Colorado Trip Reports

Winkle performed tremendously again today. What a fun lap! I ran Red Cone, Radical Hill, Middle Fork Swan River, and SOB Hill up to Georgia Pass, then down to Jefferson and back home on 285. Entered Red Cone before 8:00 am and finish when I arrived at Jefferson around 2:45 pm. Lots of moisture in the mountains this year. Red Cone had some standing water in spots as did Middle Fork. On my way up to Georgia Pass, it looked to me like there was more moss amongst the trees. It wasn't too busy today. I saw many 4Runners. There was one guy in a silver forerunner with his four-year-old cruising up red cone with me. Made me think of @Wishbone Runner and his son.

which is true. So today I took pictures of the lower challenges.

This is looking back at the Gate Keeper. It is dug out more now at the end of the season compared to when @bot102 ran it earlier in the year.


Gatekeeper kissed my driver's side rock slider in the same place it has in the past.








and now for some of the reward.



Can you see the goats in this picture?


They are the little white dots.


No goats here, just looking back up to the top of Red Cone.


Let's climb Radical Hill








One of my favorite switchbacks approaching the summit.


Stopped by the cabin to have lunch.
Last weekend, my wife and I went to see Itzhak Perlman play with the Colorado Symphony at Boettcher Concert Hall. He created an album with Andre Previn playing Ragtime Scott Joplin tunes. One of those tunes, Solace, is a favorite of mine having first heard the Marvin Hamlish arrangement featured in 1973 movie The Sting. After listening to the Perlman/Previn version and practicing on and off over the past year I learned how to play Solace on the violin. After lunch I found a secluded spot behind the cabin and played to the trees and birds.


Let's climb SOB. Turn right just before a different cabin.


There were three water crossings this year that I don't recall being there in the past. 2 before the 258 sign and one after.

... and with some large exercise balls interspersed.


This image looks back at a section that was tough for me. The rocks obscure a bit of a ledge. The white arrow in the middle of the picture points to a rock that wanted to tattoo my bedside. There were rocks everywhere, however the front and rear cameras helped me see where they were. I was able to pivot the front end around in the mud to a line that worked. Passenger side rock slider and the skid plate gained some battle scars here.


Made it to Georgia Pass


I took @Squeaky Penguin's advice and did not air up at the top of Georgia Pass like I did last time. I also replaced my little harbor freight compressor with a Viair 400P.
At 10,000 ft, the Viair takes about 2 minutes and 15 seconds to inflate a 32" tire from 14 to 35 psi compared to the Harbor Freight at 11,585 ft taking about 8 minutes.
The aspens are about to turn yellow, so I expect more color above 9000 ft next weekend.


Another great day in Colorado!

 

Nice! How busy was it?

 

Not too busy. There was that one silver 4Runner climbing Red Cone with me. A couple of side by sides on radical. A jeep and a couple of 4Runners on Middle Fork. Three Razors that I let through on SOB.

 

I ran Montrose to Monticello mostly on dirt this weekend. I ran Rimrocker to Moab. Then Chicken Catchers to Lockhart Basin and out on the south side. We camped the first night just outside of Nucla. The next morning we spent most of the day on Rimrocker and finally made Moab at about 330. After fueling up in Moab we decided to take Lockhart Basin trail all the way south. After the majority of the day on Lockhart Basin trail we popped out at the very first spot I camped at in Moab 16 years ago. It is the first time I’ve been back here since and it was completely empty. We finished the trip at Newspaper Rock. I haven’t been here since 2009. Pretty awesome place. A quick stop at the Dewey Bridge and we were homeward bound. Such an awesome expedition. The truck held up well and the 35s and rear locker made choosing lines a whole lot easier.

 

I ended up going down SOB earlier this season on my dirt bike, it's a bit spicy! I wondered how that would be going up it in the Tacoma. I saw a SxS struggling to go up, it was not long after snow melt though and was pretty wet. The rest of that trail up to Georgia Pass is so pretty though

 

That’s my buddy Josh, he just sent me this pic with you in it. We take our kids out together all the time.

 

*Unless you're a Jeep or 4Runner as shown by the crashes the past few years.

https://youtu.be/gdLj6d0211c?t=1657

 

Running Eagle Rock Sunday morning if anyone is interested in joining.

