San Juan Weekender

Hey everyone, I was able to make my first "big" trip in my 2017 TRDOR and I wanted to share my experience here. This wasn't my first time going offroad but I definitely learned a lot about the capability of this truck and the areas for improvement in the future. Overall it was a great weekend and a huge learning opportunity. Thanks for reading!



Day One

We started out from Denver around 9am on Friday and drove pretty much directly to Ouray via 285 through Buena Vista and then through Gunnison. Not too much to note about the drive other than getting much better MPGs than I'm used to despite the computer exhibiting some symptoms of gear hunting.

Once in Ouray we had to make a few stops. One at a tshirt shop since I forgot to pack any sort of jacket or fleece, and another to buy firewood since the whole area was experiencing heavy rains that rendered any deadfall near useless. After stocking up we headed out of town to scout campsites in the area. But, being a Friday night, every single designated campsite was full in the three sites we searched: Angel Creek, Thistledown, and Amphitheater. Faced with the saddening prospect of having to backtrack to an RV campground in Ridgway, we started back down the road to town from Amphitheater when I noticed an inconspicuous fork in the road that was unpaved. After a quick u-turn I started driving up the road to see if it held any promise. This was County Road 16, otherwise known as the Portland Mine jeep road.




The road quickly worsened and I was at street tire pressures with only a small leveling spacer lift in the front. I figured it was time to engage 4WD LO and see what the truck was capable of for its first off pavement experience. I was nothing less than blown away as we ascended the rocks and ruts into the treeline. Rock ledges that would previously have given me pause were soaked up like nothing by the stock suspension. And this was all in 4th gear, so we were making good time up the trail. Having passed by a few pulloffs with fire rings, we continued on since I had seen some sort of meadow on the satellite, and what a great decision that was. The road leveled off and opened up into a green meadow surrounded by sheer cliffs and aspen groves.

Luckily, because of the rough shape of the road and its relative isolation, we had our pick of three campsites. The first was in a clearing of aspens but it was right next to some mine tailings so we quickly ruled it out. The second was near the road and underneath some pine trees and was the clear frontrunner, but we decided to continue up the road a bit. It quickly led to nowhere so we returned to the preferred campsite, only to find that a JKU had taken up residence in the two minutes we were gone!! Again disappointed, there was one small road leading up the hill on one side of the meadow that we hadn't checked out and decided to give one last shot. This ended up being the best decision that day and we were greeted by a small bluff with a fire ring and enough level ground to park the truck and set out two large tents. It also had the best view of the area by far.




Despite the drizzle, the day was a success and we had a great evening around the fire with drinks, hotdogs, and marshmallows. We crawled into the tents and slept soundly.



Day Two

The following morning we were greeted to quite the view.




We headed down into town to grab breakfast and plan our next move. After talking with a few locals about road conditions, we headed to the turnoff for Yankee Boy Basin. But because of some divine power determined to stop us at every turn, we got caught behind a convoy of Wranglers who had just finished staging and started up the trail. And they sure took their sweet time, so you could imagine how frustrated we were at going 10 mph in a stock Tacoma behind these aired-down and lifted monsters who could easily do double that speed. They eventually pulled off and let us pass so we continued down the road at a good clip.

After passing the lower trailhead for Mt. Sneffels, the road got noticeably worse and we soon found the switchbacks leading up to the upper trailhead. These were extremely tight and at one spot I had to engage the rear locker for the first time, but again the truck had no real difficulty. We parked a little below the upper trailhead since there was a snowdrift and several large rock ledges that would have definitely scraped some paint had I attempted it. With the truck parked three of our group packed up and started out for the summit of Mt. Sneffels.




At this point a chain of events had been set in motion. Prior to this, we had not done much research into the summit climb other than seeing it was only 1.9ish miles roundtrip and ~1,700ft of elevation gain. This was ultimately a significant misstep and had we had the foresight to preview the route a little better, we all would have benefited. The climb up the scree field to the first saddle was challenging and draining, but we still had the second gully ascension ahead of us, and it was even steeper and more dangerous that the first ascent. At around 14,000 ft the other two who were with me decided to wait behind, satisfied with making it to that elevation. I continued on to the gully summit where I was faced with a daunting choice.

