>>1450943the settlement was known as Douglas City, it was a camp for workers on the railway tunnel and trestles. Most of Douglas City consisted of canvas tents, but a few cabins also stood there. It had several saloons and dance halls, with prostitutes from Leadville riding up there in a wagon once or twice a week to service the railway workers and relieve them of their pay. Regular wagons full of liquor and various essentials drove up the pass to sell to the camp as well. It was abandoned when the railway was completed.
As for camping, the area is visited by hundreds of hikers and visitors a day in the summer. Even in bad weather. Aside from the altitude which tends to kick unacclimated visitors' asses there's the problem of weather. We tend to get lightning storms and often snow storms every afternoon at that altitude.
The area is FS land, probably open to dispersed camping if a person was so inclined. However the site of Douglas City itself probably shouldn't be camped on. Mostly because a shit ton of people visit it daily and FS rangers do patrol there sometimes in the summer. It's also not uncommon to see Fish and Game up there checking bag limits and fishing licenses and such. It's a fairly popular area.
