TR: It's Good to be Back in Colorado

[Kya]

Every June once school is out, we spend a few weeks in Hawaii with my wife's mom and family. This year we spent four weeks on Oahu: going to the beach (Red Sand Beach, Maui)...


hiking through the rain forest...


and helping my mother-in-law around the yard. It's so easy to settle into the HiLife and leaving that place gets harder every year.


Luckily we get to come home to Colorado and settling into the Rocky Mountain high is just as soothing. We were anxious to get into the backcountry and bounce around on some mountain passes. We left Eagle on Sunday afternoon and headed for Shrine Pass off the south side of Vail Pass. We found a nice spot up Lime Creek for the night. Then it dumped a lot of rain.




At about noon the next day, we packed up and made our way to the beginning of Ptarmigan Pass. The first few miles up Wearyman Road are rocky, and tight with brush. Just the kind of excitement we were looking for.









Sliders took their first hit.


Fun and beautiful trail all the way to the summit.






A perfect spot to have lunch below the summit of Ptarmigan Peak.


The south side of Ptarmigan Pass is much easier. Right at the base of Resolution Mountain seemed like a sweet spot to spend the night.



Then it rained hard again. A little too wet for a campfire.


That's more like it!

 

[Kya]

The next morning was beautiful and we passed the time with some ladder golf in a beautiful setting.


It was cool to be in this area during the summer months. In the winter we snowmobile and backountry ski all over Ptarmigan and Resolution. Love this place. We cruised down to Camp Hale and had to take the pavement over to Leadville. After a quick lunch we headed over to Turquoise Reservoir and scouted out the camping options. Lots of campsites and people all squished together didn't sound too appealing, so we headed up Hagerman Pass instead.

Ahhhh, that's more like it. With a light steady rain, and low clouds, the wheeling was very enjoyable.





We didn't get spectacular views from summit, but misty fog added an extra sense of adventure....especially dropping down the north side of the pass.





We had planned on camping at Ivanhoe Lake. The scenery was nice, but at just about 11,000 feet and a steady wind, we decided it was too cold.



A couple of miles down the road we found our favorite campsite of the trip. Lots of space, no people. Maybe my favorite part was sharing the site with this snotel station. We use these all winter to track snowstrom totals and sniff out the best powder stashes.





Some ladder golf surrounded by beautiful mountains? Oh yeah!


The next morning we had to head home to Eagle. After a few miles of pavement on Frying Pan Road, we turned off the pavement to begin our final pass of the trip, Crooked Top Pass. I love this area since it is located in Eagle's backyard.




Scouting some ski zones for the winter.


An awesome couple of days and the best way to get back into the Colorado lifestyle.

 

[SoCal_80]

Very nice and it looked like you had a great trip!

 

[mph]

Great trip! Looks like u had a great time.

How do u like that setup?

 

[Richie]

Beautiful pics! I love the stock Tundra too!

 

[Eniam17]

Looks like a great trip, thanks for sharing. Colorado has such beautiful scenery and terrain.

 

[JCMatthews]

Nice, very nice. My kids kept telling me how our trucks are exactly the same.

 

[Presto88]

Wow, that looks like a great trip! What a beautiful state!

 

[19psi]

thanks for the post. I"m looking for exactly this type of trip in my Dmax this summer.

 

[Funrover]

Awesome! Gotta love it here in CO. Thanks for the great pictures!

 

[hattrik21]

Looks like a great trip. I'm headed to CO for some camping and trial running in a few days. There are so many options I have still haven't finalized my trip route yet.

 

[Kya]

Nice, very nice. My kids kept telling me how our trucks are exactly the same.

Thanks! Your kids have an eye for nice trucks. These things are awesome family mobiles. We are loving the backseat.

Looks like a great trip. I'm headed to CO for some camping and trial running in a few days. There are so many options I have still haven't finalized my trip route yet.

Sometimes that's the best part. Just bring a map and go for it! Maybe get this book.....

....has been a great way for us to pick a zone and hit some trails.

 

[hattrik21]

Kya I have both of the CO books by Wells. I've pretty much decided on my route and leave tonight after work to start the journey north. Between the books and traildamage.com and finding out some of the passes opened last week, I now have my route decided.......but that could change...after all it is about the journey, not always the destination.

 

[Kya]

^^^ Nice man. The wildflowers seem to be going off right now, so awesome. The afternoon thunderstorm season is also in full swing, though I'm sure you are aware. Have a blast!