Colorado Trip Reports

@aero3685 famous blazing hot chili in a crock pot, plugged in back.

 

I'm so far behind.. i usually get enough cell service to pull up the forum and like a post, then it stops working.

 

It all starts in the storage facility; gotta gear up.



The plan for Thanksgiving originally involved the Rimrocker Trail into Moab, then proceeding to run Lockhart Basin/Chicken Corners/Kane Creek. This then became camping in the Fruita desert, then running Top of the World, then proceeding to the Lockhart area. One Expedition Portal article about the Mogollon Rim later, and we just took a hard left turn to New Mexico and Arizona.



We left my office near Colorado Springs on Wednesday at noon. The first day was relatively uneventful. We got into the Santa Fe National Forest right before sundown, made some Fireball/apple cider, had a quick fire, and were out by 9 PM.



Call the fuck, I don't give a cops.



Finally hit dirt again at about 2 PM on Thursday. The Mogollon Rim is right up there with looking out across the central Utah canyons, or surveying the Colorado peaks from the top of 14er.

​

 

Set up camp on the edge of the rim Thursday, and the view waking up was a real treat.




Ass shots.



Plenty of lakes in the area for the puppers to splash around in, too.




Take advantage of the overhangs if you go.



You can see the mountains that divide the northeastern Arizona high desert with the arid sands of Phoenix.



Make sure to enjoy some of the fun trails in the area, as well.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guJIEmcqq0o


The trip started and ended in Colorado, so we'll call it a CO trip report. Conditions were immaculate, and the only "bad" weather was the sudden drop into the 20s overnight in Carson NF's true blue desert. ​

 

good looking adventure!

gotta love those lesser traveled routes through the NF

 

Awesome, thanks for sharing!

 

Any time.

 

I skipped watching Sunday's Bronco game to take advantage of the fall like weather in December. Time to try out my new suspension.

Took Hwy 67 south past Deckers to the Rainbow Falls area about 10 miles north of Woodland Park. In the parking lot I met about 10 members of Colorado 4x4 Rescue & Recovery. Nine members owned Jeeps with one lone 4Runner owner. They graciously let me join their trek up FS344 to Moab Hill.
Tallest steps this novice has seen so far.


The middle path is the toughest.


I took the right hand side path that is milder with a couple of decent steps near the top.


A spotter guided my ascent. I was worrying too much about embarrassing myself by stalling the engine going uphill with my manual transmission that I made a rookie mistake and used too much throttle. I made it up OK, not elegantly however. I scraped the rear bumper on a tree. The bumper protected the corner of the bed as designed, and Winkle gained another battle scar.


Sunday's lesson was, trust your equipment. Let it crawl.

One more pic on the return from Moab Hill down FS344:

 

Orvis is awesome. Can't wait to take the long way out there next year.

 

Ran around the Four Mile area this weekend. Some of the entrances and bypasses were closed; namely the ones that pass through private property. But you can still access the area by way of 305/315/Spanish Mills. Lenhardy up to the private passes is open, as is the Natural Bridge, Million Dollar View, et. al. that are just part of the public land.

A bit of snow in the shaded areas, but I never left 2WD. Temperatures dropped into the teens overnight, and there was some wind as well, but nothing particularly annoying. Trails are in good shape, and the whoop de doos are begging for you to send it. No real risk of rutting or chewing up the trail right now.

 

Video of this trip?

 

Didn't really shoot any footage for this one, I'm afraid.

 

Went to Illinois Gulch/Long Hollow Road/Missouri Gulch/Fern Creek/Ice Cave Road/Soldier Mountain last weekend. Moab hill is fun, but you'll want 33s+ on the far left and right lines. Just stay away from the middle; there was a big boy Rubicon on 37s just beating the dog shit out of his belly skids trying to get over. Took him a good ten minutes on numerous lines up the middle. The hill that goes down for Missouri at the Missouri/LHR/IG intersection is not to be taken lightly. You will not have brakes for about 100 feet, and should expect to be doing 20+ in a slide before you get them back. DON'T STOP AT THE BOTTOM, AND CHECK IT FIRST. Unless you wanna grease your buddy's back end (no homo).

Fern Creek is covered in plenty of snow, as is Ice Cave Creek. Good opportunities to whip around a bit. Did have a few slides, so take it easy on the overhangs and exposures. Even Rampart Road is covered in ice and snow right now. If you drop down onto the Soldier Mountain/Rupp Gulch trail, be careful. Slid around a bit down the chutes there, too. Know how to whip around the trees and rocks in downhill turns, unless you have a vendetta against your doors.

 

My buddy ran the center line on 33s in a trd OR after a guy in a 4door ruby on 37s attempted. He was pissed to see the tacoma go right up. All the rutts are in the jk wheelbase area the wheelbase of the tacoma is just right to keep 2 tires out of there rutts most of the time.

 

2-18-18, temps in the upper 50's at roughly 9000 feet.
Was t-shirt weather that day.


The trail however was frozen.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v26xS8EnY0E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCz1-td19NQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHA0j2WAiBA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRh8-nS0lLE

Mid way up the winter challenge, had to clear another tree.

Made it to the top and promptly stuck it.


on our way out of the trail network, our 2nd attempt , we came across a couple dudes in a 4runner, another 1st gen and a Lexus buried to the frame.
After I popped him I went back to rescue my comrades who had been left stuck behind me.
It was then I discovered that Maxtracks actually have to make use of the winch in order to drive on them. I always that self recovery meant they actually worked alone, but apparently not...

Prolly best to keep those things at the dunes.

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

Another attempt to leave the trail system...







Lexus in the background



Still not sure why the boards were needed if the winch was deployed, but I wasn't there for that thought process, I was involved with simple, effective, strap techniques...


All the gens were represented that day and the 1st gens set the bar high.

 

Was dropping the treds to get allow the 3rd to give my 2nd a tug rearward since I was barried to the skids. Only after getting them off and back there we realized that kolton already had the winch line connected.

 

Sure, that's your version.
If nothing else they are good for me to poke fun at. I think the plywood you had in the back would have been just as effective.

 

@Star-Lord what tires were you running? And who's 3rd gen and do you know what they were running?

 

Star lord was running st maxx (sipped) and the 3rd gen was @Morgawr3 with micky Thompson mud terrains

 

Thanks. I have the KO2's and by the video it sounded like the Jeep had them and wasn't doing to well. Oh well we'll see cant change them now for a while.