San Juans, CO - Camping & Offroading - 2024 Fourth of July Weekend

July Fourth 2024 Weekend Recap

I got a really nice, long weekend away from work for the Fourth this year (they gave us Wed-Friday, which was incredible). My buddy & I spent Wednesday hitting Slaughterhouse Gulch and cooking some burgers on the trail to get in the holiday spirit. Upon arriving home, my fiancé & I began prepping for our Fourth of July trip down to the San Juans by hitting the grocery store & loading the truck up with camping gear.

We hit the road early Thursday morning & arrived to camp late afternoon. Given it was the Fourth, campsites were at a premium. We ended up finding a pretty decent (views were incredible, but the road was so damn busy) dispersed site right off of Cinnamon Pass, a popular OHV route that is part of the Alpine Loop. We took a small walk along the pass with Theo to stretch our legs and give him some entertainment before heading back to camp to make dinner. For dinner that evening we cooked up some brats and chowed down on potato salad and chips. Brats are one of my favorite summertime foods and taste even better during the Fourth, haha.

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The next morning we hiked to Cooper Lake - one of the coolest trails we both have ever hiked. During the hike, we saw an equal person-to-bear ratio (1:1), which was awesome. It's very rare to have a trail all to yourself, especially one this beautiful. We did the complete hike, but were disappointed to find nothing more than a stream at the top. We think that there was an avalanche or landslide that filled in where the lake used to sit, so unfortunately no lake views or swims for Theo. The round trip distance from the truck was 8.96 miles and total elevation gain was 2,300 ft. I know that distance & elevation gain is not very significant, but we were wiped after the hike, haha. This was the longest & likely highest elevation hike that we've done with Theo and he did excellent. I honestly think he could have done quite a few more miles.

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That afternoon we just hung out at camp, read a bit, and I even helped a guy from Texas change a flat tire on his rental Jeep 4xe. LOL. We tried to fix some pasta for dinner that evening, but we unfortunately tapped the last of our 8.8lb propane tank (odd size, I know). Impressively, that tank lasted us from summer of last year through this particular weekend, so it was more than due for a refill. Given we couldn't warm the pasta up, we opted to have a smorgasbord of food. Leftover brats, cheese slices, dolmas, chips, and pickles. And honestly, it was pretty delicious.

The next morning we slept in & had a slow morning at camp. We made some iced coffees, yogurt parfaits (we love having cold stuff for breakfast during summer camps). After cleaning up breakfast, we took Theo down to the creek right below our campsite. There were a few beautifully clear pools that were perfect for him to swim in and play some fetch. He was living his best life. After getting Theo dried off, we picked up camp and made our way up to American Basin. I dropped off my fiancé & Theo so they could enjoy some hiking & hanging out in the valley and I made my way up to the top of Cinnamon Pass. What an incredible drive! The views of the San Juans from up there are astounding. I continued downhill from the summit for a mile or two, but decided to turn around not too far after summiting since we were driving home that evening.

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All around we had a great couple days out in the San Juans. It continues to be one of our favorite places in all of Colorado for its beauty and remoteness.

 

Looks like another great trip!

 

Thanks Dan! We had a great time. The hike & the bear were definitely the highlights.

 

Beautiful greenery. The place looks magnificent. Can’t wait to go back there. Been itching for a couple years now.

 

I know right? The colors are just stunning out in the mountains during the summer months. The wildflowers are some of my favorite parts too.

 

Nice images - a good digital camera ( Nikon / Canon ) with some good glass would get excellent images there.
Looked like nice temps too.!! Can't get much better than that tho for a getaway, except doing it mid-week non-holiday.

I never go out over holiday's - less traffic, more selection, fewer crazies LOL
We typically leave the house on a Tuesday and come home on a Saturday....
Like a lot of folks on Tacoma World (you too I bet) I prefer to avoid the crowds.

 

Thank you! A few of the pictures are from an old Canon Rebel T3i (probably a ~2010 camera or maybe a bit older) and some budget canon glass. I really would love to upgrade to a newer, mirrorless canon & some nicer glass. I'd probably trade in my current canon gear & buy something used since I just use it for stuff like this. All the other pics are from an iPhone 15 Pro Max and even tho those cameras are awesome for a phone, they still cant compete w/ a dedicated camera.

The weather was BEAUTIFUL the entire trip. We had great temps & sunny skies the whole time, which was awesome. Haha, I hear you on not traveling for holidays & trying to avoid the crowds, but we gotta maximize the days off work somehow!

 

You can get a test-drive on good camera stuff at lensrentals.com.... cameras, lenses, all manner of stuff.
Try before you buy and if you do buy, it's a good deal.... that's how I came across my Nikon D7200 and Sigma100400.... they ended up pairing well.

 

Dropping a few more pictures from the trip!

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Beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing

 

Thank you, Jimmy!

 

Fall color will be here soon.

Any plans to head back to the area?
Telluride.
Last Dollar Rd.
County roads 5 and 7 near Ridgeway.
Silver Jack area.
Crested Butte / Kebler pass

 

Yes it will be! I am very stoked for fall to come around. I don't want summer to end, but I also love fall. I feel like you almost get two falls in Colorado since the mountains seem to change first and then you also get fall a bit later in the lower elevation cities.

Yes, we'll definitely be back out to enjoy the fall season as well! We are lucky enough to get out to the mountains most weekends, but I'm not sure where exactly we'll head yet. My dad and I spent around 4 days down in the San Juans two weeks ago. Hit Engineer Pass, Cinnamon Pass, Million Dollar Highway, Telluride, Ouray, Ridgway, etc. I can't get enough of that area!