Pitkin, CO - June 30, 2005

 Pitkin is a small village sitting at 9242 feet above sea level in Gunnison County.  It might be considered a ghost town, except for approximately 70 residents who live there.  In the late 1800s, Pitkin was much larger as it served the many mines in the area.  Currently, it is known as the gateway to the Alpine Tunnel, a national historic site.

Before going into Pitkin, I took advantage of our campground's hummingbird feeders to snap a few photos.

The buildings in Pitkin generally date to the 1880 time period, when mining got underway in the area.  It's a great place to stop on the way to the Alpine Tunnel, especially to load up on their delicious ice cream.

The Alpine Tunnel was built between 1880 and 1882 in order to provide better transport of ore by train, rather than by wagons over narrow, rocky roads.  More than 10,000 men were used in its construction due to high turnover, either by death or those leaving to avoid death.  Winter conditions were especially brutal, and laborers were paid only $3.50 per day.  The tunnel was 1772 feet long at an elevation of 11,500 feet.

Used until 1910, the tunnel suffered a minor collapse and was deemed not worth repair because of low traffic at that time.  The road to the tunnel is typical of Colorado's old mining trails...steep, narrow, rocky and dangerous, but with outstanding scenery.  Stonemasons were brought over from Italy to construct support where there were gaps in the road.

Most of the structures at the "round-a-bout" have collapsed, so I assume the wooden "depot" has been restored.

Both ends of the tunnel have been sealed for safety reasons.