The Continental Divide

The Continental Divide. . , Hoosier Pass lies on the Continental Divide, the lofty meandering spine of mountains that separates the Atlantic and Pacific watersheds. Nineteenth-century pioneers dreaded the barrier, particularly its high, difficult Colorado stretches; for that reason many westbound emigrants and early railroad builders avoided the region altogether, seeking lower and easier crossings in Wyoming or New Mexico. Railroads and highways eventually eased the passage, but the Divide retained a definite mystique, even when water started flowing under and through it. During the twentieth century almost forty pipeline, tunnel, and ditch projects breached the Divide, transferring hundreds of billions of gallons a year from the Western Slope to the more heavily populated Front Range. Impermeable no longer, the Divide evolved from a physical boundary into a political one , the front line in the West's water wars. , Father John Dyer , The Reverend John Dyer must have crossed Hoosier Pass a thousand times , almost always on foot, and often in the dead of winter. His sprawling Methodist ministry, launched in 1861, took him from Breckenridge to Fairplay, Leadville, and every rough mining camp in between. To expedite his alpine amblings, Father Dyer strapped on skis (one of the first Coloradans to do so), bringing him great renown as the “Snowshoe itinerant” (as skis were then called); he also carried the winter mail to supplement his meager income. This curious figure must have puzzled and amazed the coarse men of the frontier; but he was as tough as they were, letting neither high mountains nor low morals deter him. Unlike most of them, he had come here to stay , and his work helped build lasting communities., [photo captions] , . Hoosier Pass summit, 1920s , . John Dyer and his children in the late 1840s. A Methodist minister from Wisconsin, Dyer first came to Colorado in 1861, intending to retire in the Midwest. When he learned that the region lacked religious instruction, he decided to stay, and remained in Colorado until his death in 1901. A memorial to Dyer is located near the summit of Mosquito Pass. , . Unidentified mail carrier, 1860s. Like this mailman, Father Dyer made his rounds on what were then known as snowshoes. These primitive boards were heavy and unwieldy, measuring ten feet long and an inch thick. The single pole was used for balance and braking.