Pomeroy Lake
Maps:
USGS 7.5' Map:	St. Elmo
Statistics:	Difficulty: Number: Miles: Altitude: Obstacles: Time: 4 FR297 2.71 10,520 to 12,090 ft. Rock Outcrop 1-2 hours
County:	Chaffee
Adopted by:	CORE Buena Vista	620 Antero Circle, Buena Vista, CO 81211
Managed by:	Pike San Isabel, Salida Ranger District	325 West Rainbow Blvd. Salida, CO 81201	719-539-3591
Summary:	Pomeroy Lake 4WD road climbs from the Hancock Pass road at the Romley ghost town, up Pomeroy Gulch to Pomeroy Lake.
Attractions:	Scenic views. History. Mine remains.
Seasonal Closure:	Natural - Closed by snow fall
Best Time:	June - May still be snowed in at top July - Best August - Best September - Best October - Early snows may create drifts
Trail Heads	Pomeroy Lakes, FT1437 - Hike, Horseback, Mountain Bike, Motorcycle, ATV (less than 50in)
Camping:	There are a few dispersed campsites along the upper half of the Pomeroy Lake road.
Base Camp:	This would be a good area to base camp. There are a lot of 4WD roads around St. Elmo.
Fall Colors:	Poor - mostly pine forest.
Navigation:	From Buena Vista, head west on W Main Street toward W Lake Street for 0.8 miles. Turn left onto County Road 321/Rodeo Road and go 8.1 miles. Turn right onto County Road 162 and go 10.9 miles. Keep left to continue on Forest Road 295 and go 2.9 miles. Turn left onto Forest Road 297, Pomeroy Lakes 4WD road. From Poncha Springs head north on US Hwy 285 N toward Poncha Avenue for 0.6 miles. Turn right to stay on US Hwy 285 N and go 15.5 miles. Turn left onto County Road 162/Chalk Creek Drive. Continue to follow County Road 162 for 15.4 miles. Keep left to continue on Forest Road 295 and go 2.9 miles. Turn left onto Forest Road 297, Pomeroy Lakes 4WD road.
History:	Romley, on the way to Hancock along the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad, was founded in 1886 and served the Mary Murphy mine up Pomeroy Gulch. Originally called Murphy's Switch, Romley had more than 1,000 residents. The name Romley came from an inversion of one of its later owner's last name, Colonel B.F. Morely. At Romley the ore shoots and mine office were above the railroad grade,while the town with its post office, school house and miners homes was below the railroad grade in a wide meadow. In the mid 1870s Dr. A.E. Wright and John Royal discovered the Mary Murphy. The mine was named for a Denver nurse that cared for John Royal. After developing the mine the two sold it to a Kansas company that built a smelter in Alpine, down the valley from St. Elmo, to process the ore. The smelter was a failure and the mine was sold again. This time the owners built a smelter at Romley. In 1891 the Mary Murphy aerial tram was built from the mine on Chrysolite Mountain down to Romley. The Mary Murphy became the biggest producer in the Chalk Creek area. The mine was sold again to an English syndicate in 1909. In 1915 a turntable was built in Romley for trains only going to Romley for ore, and not up to Hancock. By 1917 the Mary Murphy's ore was starting to deplete. In 1925 the Mary Murphy Mine closed. From 1870 to 1925, it produced 220 ounces of gold, worth $4.4 million at the time. It also produced a considerable amount of silver, lead, and zinc. In 1926, the railroad tracks were torn up and the railroad grade became a road from Nathrop to St. Elmo, and on up to Hancock. In 1940 the large mill burned leaving the lower tram station standing along the Denver, South Park, and Pacific railroad right of way. Up Pomeroy Gulch the middle tram station, bunkhouse and mine office still stand. High up on the side of Chrysolite Mountain, the upper tram station remains are visible. The way the aerial tram worked was that on the top level of the tramway terminal building, high-grade ore tumbled into a storage bin through steel screen called grizzlies. Workers separated the remaining low-grade ore and shoveled it into a wooden chute that sent the ore to a sorting room. Men inspected the cobbles of the ore looking for promising bits of precious metals. The sorted ore was combined with the high-grade ore and was placed in buckets to ship by the aerial tramways to the mill for processing. At the mill the ore was crushed and precious metals extracted. The aerial tram consisted of a single endless cable, strung along a series of wood towers, which are still visible today throughout the forest. The cable carried ore filled buckets from the mine down the steep hillside to the mill for processing. The buckets returned empty back to up the incline to be filled with ore again at the mine. The cable was nearly one mile long and held 96 buckets that were hooked to the cable. Each bucket held about 200 pounds of ore. Two men operated the brakes for the entire tram, and it took around 40 minutes to get the buckets down and up the mountain again for refill. Nearly 128 tons of ore were delivered in a 24-hour period.
