Report for Colorado Camping Trip w/ visit to Yankee Hill

5th Annual Man Camp

Where: Pike National Forest, Colorado
Yankee Hill Trails (Blackhawk, CO)

When: June 14-18, 2015
Who: Buddies from Texas and Colorado


We departed on our road trip to Colorado on June 12th @ 2300 hrs from Arlington, TX. Got my Tacoma all geared up and gassed up. Met up with two of my good buddies (who were in a FJ) and set off on US 287. When we hit Wichita Falls, we got the alert of severe thunderstorms and it began to pour, raining cats and dogs. I led the way (since I'm from Colorado and drove the route many times) and pushed through the rain. I then received over the CB radio that they couldn't see 5 feet in front of them, so I slowed it down. Eventually the rain let off when we reached Vernon, TX and we decided to stop to fuel up and also fuel our stomachs. I did my MPG calculations and I was doing about 13.3 MPG (had on cruise control and all that weight).



We continued on our journey and luckily mother nature cooperated with us. With a CVT 79" awning, Prinsu Roof Rac, and Max Traxx mounted to my roof, I heard a little whistle when it reached 60 mph. However I was driving about 70-75 mph most of the time and also had music on so I barely heard it. We pushed on and eventually hit Amarillo, TX at about 0500 hrs. Did my calculations again and was at 12.8 MPG (cruise control and weight).



After fueling up again, we departed and went up US 287 and took US 87 at Dumas, TX towards Raton, NM. I was thinking to myself, why my MPG's sucked so badly and what else I can do to improve it beside throwing out all my stuff from my Tacoma. I asked my buddies how they were doing on the MPGs for their FJ and they were actually doing worse than my Tacoma and they had less weight. My Asian OCD kicked in and I did math calculations in my head to pass the time while driving. Eventually we reached Raton, NM by around 0700 hrs MTZ. MPG for that trip was 13.5.


Before taking off for the last leg of our road trip into Colorado, my buddies and I got together to try to figure out why our MPGs sucked so bad. We decided to not use cruise control due to the mountainous terrain of Colorado (thinking it would be overkill to our engines). Departed Raton, NM to our final destination of Lakewood, CO. We left US 87 and hit I-25 all the way up to Denver, CO. We kept our RPMs at about 2,000. Eventually we got to Lakewood, CO at around 1130 hours. Did my final MPG calculation for the trip and BOOM! 15.7 MPGs. That solved a lot of the problem (should not have used cruise control in the first place since we were going over lots of hills).

June 13
Got rested up and then met up with my two other buddies from Colorado to plan out the Man camp. Had more equipment to throw into my Tacoma. Eventually they decided to have my Tacoma tow the ATVs we will be using since their Tacoma is a 3.4 first gen. I eventually agreed (even though I had so much weight already on). I figured, I modified her for this type of stuff, WHY NOT?!?! We did our final preps and I also had to mount my CVT Mt. Rainier to my All Pro Pack Rack.

Boy was I happy with the ease and swiftness of the CVT RTT. The Mt Rainier fit like a glove on my All Pro Pack Rack (Specifically modified).

June 14

We got all the equipment ready, food all stored in coolers, emotions all excited, and off we went. My 2013 DCSB Tacoma TRD Off-Road, TX buddies 2010 FJ, and CO buddies 2002 access cab Tacoma TRD Off-Road departed at around noon to Pike National Forest going the route of US 285. We went through so many beautiful Colorado scenery (scenery I miss after I moved to Texas). Eventually we hit our cut off road before Jefferson, CO. We went in and spotted out our camping site and set up.

We set up camp, rolled out the equipment and enjoyed the company of brotherhood in mother nature. Used my Tacoma to haul dry wood we found along the side of the road to later use as firewood. I highly recommend the Max Axe tool for any adventurer. This axe has everything on it; shovel, pick, axe, etc. You can keep the weight down on your equipment with this tool. Took out the ATVs to join in on the fun too. We enjoyed laughs, stories, and friendship over a campfire while chowing down on a bowl of chili with toasted bread. Went to bed at around midnight. The CVT Mt Rainier was a God send. everyone fit comfortably inside and the temperature was a pleasant 50 degrees up at 9,900 feet altitude.

June 15-16

Mother Nature did not want to cooperate with us and caused a lot of rain to sweep through. Luckily we covered most of our equipment. The CVT awning came in handy many times. All in all we were able to keep dry and keep our spirits up. We passed time while it was raining through card games and board games (Settlers of Catan: anyone trade me for wood???). When it stopped raining, we took out the ATVs for some fun (too much fun).

We set up targets and shot the heck out of them. Did some tactical shooting with maneuvers. Did some archery, and archery on ATVs. Enjoyed lots of good cooking from everyone. Shared more laughs and stories. Engaged in some exercise; mountain biking, sports, my daily stretching.

June 17

We packed up and unloaded a lot of the weight from our trucks to take on Yankee Hill. A famous and well known trail, we wanted to see how our toys would handle it. I say we did quite well considering we had a few other enthusiasts on the trail join us because we had recovery gear. We departed for Yankee Hill (I even got a thumbs up from a few Tacoma owners on the road).

We made it to the top of Yankee Hill and down in one piece. Conquered!!! Check one off from the list. What a great end for Man Camp 2015. For the remainder of our trip in Colorado, we watched a Colorado Rockies game, spent time around Denver. Did a tour of the Coors Brewery for the TX buddies. All in all a great trip! Departed Colorado on June 19 going back the same way that we came. This time I learned to not use cruise control: combined MPGs for trip back to Texas: 14.7.

Thanks for tuning in. Adventure is out there!

 

Wish I could've met up with you guys somewhere along the trip. Had too much going on w/ Father's Day and such.

Great pics. Looks like you guys had fun.

 

How is that trail? I'm a novice and would like a fairly easy trail to start. My Tacoma is pretty much stalk but am getting a lift soon.

 

I'd say it's a 6.5/10. make sure you have 4x4 in certain places. Good tires (deflate them b4 hitting the trails). For the most part, I'm sure stalk will do fine. Some boulders will stick out, just make sure you have a spotter or go with a group. A lift will definitely help but not necessary. Enjoy the trail! I'm certain you will have lots of fun

 

Looks like a awesome trip! I have my co adventure in 3 weeks. Getting pumped but so much left to do. I stopped at that same chevron gas stationing Raton a couple months ago on my way to and from co springs.