Colorado Trip Reports

Here's the rub that doesn't always get mentioned... stacking rocks/building a crude road with rocks. One can get a stock Tacoma (so long as it has good traction control or a rear locker) through it with copious amounts of rock stacking, which happens. That's why you can't trust a trip report from someone who did a tough trail in a "stock" rig... they rarely admit to how much physical labor it took to get that stocker through the trail. I'm betting that's why that video showed the amount of rocks in the crevasses and leading up to the big rocks of the Red Cone guardian... someone came through before them who could not get through the obstacle without putting all those smaller rocks there.

Anyone who's run Red Cone further back than 10 years will recall that guardian obstacle was not that wide. The line was between the two big rocks on the left. Because people came up there and could not complete the line, they widened the trail to the right in order to get through. The rock that everyone puts their driver's side tires on was the right side of the trail; your passenger tires went on it. There are examples of that all over the place; it's just a consequence of heavy use and not-capable-enough rigs and drivers.

 

I would be mad at myself for not giving you credit for using "rub", "copius" and, most of all, "crevasses" correctly (or even at all) in a single post. Everyone loves a good crevasse! Cheers to you!

 

Yep a huge change just from my first time running it with you (like 6 years ago?) and quickly figuring out I can't follow the same Land Rover lines Huge change to the Guardian Obstacle, and later up on ridge line and the forming of the Downhill bobsled chute to webster pass, I miss the pucker hitting brakes there and rear-end sliding to either cliff side. Plus the formation of the dirt pit before you get out of the tree's.

 

Here is a pic from 2011 in my LJ on 33's of the gatekeeper. No where near how bad it is today. I went back a year or so after this and you could tell how much it changed. We got stuck behind about 15 people and some had stock rigs. Took us most of the day to get to meadows because the traffic was so bad. Haven't been back since.

 

Ran Chinaman Gulch today.

The few aspens up there are turning already. The obstacles are getting pretty dug out and I spent some time helping a family in a Square body suburban on 33s make it through the chute. That spot is gnarly. Sub got caught up there last time we went out and he's on 37s locked front and rear.







There's an illegal bypass on the initial portion of the trail before the split between Chinaman and Carnage and even has a posted sign. Someone ahead of me had driven through it and broken the tree limbs used to supplement the posted signage as well. That shit makes me mad. On my way out I stopped and drug some more timber out to mark it again.

 

made that climb look easy!

 

What’s it going around?

 

A dead tree and it's not even at an actual obstacle. It just goes through an open wash area which I assume is prone to erosion

The tracks were made by boggers which are a pretty distinct and uncommon sight in Colorado.

 

Lame, people suck.

 

Trip pics, did rimrocker from Montrose to Moab.
Lots of great fall colors, burnt forest and senic trails.

And weed farms... Acres of weed

 

Burnt up ridge close to the utah border.
Rimrocker trail

 

How was rim rocker? I wanted to do Gateway to Montrose but got side tracked to Ridgway. Doable stock? I'd like to get out there next year.

 

It was a nice easy ride.
We got off it once we were close to Moab because it was slow going over sharp rocks for miles.

My favorite stretch by far was Nucla to about 10 miles past the border into utah.
Not much traffic or crowds up there.

 

That harvest is ready!

 

That part was a hoot, even loaded with gear. Great views over the san miguel river too.

 

Hit the trail yesterday around 2 pm ish and it was excellent. Encounter one double side by side and 2 quads but otherwise nothing. One small patch of slush ice (2'x3') but plenty of room to avoid it.
A lot of loose rocks during the initial ascent so take it slow but otherwise trail was awesome.

 

Thanks for the update @dmurph1996

 

I saw that slushy/ice spot you were talking about. Wasn’t too bad.
Interestingly when I was looking on Trails.com Mary Murphy isn’t on there.
That shelf road has some nice size boulders that were fun. We picked through the rocks and it’s cool to see all the minerals in the rocks there.