June 20th, 2025
I spent five days in site #17 of Camp Hale. The campground is just over Tennessee Pass from Leadville. It is near the source of the Eagle River, which has usually been good fishing for Brown Trout. I set up on Sunday, Father’s day. There is no cell signal there, so I erected the Starling satellite dish in order to receive internet and telephone access. I also hung my hummingbird feeder so I would here their buzz each day.
Camp Hale is situated in a flat valley between the Holy Cross Wilderness to the west and Elk Ridge to the east. This was the historic site where the 10th Mountain Division was trained during World War II. In the later part of the war, this division fought in the northern mountains of Italy against Nazi Germany.
Remnants of the army camp are still visible on the valley floor and the roadways serving the camp are visible. The Eagle River was channelized during the camps existence and now appears as a straight line ditch flowing south to north. The river however, winds between the walls of the ditch and is mostly overgrown by brush and small trees. Wading is the best way to fish it. I caught 2 Brown Trout while camped there.
On my 4th day, I got up early and drive down to I-70 to visit the West Vale Cafe, a great place I have visited often for breakfast. The drive is ver
y scenic, climbing over and along the edge of Battle Mountain past the secluded town of Red Cliff as it descends a canyon with the Eagle River. When driving the route, one must keep a lookout for fallen rocks from roadside cliffs. On the west side of the road, moose can sometimes be seen in the willow flats.
On Thursday afternoon, I drove back to Leadville to High Mountain Pies for their evening pizza and live music. The evening was warm, sitting on the back lawn listening to a couple from Ashville, North Carolina perform.
You never know where life is going to take you, all you can do is hope it is a place you want to go.
Starting All Over 