90Xjay
New member
90Xjay- Colorado trail adventure Pictures!
We just got back from our yearly Colorado trip. This year we started out in Durango where I had a rented Jeep "RJ" as I called it. We weren't able to do the Alpine Loop fully as Engineer Pass had already gotten 4 feet of snow and was closed for the year. Cinnamon Pass was passable but had a difficult area of snowy ruts for about 200 yards.
We decided to take out for Stony Pass and the headwaters of the Rio Grande River. The trip up was good. I did get sideways in RJ on a icy area where the trees kept the sun from melting the snow and ice. My buddy backed up and pulled me up with his Rubi. That was the only time we really had to use and recovery equipement. My wife and kids bailed on me when the RJ turned nearly sideways on the road when it slid back down and was pointing to a 25 foot drop off. :redface:
The trail from the summit of Stony into Creede was long. 46 miles making a total off road trail for the day of around 60 miles. It took us nearly 7 hours of off road driving, to get back to pavement 10 miles from Creede. Parts of the trail were rough, rocks as big as an ice chest were the biggest problems.
We got into Creede and came back to Durango through South Fork, Wolf Creek, and Pagosa Springs. That was a long day of trail riding, but the steaks, good food, coffee and conversation we enjoyed until midnight made a perfect ending to a great day.
On Sunday morning we headed up to Kennebec Pass. you get there by heading west out of Durango towards Mancos. About 10 miles out you see the signs. The aspens were out in the most awesome display of gold, yellow and orange. The trail up to the pass was kind of rough for RJ in street tires but my buddies Rubi didn't even notice. It's about 20 miles to the scenic outlook just below Kennebec Pass. There were about 5 other rigs there, some people were hiking and mountain biking. There was a forestry sign that showed a map and a road leading to the pass and it said Durango 26 miles. Off we went toward the "pass". The road to the pass was all rock and narrow. 5 foot snow drifts were on the drivers side on the way up. My buddy got to the notch in the rock before me and radioed back saying something did not look right. He said we should park and go scout it out.
Just 20 feet past the summit was a cliff with a several hundred feet fall into a canyon below. The actual trail was to the extreme right, one part of the trail had gave way and it all disappeared into the side of the mountain just a few hundred feet below. There was no usable trail past the summit. Why they had the sign with directions to Durango and why they still call it a "pass" is a mystery to us. We had to watch each other back up and get headed back down. I had set the brake and still put big rocks under the tires while I left the kids in the RJ. We saw where someone had put up a small pile of rocks to try and keep people from driving off the edge and we found 4 crosses to memoralize the 4 people who obviously did not know better and lost their life.
The next day we drove into Dolores and rented a cabin at an RV park. The place was beautiful and nearly deserted. We had the whole place by ourself nearly. We did day trips into Cortez, visited the Anasazi Indian Heritage Center toured ruins, went to several trading post and just enjoyed the area.
The next to last day, we packed up early and went out to Four Corners.
Four Corners is a monument out in the desert, 38 miles from Cortez that marks the exact spot where Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico all meet. There is no other place in the US where 4 states come together that way. The Navaho people set up veding booths and sell there handmade jewelry and crafts on the site.
We left there and drove south east through New Mexico, stayed out one more night and got back the next day.
Our time spent out on the trails in Colorado have been some of the best times and memories for my family and you can't do it without a good 4X4.
Our Jeeps link us back to nature and God's wonderful canvas of color and senses,.... thats a good thing.
This past year, while my work has been a blessing and very rewarding, the stress level had just about gotten to me. I really needed this.
thanks for taking time to read my rambling report, I hope you enjoyed it 1/2 as much as I enjoyed living it.8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
Now click this link to see the pictures. link to Colorado pics
We just got back from our yearly Colorado trip. This year we started out in Durango where I had a rented Jeep "RJ" as I called it. We weren't able to do the Alpine Loop fully as Engineer Pass had already gotten 4 feet of snow and was closed for the year. Cinnamon Pass was passable but had a difficult area of snowy ruts for about 200 yards.
We decided to take out for Stony Pass and the headwaters of the Rio Grande River. The trip up was good. I did get sideways in RJ on a icy area where the trees kept the sun from melting the snow and ice. My buddy backed up and pulled me up with his Rubi. That was the only time we really had to use and recovery equipement. My wife and kids bailed on me when the RJ turned nearly sideways on the road when it slid back down and was pointing to a 25 foot drop off. :redface:
The trail from the summit of Stony into Creede was long. 46 miles making a total off road trail for the day of around 60 miles. It took us nearly 7 hours of off road driving, to get back to pavement 10 miles from Creede. Parts of the trail were rough, rocks as big as an ice chest were the biggest problems.
We got into Creede and came back to Durango through South Fork, Wolf Creek, and Pagosa Springs. That was a long day of trail riding, but the steaks, good food, coffee and conversation we enjoyed until midnight made a perfect ending to a great day.
On Sunday morning we headed up to Kennebec Pass. you get there by heading west out of Durango towards Mancos. About 10 miles out you see the signs. The aspens were out in the most awesome display of gold, yellow and orange. The trail up to the pass was kind of rough for RJ in street tires but my buddies Rubi didn't even notice. It's about 20 miles to the scenic outlook just below Kennebec Pass. There were about 5 other rigs there, some people were hiking and mountain biking. There was a forestry sign that showed a map and a road leading to the pass and it said Durango 26 miles. Off we went toward the "pass". The road to the pass was all rock and narrow. 5 foot snow drifts were on the drivers side on the way up. My buddy got to the notch in the rock before me and radioed back saying something did not look right. He said we should park and go scout it out.
Just 20 feet past the summit was a cliff with a several hundred feet fall into a canyon below. The actual trail was to the extreme right, one part of the trail had gave way and it all disappeared into the side of the mountain just a few hundred feet below. There was no usable trail past the summit. Why they had the sign with directions to Durango and why they still call it a "pass" is a mystery to us. We had to watch each other back up and get headed back down. I had set the brake and still put big rocks under the tires while I left the kids in the RJ. We saw where someone had put up a small pile of rocks to try and keep people from driving off the edge and we found 4 crosses to memoralize the 4 people who obviously did not know better and lost their life.
The next day we drove into Dolores and rented a cabin at an RV park. The place was beautiful and nearly deserted. We had the whole place by ourself nearly. We did day trips into Cortez, visited the Anasazi Indian Heritage Center toured ruins, went to several trading post and just enjoyed the area.
The next to last day, we packed up early and went out to Four Corners.
Four Corners is a monument out in the desert, 38 miles from Cortez that marks the exact spot where Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico all meet. There is no other place in the US where 4 states come together that way. The Navaho people set up veding booths and sell there handmade jewelry and crafts on the site.
We left there and drove south east through New Mexico, stayed out one more night and got back the next day.
Our time spent out on the trails in Colorado have been some of the best times and memories for my family and you can't do it without a good 4X4.
Our Jeeps link us back to nature and God's wonderful canvas of color and senses,.... thats a good thing.
This past year, while my work has been a blessing and very rewarding, the stress level had just about gotten to me. I really needed this.
thanks for taking time to read my rambling report, I hope you enjoyed it 1/2 as much as I enjoyed living it.8) 8) 8) 8) 8)
Now click this link to see the pictures. link to Colorado pics
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