SW Colorado and Moab (Pic Heavy)

Not really an off-roading trip for me, just a camping/bike riding/mini family reunion. I had been considering a Colorado camping trip with my dog, and then my sister called me up a couple months ago with a wild hair. She got an extra week of vacation this year and wanted to take 2 weeks and go see my parents in Colorado. My older brother got involved and set the itinerary: the Rio Grande Reservoir area where we vacationed almost every year as kids, then over to Telluride, and then Moab. I hadn't been to Telluride or Moab, so I was in.

I have a 9-month old Shiba Inu pup that is too much for my wife to handle, so the deal was I would have to take him with me. No problem, that was my plan all along. Due to funds and pet rules, it was time to break in my RTT. My parents, brother and sister all had cabins, but I would be camping most of the trip.

My sister and nephew flew up from Dallas and spent a couple days here in the St. Louis area, then we loaded up and headed out across the prairie. Made it to CO Springs late the first day, then headed on to Creede.

Most of the campgrounds close after Labor Day, but there was a free dispersed camping area about a mile from the cabins where my family was staying. Had a great spot:

IMG_20140920_152619 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

A creek was just behind me:

IMG_20140921_185714 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

I had neglected to think about firewood, but my neighbors had noticed that the folks that had just left had spent quite a bit of time cutting up some wood. I helped them load it in their truck, and they gave me plenty for my stay, and let me borrow an axe to split the big pieces. Sweet!

IMG_20140920_193432 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

I wasn't really sure how Kojun would take to the RTT. Luckily he's only about 25 lbs. and won't get any bigger, so I just carry him up the ladder and plop him in. To my surprise and relief, he just laid right down and closed his eyes.

IMG_20140920_202611 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

It rained off and on the first half of the night, then changed to a steady rain through the morning. The CVT RTT kept us warm and dry. Ate my morning oatmeal in the rain, but hey, it's camping, gotta expect to live through some unpleasant weather.

The trails would be too sloppy, so we decided to just drive through the mountains and look at the fall colors.

North Clear Creek Falls

IMG_20140921_112038 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

Looking out over the wilderness above Lake City. The Alpine Loop is a great drive, taking you back through all those mountains. Lots of trails meet in Animas Forks back there. Engineer Pass is actually higher than the top of that mountain straight ahead. I did it 2 years ago, kind of wet this year though.

IMG_20140921_121200 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

Lake San Cristobal near Lake City

IMG_20140921_145111 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

Once again, a tired pup from a day of adventure.

IMG_20140921_212435 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

It rained ALL night the second night, sometimes pretty heavy. Again, the RTT kept us warm and dry. That thing is awesome, so comfortable, and sleeping with the rain coming down on it was wonderful.

Anyway, with all that rain and more the next day, we decided to hang out in Creede. It's an old silver mining town, and up above it are the remains of the old mines.

IMG_20140922_140758 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

The weather cleared up late that afternoon, so we had a mostly quiet night. Too quiet without the rain. Some new neighbors moved in late, and Kojun didn't like the noise they were making. He eventually settled, but it dipped below freezing and we had a chilly morning. The big rock in the sun was a great place to warm up. All packed up and ready to head to Telluride.

IMG_20140923_090857 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

We wanted to take the Million Dollar Highway through Silverton and Ouray, so we took a southern loop over Wolf Creek Pass.

IMG_20140923_111419 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

The aspens were awesome this year.

IMG_20140923_141645 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

IMG_20140923_155136 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

I didn't realize that Telluride was a biking destination. Bikes everywhere. Very expensive bikes just sitting in racks with no locks. Like this Yeti.

IMG_20140923_214620 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

I couldn't find a convenient camping spot, so opted for a cheap ski motel. Kojun did not complain.

IMG_20140923_224631 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

I got my sister to dog-sit so I could go riding. There is a FREE gondola that takes you from Telluride up above the ski resort town of Mountain Village and then back down if you stay on, but the trails start at the high stop. Complete with bike racks.

IMG_20140924_115656 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

I opted for a trail that required a bit of pedaling on the recommendation of some locals. The gondola drops you at about 10,500 ft., and you go up and down before reaching the top. Lung buster at that altitude! This is from the top of the first climb, but there was more. You can see part of the trail I had climbed at the bottom of the pic.

IMG_20140924_132615 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

Made it to the top of Prospect Loop, 11,129 ft according to my GPS. While it may not sound like a lot of climbing, the trail drops, climbs, drops and climbs again, so you end up with well over 1,000 feet of climb at this point. My ribs were sore from breathing so hard.

IMG_20140924_134536 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

From there it was a fun, flowy downhill through the woods, like 8 miles or so of it. So much fun. And, when I got to the bottom, my brother texted me and said they were still way up in the mountains (I loaned them my truck, which was really hard to do), so I could do another run. I did the Village Trail, which was all downhill, at speeds up to 35mph. Wheee!