Description:
Pomeroy Lake 4WD road leaves the Hancock, FR298, road where the old town of Romley use to be. Just after droping down off of the old railroad grade of the Hancock road, to bypass the old steel trestle bridge, then coming back to the railroad grade, you will see a road on your left, the Pomeroy Lake road. Shortly after you start up into the trees you will see a short dead end spur road on your left. This road goes over to the Mary Murphy tram station that use to bring the ore down from the mine for loading onto the rail cars. Mary Murphy tram station above the railroad grade, 2021 photo by: Adam M Mary Murphy tram station above the railroad grade, 2005 photo by: Adam M Mary Murphy tram station above the railroad grade, 2005 photo by: Adam M Mary Murphy tram station interior, 2021 photo by: Adam M Mary Murphy tram station interior, 2005 photo by: Adam M The Mary Murphy had two aerial tram lines. One ran from a mine portal midway up Chrysolite Mountain down Pomeroy Gulch to the above pictured station above the railroad line. The second aerial tram line ran from the upper portal to the middle, or turning, tram station in the pictures below, then over a low hill and down to the large Mary Murphy Mill that is along the railroad grade a half mile below Romley. Back at the main road you will continue to climb heading over toward Pomeroy Creek. The road will then follow the creek up Pomeroy gulch. You will pass an old tram tower along the right side of the road as you climb up the gulch. Pomeroy Lake road looking down, 2005 photo by: Adam M After about 0.40 miles you will cross over Pomeroy Creek passing an old cabin on the east side of the creek. Cabin along road, 1983 photo by: Adam M The road will remain wide, but will be rocky in some loactions. After another 0.40 miles you will come to an open area where the Mary Murphy boarding house is on the right and the middle tram station is up the hill on the left. Mary Murphy boarding house, 2021 photo by: Adam M Mary Murphy middle tram station, 2021 photo by: Adam M Mary Murphy middle tram station, 2005 photo by: Adam M Mary Murphy middle tram station, 2005 photo by: Adam M Mary Murphy middle tram station, 1985 photo by: Adam M Continuing on the 4WD road you will pass through a more open area. Pomeroy Lake road photo by: Adam M The road will become narrower, just a two track. There will be two spur roads on the left, that are gated, that go up on top of the reclaimed tailings. A quarter of a mile from the tailings roads you will come to another intersection with a spur road on the right that goes to a private cabin. Another quarter of a mile and you will pass a camp site on your left followed by another spur road on your left. This road is not on the Motor Vehicle Use Map, but it goes back north up onto Chrysolite Mountain to the upper portal of the Mary Murphy mine. There are only a few building remains at the mine. Mary Murphy upper tram station, 2005 photo by: Adam M Mary Murphy upper tram station, 2005 photo by: Adam M Road down from upper tram station, 2005 photo by: Adam M Continue past the intersection on the main road. After going 0.22 miles from the intersection you will come to a grave site on the right side of the road. Grave site photo by: Adam M Past the grave site the road will get a bit rougher as it enters into thicker trees. Pomeroy Lake road photo by: Adam M In the trees you will pass two more dispersed camp sites. Pomeroy Lake road photo by: Adam M The road will make a left turn climbing a slight hill. Pomeroy Lake road photo by: Adam M At this left a short spur goes down to a dispersed camp site. Behind the camp site are the remains of a cabin and tailings from a mine. Cabin at mine, 2005 photo by: Adam M The road will come out into a more open area as you head past treeline. This is where the obstacles on Pomeroy Lake road will be. The first ones are smaller rocky climbs. The third one is a longer boulder strewn climb. The obstacle has two sides. The left is the harder side going up, the right the easier. Brian M on Pomeroy Lake road obstacle photo by: Adam M At the top of the obstacle is a campsite on the right. The road will now travel across an alpine landscape making its way to a large parking area above Pomeroy Lake. Pomeroy Lake road above treeline photo by: Adam M Pomeroy Lake photo by: Adam M From the parking area it is a short hike down to the lake. A motorized trail (less than 50 inches), Pomeroy Lake Trail, FT1437, heads up the gulch from the parking lot. It is 0.85 miles long and ends at Upper Pomeroy Lake.
Data updated - August 12, 2021       4WD Road driven - July 19, 2021       Copyright 4X4Explore.com - 2000-2021