn’t have been a comfortable ride in my opinion.
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