2 Weeks in Colorado

[MudderNutter]

This is awesome. As a fellow east coaster, going to Colorado (about 24hrs away) is a trip I've been wanting to take for awhile now. How did you plan for the trip?

It was quite an undertaking!.... but honestly there was a lot more winging it than actually having a set plan. All I knew before leaving for the trip was that I wanted to go through Denver, and head out to Ouray. I had some rough ideas of where some campgrounds were in the San Juans, but only stayed at one of the ones that I knew about. Being able to sleep in the Jeep was a great perk on two occasions when we were tired, and the campgrounds were full.

I have a lot more to add to this trip report! I'm out in Vegas for the week for a conference, but hopefully I'll have some time to post some more soon.

 

[MudderNutter]

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Glad you got your trip report done. Joseph got his camera snatched at the above campsite. But, Yankee Boy Basin was probably worth it. First time I've ever had anything stolen in 45 years of camping.

It was great to meet you two, and tell Leah hello for us.

Passes this trip...Engineers, Cinnamon, Slumgullion, Los Pinos, Ophir, Cordova, and Cuchara.

Got new tire in Gunnison. Look forward to seeing you two on the trail in the future.

I'm sorry to hear about the theft! That is a bummer.

It was great to meet you guys! I hope to see ya out there.

 

[MudderNutter]

TexGX-Compared to the deer in the Carolina's, might as well be hahahahaha! Awesome pics MudderNutter, thanks for sharing. How'd you like your Cooper's on the trip?

Sam

Thank you! The coopers far exceeded my expectations! They were great on the highway, but absolutely killed it in the dirt. The traction was outstanding!

 

[smlobx]

Muddier thanks for the great report!
I'm looking forward to your video of the various passes. I want to try your route in a cc long bed super duty maybe next year.
I also like your bumper. What kind is it?
Thanks!

 

[anviljk]

It was quite an undertaking!.... but honestly there was a lot more winging it than actually having a set plan. All I knew before leaving for the trip was that I wanted to go through Denver, and head out to Ouray. I had some rough ideas of where some campgrounds were in the San Juans, but only stayed at one of the ones that I knew about. Being able to sleep in the Jeep was a great perk on two occasions when we were tired, and the campgrounds were full.

I have a lot more to add to this trip report! I'm out in Vegas for the week for a conference, but hopefully I'll have some time to post some more soon.

Can't wait to see the rest of the trip. I started to look into a trip like this and so far it looks within my reach, maybe as soon as next year. Driving for 24hrs straight would suck but worth it for a trip like this. The only planning I would need to do is what passes to run and where to camp/permits really. The biggest cost I would assume would be fuel. Since your about the same distance away roughly how much did the trip cost?

 

[inv3ctiv3]

Looks like an awesome trip! I was just there and already miss it....

 

[joelwho]

Great trip! thanks for the share and pics!

 

[c_mack9]

Get to the part where y'all put those bikes to use already!

 

[WPSFan]

Looks like an awesome trip, we're moving to CO in a couple of months and this gave me new trails to add to my list. Thanks.

 

[MudderNutter]

Looks like an awesome trip, we're moving to CO in a couple of months and this gave me new trails to add to my list. Thanks.

I'm jealous! I wish I could be out there more often.


So Life got busy, and it seems that I stopped posting about halfway through the trip. That does no expo member any good! Here I go...

 

[MudderNutter]

After Cinnamon pass we headed into Animas Forks




I thought this little jail was pretty interesting






We tried to head down a side trail for a bit, but it was blocked by snow. We managed to get this picture though!



Leigh wants me to fix her up one of these bad boys next


From the Forks we headed on over towards Silverton. Leigh won a bet against a stranger.... She lasted 15 seconds in the water!

 

[MudderNutter]

Can't complain about the camp site. This was located a few miles outside of Silverton in the Eureka Campground. They had a small general store, and the staff could not have been any more pleasant.





It's funny how people get dragged to an area for different reasons. For me... It was all about the scenery, and the amazing trails to be driven. I figured that most of the people out there would be like minded. To my surprise there were more history buffs, and train enthusiasts! I knew that the mining history in the area was rich, but I never really gave much thought to it. When we came across this sign I had to stop to see what the deal was.



The lines in that diagram illustrate that different routes that the cable carts would run.

The mining workers would ride to work on these bad boys!



The main mining destination can be seen in this picture. It is the lake that is nestled right at the base of all of the peaks. If you use your imagination i'm sure you can tell it was quite the place to work!

 

[MudderNutter]

After spending some time in Silverton we decided to head towards Telluride via Ophir Pass.







Lots of loose gravel on this route









And here we are going into Telluride. The unfortunate thing about visiting Telluride is that I now have much more expensive retirement goals!

 

[MudderNutter]

There are not many places to camp in Telluride, and we arrived after all of the campsites were full... So, we decided to make use of the sleeping platform, and do some stealth camping. The goal for the evening was to take in the atmosphere of the town :friday:



Good selection!



Funny sign


Leigh was in love with this concept



Looking through the town towards Black Bear Pass (it was still closed)





The Gondola runs for free!


We headed up to get a nice view, and a good photo op



An end to a good day.

 

[MudderNutter]

Now it was time to head on over to Moab!



The bugs there were huge!





We ended up pulling into Moab around noon. I never though that I would say this but... we grabbed a beer and left, because it was too dang hot! I had a campsite reserved for the White Rim Trail the following day, but the thought of suffering through 110 degree heat was not as attractive as relaxing in the 70's in the mountains just a few hours away. Back to Ouray we went!





We arrived just in time for a bluegrass festival!



I've enver been in a better venue. The surrounding peaks made the setting majestic, and created a great sound from the goings on.