Ouray is a tourist town nestled in San Juan Mountains. It likes to call itself the Switzerland of America. The surrounding mountains, maybe. But the town itself is decidedly American: with its main thoroughfare, the Main Street, lined with restaurants and shops, and the side streets much subdued, it looks more like Keystone or Cold Spring than Bern.
You follow US 550 southward along Uncompaghre river to get there. The visitor center is right at the edge of the town and the Perimeter Loop starts from there. You can dip into hot springs pool right by the visitor center for $18, or $22 if you want the shower, after you are done with the trail. You still have to bring your own towel. It was still too warm when I got there at 3PM, so I skipped it.
It's a pretty trail. For some reason though, I wasn't as high on it as I was on Black Canyon. And it was a struggle to finish the loop. Sure, it goes up and down for the total elevation gain of 1700 feet over 6 miles. It's not a walk in the park. But the missing wow factor didn't help and perhaps sapped energy. I still did it in 5 hours though; I started out a little after 9 and finished a little after 2.
At any rate, it's another milestone. The last of the 3 milestones in the original plan. It's not much of a milestone anymore though; 6 mile hike is now just another hike, not a milestone. I still would like to get a 10 mile 3000 feet hike under my belt in this trip. There must be one in Colorado somewhere. Maybe the 10 mile Glacier Gorge to Sky Pond in Rocky Mountains will do. But it's still only 1800 feet, not 3000.
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