Moving to Colorado!

[Absolut Widow]

Hey guys, figured I'd introduce myself. I'm Mike. I'll be moving out to the Idaho Springs area on May 1st. Visited back in the summer and fell in love.

Looking forward to getting out to Colorado and do some serious wheeling, backpacking and camping. I'll be driving out in 90 XJ from Maryland. :thumbup:

Any tips for a noob are appreciated. Hope to see you guys around! :wave1:

 

[DutchVDub]

Sorry, we already have a Mike in the chapter. You'll need to either stay in Maryland or change your name. .!.. ..!.

 

[in4aride]

And I'm an asshole so don't want us confused. The other one is grumpy too.
Where in Maryland?
Keep extra water for that thing on way out??

 

[jdxj]

Don't let these two scare ya off! Welcome to the chapter! Look forward to meeting ya!

 

[Absolut Widow]

Haha oh man, I already feel at home!

in4aride - I'm right outside of Baltimore. I'll be bringing plenty of fluids, spare parts, etc for the trip. :thumbup:

 

[eflores]

high altitude crank sensor FTW

 

[in4aride]

high altitude crank sensor FTW

X bragillion

 

[Absolut Widow]

Yeah? I didn't even realize there was a high altitude CPS. I carry a spare in my Jeep just in case, will have to look into the high altitude. Does it really make a difference?

 

[old_man]

It advances the timing around 4-6 degrees, which really helps on the performance at this altitude.

 

[eflores]

Part number su3014 from vatozone

 

[Absolut Widow]

Haha Vatozone, that's a good one.

Just grabbed a new one the other day for my trip. Should have posted this first.. heh I'll wait till it fails on me out in CO, they don't even stock the high altitude CPS's here..

Anyone have good recommendations for wheeling spots in the Clear Creek County area? I've been browsing TrailDamage for some spots.

How are the junkyards out there? Easy to find parts?

 

[SolarBell]

There are 2 pull-and-pays within 30-40 minute of Idaho Springs.

A couple of my favorite close trails are 20 minutes from Idaho Springs or less.
- Barbour Fork
- Red Elephant Hill (bring a friend, a winch, or both) to Mill Creek
- Bill Moore Lake

 

[Absolut Widow]

Awesome. Thanks for the recommendations, SolarBell!

 

[Hypoid]

There are a ton of mountain roads within a half hour. Along with a somewhat decent topo map, you want to get the Motor Vehicle Usage Maps (MVUMs) from the Forest Service.

http://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?17084-MVUM-s

Glad you found the chapter, awesome people here. :thumbup:

 

[UnlimitedMatt]

There are 2 pull-and-pays within 30-40 minute of Idaho Springs.

A couple of my favorite close trails are 20 minutes from Idaho Springs or less.
- Barbour Fork
- Red Elephant Hill (bring a friend, a winch, or both) to Mill Creek
- Bill Moore Lake

How could you leave Spring Creek off your list?

OP - What kind of work did you find in Idaho Springs?

 

[Jelfff]

There are a ton of mountain roads within a half hour. Along with a somewhat decent topo map...

The following link starts Gmap4 (I am the developer) and displays a high resolution topo map centered on Idaho Springs, CO. These hi-res topos cover most of the USA.

http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.php?ll=39.742373,-105.515067&z=15&t=t4

To find a different area you can zoom (mouse wheel) and pan the map but it is faster to use Menu ==> Search.

If you open a Gmap4 link with your smartphone or other mobile device then it automatically displays a touch-friendly interface. If you do Menu ==> "My Location" on a mobile device then the map will center where you are.

If you have data about your land in a file (boundary, trails, hunting stands, etc) and your file is a GPX, KML, KMZ, TPO, Google My Places, then Gmap4 can display that file.

To see topo lines on top of an aerial, first change the basemap to one of the aerial views (button in upper right corner of the map). Then open the basemap menu again, go down to the "Overlay" section and click "USA_contour_lines."

You can print through your browser (use Firefox and "Print preview") but the quality is not that great.

The Gmap4 homepage has a FAQ, examples, quick start info (in the Help file) and more to quickly get you up to speed.

Gmap4 default map: http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.php

Gmap4 homepage: http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.html

Joseph, the Gmap4 guy
Redmond, WA

 

[Absolut Widow]

That is AWESOME, Jelfff!!! Thanks a million, this will definitely come in handy. You deserve a lot of credit! :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Hypoid]

WOW! Your first post on this board is to quote me... :eyes:

How did you "just happen" to wander into this thread?

Also, those maps are awesome! :thumbup:

 

[Jelfff]

Thanks for the kind words.

Now and again I do a google search for threads where topo maps are mentioned. If it looks like people posting in the thread might like to know about Gmap4, then I'll drop in on the thread and post some info.

BTW, the next update will include full support for MGRS coordinates.
aka Military Grid Reference System

Joseph, the Gmap4 guy

 

[Hypoid]

AHA! I thought so.

BTW, I'll be linking you to that other thread. Thanks again!