Colorado Road trip

[SoNjJeep]

Hey Everyone!! my name's kyle and i'm from Albuquerque.... i have a 1999 XJ with a bunch o mods

I'll be taking a three week road trip around colorado after i do All 4 Fun..... i plan to do a loop of the state, from Gunnison, i am going to go to Colorado Springs to visit a friend of mine who's getting married so i wonder if there's any good campsites around there, BLM land? I recall someone saying that there were some sites near Pikes Peak and or Garden of the Gods. then after that, i'll be going up to visit my Cousin Chris in the littleton/Denver area, Im sure he'll be nice enough to let me crash at his place, but if thats not possible, any areas around there where i could camp?..... from there i'll be heading to Breckenridge for the wedding and i know of a campsite there so i'm going to check that out. If time permits and i dont run out of money, i'll be returning to NM on through Grand Junction/Telluride/silverton/ Durango so i'll need a campsite somewhere around those places... then back to Albuquerque on the 21st.... UNM starts on the 22nd

can any colorado locals help me out here, perhaps meet n greets or some wheeling can be arranged as well?

 

[drifto77]

Stop in Ouray.
Its just north of Silverton (1 hr?). The KOA is a great spot to camp. I stayed there last year. LOTS of trails and wilderness camping in the area if you aint been before.
Here is a link to the KOA. its 6 (?) miles north of Ouray.

http://www.rver.com/parkdetail.asp?parkid=1
you can click on the pics to make them bigger.
Also ... at the top of their site are little boxes, you can click them for info.

Here is a link to some of the trails in the area ......

http://www.narrowgauge.org/4x4/html/4X4.html
under the map on that link are the trail names. click on them for info and pics.

I did Yankee Boy the 1st day there, right after I set up camp. Ophir Pass, Alta Lakes (great spot for lunch between ophir and Imogene and can be done ,all 3, in a day) Imogene, up Engineer Pass to OH! Point, then down to Annimus Forks,then up and over Placier/Picayne (got snowed on REAL good here and it was the END of JULY !), and up Arrastra Gulch, then into Silverton while I was there.

Yankee Boy and Imogene were my fav's.
Everything can be done in a stock Jeep except maybe (from what I hear) POUGHKEEPSIE.

Here are my pics if you want to look ....

http://photobucket.com/albums/v455/drifto77/
(first few are New Mexico. Got some from the Black Canyon too)

Have a BLAST and be SAFE.

BTW >>>>> i got a buddy that lives in Montrose, Iam SURE him and his wife would wheel with ya if you want me hook you up.

 

[SoNjJeep]

wow, those are great pictures!!!.... I'm a flatlander at heart, originally from New Jersey, i still can't bring myself to drive on those shelf roads... even just thinking about it makes me nervous..... same thing goes for offcamber trails..... now, I'm always up for a good technical trail as long as there isnt a threat of rolling off a cliff

 

[drifto77]

Shelf roads aint that bad. Just remember to take it slow, pay attention to where your wheels are and what you are doing.
Should have seen my wife.

The "OH SH#T" handle on the passenger side almost did not surive the trip.
With a little luck

Iam going back agian this year,

1st week of Sep.


DISCLAMER :
shelf roads are NO place for a greenhorn. They CAN be VERY dangerous !
I would not want to disscourge you but... 3 days after I /we got home to Texas 2 people (experienced wheelers) were killed on Black Bear when their Jeep slid off the trail in the rain and about 3 weeks later 2 more were killed on Imogene Pass when their Jeep rolled off the trail after letting someone pass.

 

[fatwreck]

Shoot us a reminder when the time gets closer. I live about 5 minutes from littleton. We can certainly meet up if you want....and possibly go wheeling.

Brian
www.projectxj.com

 

[SoNjJeep]

Fatwreck,
I wonder if you know my Cousin... he works at the BMW over in Littleton, Ralph Schlomp or something like that, has a blackish/gray XJ with 6" of lift or so, 35" Superswampers, D44 and a internal cage, the roof is all messed up from from a roll over and the sides are all smashed in, his DD is a two tone Red/Gray with 31's and bushwhackers

his name's Chris Leary

it would be cool to meet up and check your rig out, i sent you an email awhile ago about the D and C cage, still on the line as to which one to pick and i bet once i see it, i'll decide for sure.

 

[fatwreck]

Man, you would think that I would know a guy with that big of an XJ....especially since he lives that close to me. But I don't think that I know him. He must not hang out on the message boards very much.

Shoot me another email and I'll give you my contact information for when you get here. You can check out the cage and we can BS about what trails you should hit while you're here.

I've hit a bunch of the trails down in silverton/ouray and I can send you links to the photos and some recommendations.

Brian

 

[SoNjJeep]

Im sure Chris would be thrilled to meet you as well, he just moved to the area maybe 3 months ago from BMW in Santa Fe, NM.... i think he would love to meet more people in the area and find more people to wheel with and im sure he's still not too familiar with the area... he's a high intermediate to hardcore level while i'm more of a intermediate... i don't know what those transfer over to a number system as im not sure what they use in colorado but if i had to make one up i would say i'm a 2 to 3 on a 5 system and he's a 4 to 5

 

[fatwreck]

I've found that a lot the trails in colorado are rewarding for both hardcore and intermediate rigs. There is almost always a little bit of something for everyone.

Just let me know when the two of you would like to meet up.

 

[MMIXJ]

point your cousin over here to this chapter forum as well as to colorado4x4.org and hook him
up w/ some wheeling partners.

terry

 

[Fred]

There's no BLM land that I know close to Colorado Springs. If there is, it's out east, and it's someone's leased grazing land.

If you want to rough it, you could just drive up old stage road until you hit Pikes Peak Natl Forest. Promise you won't light a campfire. There are Natl Forest campgrounds outside of Woodland Park, west of the Springs. You could also head west on Rampart Range road and rough it in the Natl Forest. It's an urban forest, so don't be surprised if there is traffic all night long, kid's drinking, ganger bangers dropping off bodies, etc. The Crags is a nice Natl Forest campground off of 67 between Divide and Cripple Creek, less than an hour from the Springs.

Fred

 

[sherman]

Hi All,
I just joined and was reading all the posts in this thread and became hopeful about the prospects of hooking-up for wheeling. I plan to be in the Gunnison County area for two weeks. Could be the last two weeks in Aug. or last week of Aug and 1st week of Sept. Just me and the dogs. I'm sorry but I have a '97 Hummer (H1). I hope that's ok. I was in the Telluride area last year with my brother, we hit as many of the trails as possible. Imogene, Engineer, Black Bear and even Poughkeepsie. The hummer is stock, no winch, but I carry 2 heavy come-alongs and other equipment just in case. Hard to find
Hummer off-roaders. Please take pity

 

[SoNjJeep]

Sherman, good to see another H1 here...... the other vehicle in this household is a 1996 6.5l TD 4 door hardtop with a 2 inch lift and 39.5 inch tires

 

[fatwreck]

the other vehicle in this household is a 1996 6.5l TD 4 door hardtop with a 2 inch lift and 39.5 inch tires

Uh....

Hey, I think I know someone that works at the same stealership that your cousin does....he's not a wheeler though.

 

[SoNjJeep]

My Jeep and the HUMMER

 

[sherman]

Thanks for the reply (to SoNjJeep). Nice rigs. Wonder if we'll cross paths?

Generally when I come out (once a year), I bum around an area for a couple
of weeks and rough it. Only had the Hummer out for two previous trips. Before that, had a slightly built ZJ. That made the trip out many more times. Did Mosquito and Weston pass in it around Leadville. I have land there but it's now up for sale since the property taxes went exponential.