My brother had a credit at The Peaks, which is dog friendly, so me and the dog headed back up to Mountain Village that evening for dinner. Kojun's first gondola ride.

IMG_20140924_183427 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

Packed up the next morning and took the relatively short drive over to Moab, UT, where I would once again be camping in the RTT. My truck was parked next to my parents' cabin, and across the street from a junk yard, so I didn't bother with any pictures.

We only had one full day in Moab, so I had to make what I could of it. Headed out early the next morning to ride Porcupine Rim -- my brother shuttled me to the top and picked me up at the bottom. It's about 3 or 4 miles to the top of the rim up a gnarly 4WD road. Lots of hike-a-bike.

View from the top.

IMG_20140926_100652 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

Porcupine Rim trail is a 14.5 mile trail consisting of rock ledge after rock ledge. A little bit of soft red dust in between at times. The ledges take it out of you when climbing up them, and beat the hell out of you when going down them, even on a full-suspension bike. The trail is NOT all downhill once you get to the top. Here's an example of the trail. Rock ledge, red dust. Over and over and over again. If you ride mountain bikes, you gotta try this one if you get a chance. It is humbling.

IMG_20140926_105347 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

The trail opens up to exposed scrub country as you cross over to the canyon for the descent to the Colorado river. There is a section that goes over a huge, mostly flat red rock, with one trail marker drilled into the rock. From that marker you can see a cairn in the distance, and beyond that, what looks like the trail continuing on. That is not the trail. I added another mile to my ride by not noticing that to the left of that cairn is where the trail continues on. This is the terrain I was roaming around in, finding my way back to the trail.

IMG_20140926_112228 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

I eventually made it to the bottom, about an hour late, with a little water left over. I have GoPro video I will add later after I edit it.

With only half a day left, we did a quick run through Canyonlands and Arches. Awesome. Better than the Grand Canyon. Need more time there.

IMG_20140926_151401 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

IMG_20140926_155506 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

IMG_20140925_145110 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

IMG_2911 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

Then for the LONG drive home. Made it as far as Hays, KS the first day, and we'd had enough.

IMG_20140927_215821 by MrTenBeers, on Flickr

Great trip, thanks for watching! Video soon . . .

 

Rich,

We used to take that trip almost every year. We still go to the San Juans every year. All those pictures look so familiar. I miss going out that time of year because of the aspens changing colors.

 

Sounds like a fun time!

 

Looks like ya wore out the dog. Must've been good trip.

 

Your out playing in my neck of the woods and I'm looking at all the photos like iv'e never seen all that stuff before!! LOVE it great trip!

 

Great trip!

 

Great trip report.

Canyonlands' White Rim trail is amazing and way more accessible than the Grand Canyon.

 

Lot's of those places sound familiar, including Hays, where I went to college for several years. Your dog also looks familiar. A warning though with that breed -- they look way too much like foxes. Yours is a bit bigger but my sister had smaller one and it was eaten by coyotes recently. Coyotes will eat a fox in a second if they can catch it.

Nice pictures, BTW!

 

Love seeing my backyard trips!

 

Nice pics. I was in Moab last weekend, rode Porcupine Rim twice, I agree, its a must for any MTBR, worth the 12 hr drive.

 

looks like a great trip, thanks for sharing

 

Great trip report! I hope I can make it down there some day.

 

Great trip pics! Looks like a fun and a bit brutal workout for a mountain biker on the Porcupine Trail. Thanks for the tour!
Lee

 

looks like an epic trip. Great pics !

 

Wow, I'm from western KY and I'm wanting to take a very similiar trip at that time next year. If I can talk my girlfriend into taking that much time off of work, it just might happen. And I'll definitely be taking my bike as well.

 

Great photos! Looks like a fun trip, and having a pooped dog is evidence of a good time! I did Silverton-Telluride-Durange-Del Norte this Sept and it was awesome. Now I need to incorporate Canyonlands and Moab into my next CO trip! Thanks for sharing. You have me itchin' to go out there...too bad its winter!

 

Hell, I'd like to go there in the winter for the snowboarding.

 

Beautiful bike, truck and dog, I have a very similar set up but haven't tried camping with it all yet. Got a Specialized Crave myself, a grey 2014 Limited DCSB Taco and a black and tan shiba. I could never trust him off leash though...

 

Mine has never been off leash (on purpose) -- I have a 30ft tie-out that gives him room to roam but keeps him from bolting. The radio fence we have at home won't even stop him -- he figured out that if he can tolerate it for 30 seconds, it will stop. He goes to the edge, sits down and convulses as it shocks him, then bolts when it stops. So there's a @120 collar I have no use for now. He's getting better at coming back if he gets out without being on the lead, but it hasn't happened with a significant distraction (squirrel, deer, etc.). I doubt he would listen if there was game to chase.