Offroad Trip 2016 Trip Report - Utah/Colorado

[inv3ctiv3]

Alright well here goes nothing.....but first watch my recap video:

[video=vimeo;179512498]https://vimeo.com/179512498[/video]

I decided to head out to Colorado to do some wheeling and camping with some friends and this is my trip report. I started my trek from Santa Barbara at about 11am on Thursday morning with a goal of reaching a trail a friend told me about outside of St George Utah which is pretty much exactly halfway between where I was going in CO and SB. I got to the waterfalls at about 7pm and set up camp and really just spent the night taking pics and watching the meteor shower (which was going off so crazy at like midnight).





On the trail I stopped because I saw this beautiful guy, this is a Great Basin Rattlesnake which is a snake I've always wanted to find out in the wild and he was a beautiful light pink with great patterning.





This was camp:



Offroad Trip 2016 by Jim Bob Barnett, on Flickr



Woke up kinda early made breakfast and coffee then took a dip:







Offroad Trip 2016 by Jim Bob Barnett, on Flickr

Offroad Trip 2016 by Jim Bob Barnett, on Flickr

There was an upper and lower trail, I took the high road to the falls to get there quickly and took the low one out which turned out to be awesome! It basically just weaves in and out of the creek for a few miles and has some really steep/big drops and rocky sections along with some really muddy stuff....Didn't get a lot of pics here I was just busy trying not to sink in the mud and getting stuck haha.







Some scenes from the drive on the 70 towards Vail:

 

[inv3ctiv3]

Finally arrived in Vail and had made a plan to meet 3 of my friends who live in CO at this rest stop which was right at the trail head we were set to do:



We got a kind of late start but the first trail was super easy it was just a dirt road but we finally got to the trail and this trail was rated a 6-7 on TD and was up a creek for the first half of the trail. I had a blast because we don't get this kind of stuff in CA and going up a creek with giant boulders is always fun but my buddy just got his FJ80 and is new to wheeling so it took some careful spotting and wheel placement to get him up it, he made it up unscathed despite some serious spare tire and stock step side banging haha. I wish I had video or photos from this trail but it was super late at night and not easy to get in and out of the trucks due to the water but we found a little off shoot and followed it to where someone had built a pretty sweet little secret camp with a fire ring and a bunch of fire wood all cut and stacked:











We followed the trail out the next morning and ended up at some peak that was over 12,000ft but it was just littered with UTV's and **** so we got out of there asap:







We went down to Leadville to meet up with my buddies cousin and grab some lunch then headed back up to the mountains and did a few trails and just found a sweet little spot tucked in the trees off trail to make camp for the night:







The next day we just headed towards Boulder where I'd spend the next couple of days with my best friend at his place, we passed Slee Offroad which made me remember how bad I wanted a snorkel so I called them up the next morning and picked it up! Huge thanks to those guys, awesome shop if you're in the area I highly suggesting giving them a visit.









The people of boulder don't like my truck



So I couldn't just sit around boulder so after taking a day's rest and installing the snorkel we hit a network of trails north of Boulder:







My sliders and skids took quite the beating on this trail but it makes you realize how good of an investment they are once you really use them

 

[inv3ctiv3]

My MV90 does work on airing back up but I'll be ordering an ARB twin soon and permanently mounting it in the truck



So the next day I set off back to Utah and then CA:









View from camp for the night:











And like that I was back home I had such a blast I can't wait to get back out to Utah, easily one of the most beautiful states and I love any time I get to spend out there! 5 states, 7 days, 2400+ miles and countless hours offroad made for an awesome trip!

 

[mph]

Great photos...You got to see two fabulous states. Congrats!

 

[Richie]

Great report/pics. Great truck. Great bumper sticker. :ylsmoke:

 

[fooblahblah]

I've seen a few folks need that snorkel up at Coney Flats Nice photos!

 

[fireball]

Very awesome photos, thanks for sharing!

 

[inv3ctiv3]

Great photos...You got to see two fabulous states. Congrats!

Great report/pics. Great truck. Great bumper sticker. :ylsmoke:

I've seen a few folks need that snorkel up at Coney Flats Nice photos!

Very awesome photos, thanks for sharing!

Thanks everyone!!

 

[RIDGE]

Great shots! I can't believe you went down that trail (from the falls) by yourself! I've done it on a dirtbike but it's been a while. I'm thinking that would be a fun challenge in my van! And how cold was that water!?

 

[inv3ctiv3]

Great shots! I can't believe you went down that trail (from the falls) by yourself! I've done it on a dirtbike but it's been a while. I'm thinking that would be a fun challenge in my van! And how cold was that water!?

Haha I quickly found out that it was mostly a dirtbike/UTV trail but I made it just fine except one spot where I turned around cause it was impassable by a truck and got stuck in the mud in the middle of the creek but was able to rock it back and forth and get out haha! The water was nice and cold.....

 

[1MK]

Top notch!

You got some real killer photos in there!

The ARB Twin compressor is a beast - well worth it!

 

[inv3ctiv3]

Top notch!

You got some real killer photos in there!

The ARB Twin compressor is a beast - well worth it!

Thanks man! Hopefully we cross paths sometime again but actually meet this time haha, we seem to be out in the same areas at the same time being that we're both in So Cal.

 

[Justincredible]

How were the crowds/ATV traffic at the falls?

Every time I've spent any length of time in the area there was a lot of ATV traffic and the occasional teens looking for a place to get laid.

 

[Keith Starr]

Great report and fantastic photos! Any chance you'd share the location of that waterfall campsite? It's gorgeous. I'm heading to Utah next month and would love to stop there.

 

[inv3ctiv3]

How were the crowds/ATV traffic at the falls?

Every time I've spent any length of time in the area there was a lot of ATV traffic and the occasional teens looking for a place to get laid.

I saw one other car out there when I was there no ATV's or dirtbikes but I was there in the middle of the week so I could imagine it gets very crowded on the weekends.

Great report and fantastic photos! Any chance you'd share the location of that waterfall campsite? It's gorgeous. I'm heading to Utah next month and would love to stop there.

Thanks!