Colorado Trip Reports

how'd well did the car keep up? looks like a little lift and some increased cabin airflow mod

 

it hung right in there right up to the trail head.

 

I have no lift, but wouldn't call my truck stock. Armor is probably important on that trail.

 

What I think he is talking about is baja's come from the dealer with a lift on them over the factory suspension....not "stock"

 

You have a locker? Metberry is a good one up in Divide. I'd recommend a locker though and to not go alone. There's a big hill climb at the end that seems to get people sometimes. https://www.trailsoffroad.com/trails/373-metberry-gulch

You can always wander around Old Stage Road up by the Broadmoor. Lots of random roads around there to see.

I'm at a slight impasse since you want something a stock Taco can handle and also looking to get stuck haha

You can also use this to find stuff nearby. https://www.trailsoffroad.com/states/CO

 

Kind of a drive for you, but here are some options close to Boulder.
1. I did Coney flats in my 1st gen that had a 3" lift on it which I found to be quite challenging, but I did see quite a few stock vehicles make it to the top up there... if you are brave enough to take your new truck. Although, I would be cautious about doing this one without armor. This one also might have to wait until summer with all the snow though.
2. Switzerland Trail is a nice easy run that can get difficult with stock tires when it snows. There are also some good spurs off this one that can be challenging as well. I think you would be suprised at how easy it is to get stuck in snow with stock tires.
Also - check out traildamage.com, great reference for trail difficulty with their unique trail rating system and pictures. I always check this site before I head out.

 

Took it up the Poudre today.
Saw some horny sheep.

Made it to the top of Cameron Pass, didn't take any pics, but thought this pic of my truck in front of the Joe Wright potty box was appropriate.

Thought about running up Long Draw, wasn't gonna happen, plow has pushed a sizeable amount of snow in front of the entrance.
So I went to Crown Point on my way back.
There wasn't much snow until you got up the road a ways, then the drifts started. Shit was thick, truck had a good workout.
This particular drift was fairly long, and I had to make a few runs at it.

Oh, btw, I did weld my skidplate mounts back on, just this morning in fact.
Although the zip ties were still intact.

And I'm stuck. No shit.



There was not a lot of anything to hook to either. It looked grim.

So I made use of what was there, these little saplings. and wrapped the strap so they would pull towards each other and share the load somewhat. Used a 20' strap.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqlTtpWSCJ4



Turned around here. Couple miles past where I was delayed.

over 25 years of service. Star of the show today.

A natural spring at the bottom of the road, that spews from a buried pipe.

Really not a lot of snow below 8000'

 

^^with the hook wrong side up too!

 

This the way you want it. Open side up.

 

Explain? I was taught open side down so the hook does not slip off if there is a sudden slack in the line. Not being combative... I want to understand your reasoning.

Edit: Jack just explained it to me. Makes sense now. I retract my comments.

 

I wanna know the reasoning!

 

So if something were to fail, the hook would have a tendency to go towards the ground, and not up in the air.

 

Me too!

 

Apparently some classes fail to teach the basics.

Exactly.
Majority of failures are due to sudden line slack. A good class will teach how to avoid this.
And no, this is not a selling point for overpriced shiny billet crap. It may be perfect for those who don't care to do it right, but don't wheel with me if that's you. If you like it for the shiny mall crawl points, and use it properly, by all means, buy one and I'll still be your friend.

All winching should be controlled and no slack in the line while winching. This means it's ok and generally desired to use the vehicle power to assist in winching, (just like in the video) but don't try to outrun the winch just for cheers. A lot of guys will do this, especially first timers. Let the winch do the work and you assist only as needed.

 

Since we're on this subject, wasn't there a mention of a recovery class that a local group put together?

I'll be doing a fair amount of wheeling alone and I'm not as up to speed as I'd like to be. Kinda like an avy course; it's just a smart thing to do before playing in the mountains.

Also, this seems pertinent enough to be discussed here. I don't want it buried under a million SpicyKitty posts in the BS thread!

 

Not sure on a course, but you could join the CO 4x4 rescue and recovery group on FB. If you're available when there's a recovery, you could probably find someone to ride along with. I'm guessing it'll start to get busy once/if we ever get snow.

 

Thanks, Brandon!

I believe I do follow them on Fakebook. Is that the group you help out with? I'm curious because I've been thinking a lot lately about trying to get into some sort of SAR effort as a volunteer. Thanks again!

 

Yes, that's the group I have done recoveries with.

 

@jubei777 they also have two groups, one to follow, one to join.. one is for the volunteers, the other has news and pictures and such. The volunteer group i think you have to ask to be a member, but that way you can turn on notifications, and only get notifications when there is an active recovery, that's the only time they post in that one.

I'd like to do more SAR stuff as well. I'd be interested in volunteer fire fighting... But it rightfully needs a lot of training and a set schedule. But I don't want something to tie me down every week... Last minute trips are my thing.

 

Had a really good time with @aero3685 and @teamhypoxia today on Crown Point road.


First stuck.

The drift.

No time to lift a leg.

1st gen pulling 2nd gen. That's why I'm not hooking up the strap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZdFScH_DFc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbYmfaV4IDc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kyx3zNweccw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcSmapIBXEU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxx7wVlJbk0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBiiXqt-418

Funny story, So Eric tried to winch through the last couple feet of drift, when this happened.


So after I pulled him back out of the drift, I went around him, this happened...

And then this.

1/2 mile later, the end of the road for all intents and purposes, plus it was getting dark.


Fun trip. wish we could have made it farther.