 

My schedule freed up Saturday so what better thing to do then take the truck out for some exercise. What is open this time of year? The forest service roads in Pike National Forest can be more fun when there is snow on them. Spur of the moment this morning, I planned a drive south on Hwy 105 to just past Palmer Lake, head west on Mount Herman Road (FS320), north on Rampart Range (FS300) to a loop containing Winding Stairs (FS 323) and Ice Cave (FS324), then a short drive north on Rampart Range again before heading west on Hotel Gulch (FS346) to Hwy 67 and north back home.


The temperature was warm enough to have the windows open. The trails were a combination of dry sections, wet sections - not too muddy, and snow packed. There was a section on Ice Cave between TrailsOffroad.com waypoints 8 and 9 that was fun because it was uphill with deeper snow. The new Toyo tires performed great. But who am I to say? I drove a 67 mustang on radials during multiple Chicago winters so 4-wheel drive and new tires on snow and ice is luxury compared to that.


Beautiful views of Pikes Peak appeared at multiple places along my route.


On a spur off the Winding Stairs/Ice Cave loop, I ran across a Subaru Forrester with Texas Plates. About 5 minutes before I got there, Shane and his dog had slid off a corner downhill into a tree and were stuck. No injuries. Cell phone service was spotty in the area. He was planning to walk out of the spur to find better coverage or try to flag someone down. I gave his dog a belly scratch, which made us friends for life, and told him I can help. We communicated well as we performed 3 pulls, one reverse, one sidways (to pull the front end up the hill away from the trees) and one forward. The new were easy to use. It doesn't look like much of a slope in the picture, but it was enough to slide the car towards the trees in the slippery snow.


"We got 'em out" as Ed from MORR would say. You can see the damage on the passenger side, including a missing side mirror, and the passenger side rear window broke. I am glad I happened to be in the right place at the right time to help him. He was too and was most thankful. He made his way back to Colorado Springs ...


... and I continued on my route. I did not see anyone else on Winding Stairs/Ice Cave loop.

 

I took the family on a short Moab trip this weekend. We stayed at the Red Cliff Lodge which was luxury compared to the many many years I’ve camped out here. The first day we went to my favorite camp spot and shooting area where my wife finally got to put the elf to rest. We spent the rest of the day running Dome Plateau and went to Hurrah Pass at night because wheeling in Moab at night is just the best.
Sunday we ran Gemini Bridges and a few of the off shoots along the way. On the way back to the highway I decided to run Wipe-Out Hill. Unfortunately I didn’t make it to Seven Mile Rim because I had a close call getting hung up on the wall and taking damage to the rear bumper, sliders, and both passenger rims. Being late in the day and solo with the wife and kids I made the smart decision to turn back. It really turned out to be a great weekend with the weather. 20s at night and mid 40s during the day. I think a winter Moab trip is going to have to go on the annual calendar as well.

 

If you're lucky enough to avoid the rain, Oct is a great time to be in Moab

 

We usually go in may and September. I like September because it’s a little cooler and a lot less bugs

 

Not a trip report, but I guess theyre potentially going to change some vehicle dispersed camping rules between leadville and salida this summer?
https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=60591&exp=overview

sounds like theyre going to make designated spots, add dispersed spots, and close some roads?

 

Hopefully they'll enforce it

 

Went out yesterday with my friend who grew up in the area and another friend from OH that's new to CO. It was very easy but wanted to show him the mountains and some mining stuff. We went up through Idaho Springs up to central city, over to Rollinsville, and up to the Moffat tunnel. I rode a train like 5 years ago through there and always wondered if I'd ever drive that road, well we ended up driving that road and it was awesome. Didn't take many pics but had an absolute blast. We finished off with a little bit of Bunce School rd. Trails were all pretty clear.

 

Right by that yellow house is a trail up to Kingston Peak, one of my favorite trails. I normally start on that side and end on the St Mary's, others typically go in the other direction though

 

Wonder how long it will take for that trail to clear.

 

Joined a group from FB up Old Stage rd and ran Baldy. There was an arduous 3hr winchfest for 100 yards of deep drifts but in the end was an absolute blast. Met some real good folks and had a bunch of laughs. We also didn't have to sleep out there, which was nice. Didn't get many pics because I suck at it.

 

@eleveneightnate

You should post hermit pass trip here and prove some are still wheeling!