In 2016, the V-notch obstacle had been altered when some of the rocks that provided a foothold were removed. This bumped it from a class 2 climb to an "easy" class 3. I decided against the v-notch and instead scaled the surrounding walls above it and then traversed over. In retrospect, there was some extreme exposure that I had either not noticed or mentally blocked from view during the scramble. Eventually I summitted Mt. Sneffels and celebrated with a beer and a signature on the summit log.




Because of the late start, I was the only one on the top of Mt. Sneffels. I took in the view and noticed that I could actually see the Tacoma from the summit!




I started my way down and chose not descend the way I had came because of how vertical it had been on the way up, but unfortunately this left me with no other option than to descend through the V-notch. This moment was easily the most dangerous climbing I had done to date, made worse by the fact that I was alone on the descent, and the other two in the group were several hundred feet below me in the gully.

I sized up the situation for a moment. To my right was the gully and an angled portion of slick rock with a 10 ft drop onto the talus below, and to my left was a conveniently missing rock that would have provided a much-needed foothold. Desperately clinging to the tenuous hand holds on my left and pressing my boot onto the miniscule footholds on my right, I shimmied my way down as far as I could into the notch. After what felt like an eternity, my right foot found solid ground above the exposure and I swung my way onto the level ground above the slick rock. I paused for a minute and tried to control my breath and the shaking from the adrenaline. Normally I don't lose my nerve very easily, but I kept thinking "That was fucking dangerous". I quickly caught up to the other two and we descended to the saddle and then down the scree field to the main trail.

Overall the ascent and descent had taken up nearly 4 hours of the day. It was around 4:30 by the time we got back to the truck and started the slow journey down. This is where I faced the greatest pucker factor of the entire day. The previously unintimidating switchbacks from the uphill portion had now transformed into menacing obstacles determined to push the truck to its tipping point... almost literally. Because of the washout on the trail, several situations put two wheels in the air at the edge of a dangerous drop and terrified my copilot. She said later that she felt safer outside the truck as a spotter than inside as a passenger! I was also given several opportunities to test the crawl control, and I can say I'm a huge fan and will definitely make great use of it in the future. Once we returned to the lower trailhead bathroom we took a moment to recollect ourselves and continue on. At this point it was the golden hour and Yankee Boy basin looked spectacular with its wildflowers.




The rest of the ride back to Ouray was gracefully uneventful, as the passengers (and myself if I'm being honest) had gotten their fill of off-camber action for the day. We all had a big meal and soaked in the hot springs at the Twin Peaks lodge on the south side of town. After a soak and a much-needed shower, I nearly immediately passed out and slept the whole night through, dreaming of creek crossings, mountain summits, and multi-terrain select.



Day Three

I woke up around 9:30AM very well rested and started packing the truck to go to Telluride. We had planned to take Imogene Pass the day before but the Mt. Sneffels hike had complicated things. Instead, we went back out towards Ridgway and then west across the Dallas Divide before heading south into the Telluride valley. Myself and my copilot grabbed breakfast at Ghost Town coffee since we had slept through the continental breakfast at Twin Peaks lodge, but according to the other two, it wasn't much to be missed. We spent a while walking around and ducking into shops as the sounds from the Jazz Fest filled the streets, along with a Mardi Gras-esque parade that actually filled the streets.

After a quick gondola ride up and down the ski resort, we conferred back at the truck and elected to go see Bridal Veil Falls. We made it up without incident save for a traffic jam at the base of the falls and were rewarded with fantastic views of the valley below.




The road coming down from Black Bear Pass was closed, but it didn't matter since it was one-way only downhill from that point. Luckily this helped keep trail traffic to a minimum, which was greatly appreciated. After a few more loose gravel and pucker-inducing switchbacks, we stopped at the base of the falls to see it from below.




We made our way back into town and had a late lunch at Brown Dog Pizza. Sadly, we knew we had to get back on the road to make it to Denver by a reasonable hour. The trip passed smoothly and we were treated to a gorgeous sunset between Delta and Grand Junction. After getting back home I decided to grab one last picture to see how far we'd come.




This concluded a fantastic weekend that only left me wanting more action and adventure, and got me started down the rabbit hole of modifying the truck to better tackle weekends like these. Even though this may sound a bit consumerist, purchasing the Tacoma has made me very happy and I plan to love this truck for a very long time. Having done all this with the temp tags still on the truck, I can't wait to see where this thing will take me.

 

beautiful man!

 

Great report, thanks for sharing.