Colorado 2015 Trip

#1
Okay we all have talk every time that the next year we're gonna make it out west to go wheelin. I think i'm really gonna push to make it this year, seeing it will be my last summer as a student and don't have any real obligations. A good number of built rigs on Jeepforum are going last week of july or first week of August. So i'm probably gonna try to go then cause I can stop my internship then.


Lemme know if any of y'all want to go. I am absolutely dieing to get out there so if no one has a trailer to tow double on i'll probably sell my jon boat and buy a trailer.


Post up if you're interested here is the JF thread, obviously if enough people go we won't have to stay with the jeepforum crew and do our own trails.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f345/jf-trip-2-0-a-2608114/
 
#6
I'll take the buggy if I go. I think it is comfortable and equipped well enough to go distance in. I would def. rig it up differently than it is currently. Spare on back etc.
 
#8
^^understand. That's my current issue. I actually have no paid vacation at the moment but I am able to take days here and there. A week would probably be frowned upon. Considering I have a lot of other things planned.
 
#17
Doing eastern jeep in April 2015

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I'm going, taking the cj5. I've been keeping an eye out for some parts lately. Scored an old school 8274 for it. Found some power steering parts. Looking for a 4 speed with a granny. Gone out some 31's on it and just enjoy the little thing.
 
#19
I think with power steering, shackles, good shocks, 31's it would be super cool to have it out there. Just catch up with the stock vehicle group and cruise the trails I've never seen. Speaking of Moab I'll be there in 4 weeks.
 
#20
I'll probably do Colorado again next year. I can tell you right now, it was a friggen blast.

I didn't have any kind of formidable off road vehicle, but next year I'm just going to do the San Juans. In a decent 4x4, you can knock out everything in the Telluride, Silverton, Ouray, and Clear Lake area in 3 days. That is pretty much everything. I stayed 2 nights at the Ouray KOA. Next year I'm going to stay in Silverton. More centrally located and you can walk to downtown Silverton. Bring cash since the people of Silverton haven't figured out how to include the 3% credit card fee into their pricing. Google says the Ouray KOA is in downtown. This is a lie. That said, that KOA was friggen nice.

Don't expect to actually get anything in Telluride. Its just an expensive yuppie place. However the Telluride Historical Museum was solid. Definitely make a trip there. Ophir pass will scare your passenger. Really do engineer and cinnamon while you are there. But just drive up it then back down. I did the "alpine loop" but besides the actual mountains, a lot of it was meh. If time is an issue, it'll save you a bunch because once you get off the mountain, it just goes on forever. Clear Lake is an alright spot.

The Ouray Brewery serves some of the most mediocre beer. There is another brewery in Ouray (rumored) that was supposed to be awesome. Never did find it. 2 breweries in Silverton but since I couldn't get any data on my phone, didn't know when they were open.

Oh and there is no phone data available outside of Denver and Colorado Springs. If you do find it, stop and do whatever you need. I was basically disconnected the entire time from anything data and a lot from phone. I did my research beforehand and thought I would have data. Lies. So when I went to rely on Google maps, I was SOL. Also campsites that claim to have wifi have it, but no bandwidth for you. All the jerks in their RVs are streaming netflix and use up all the bandwidth. Only time it was worth a darn was 5am in the morning. My personal phone is Verizon and it was useless the entire time but occasionally my work ATT phone would pick up just enough data to upload my work emails to annoy me. FML.

Definitely pre-load your GPS with waypoints, etc you need. Will make your life easier. Those maps provided in the book are good, but not good-good. So many other trails and everything. If you can simply put important intersections and trail waypoints in a GPS, it'll help you out so much. Numerous times I'd come to an intersection and wonder if I'm even at the right spot. I did borrow one of these maps from a family friend, it is most superior:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1566953405...TF8&colid=28YHU94TOH07V&coliid=I21XRKDRA2ISYZ

If you need supplies, Gunnison and Montrose were GREAT places to pick up what you need. That way you avoid the little grocery stores that won't have crap. I'm all about supporting the local guys but when he runs out of tortillas, he is out. Also the little guys close at like, 5pm. So if you want to take a shower, go grab a bite, then get groceries, eff you. Wait until 9 or 10am tomorrow when they open. Also in generall, I felt like the food out there wasn't all that good and expensive. We cooked most of the time just because what I could make on a camp stove was far more delicious than their crap on a plate.

BTW eggs over easy and a side of sausage in the morning is fantastic.

Bring a couple long sleeve shirts with a little bit of weight to it and then a decent wind breaking fleece jacket. This will take care of your clothing requirements. Oh and long pants. In the morning it was cold until the sun hit you. Then throughout the day it fluctuated. I found a long sleeve shirt was used a lot and in the morning and evening, I wore the fleece. Oh and it is always windy out there...effing always.

If you aren't in good shape, start working out now. We typically camped at 10,000ft or so. The first night we setup camp, I got winded and my dad had to sit down for a bit. The altitude gets you. I'm in pretty good shape (I bike ride 40 miles every Sunday morning) and that altitude got me. As the week went on, I got better but I was surprised how often I got winded.

I've got a ton of GPS and written data for the San Juans on camping spots, trails, etc. The rest of my route was more southern than what you propose. Really a Jeep JK with some decent ATs is all you need out there for most of the trails (aside from like, Independence and that crap). Traction is really good out there, so a good road tire that is just tough is great. Air down to knock some of the bump out of the trails. Saw a bunch of stock 1/2 ton crew cab pickups on the trails.

Everyone told me the motorcycles would be terrible. I never had any problem with them. However be vigilant because I kept hearing about those jerks being a problem.

I've heard Aspen is like Telluride, just stupid expensive for not a lot.

Aside from the Ouray KOA, we just camped wherever. Campsites are just all over the effing place and on the weekdays, you got it all to yourself. We would go almost an entire day without seeing anyone else. It was nice. Be able to see all the stars at night.

Just remember to gas up whenever I you can. If you have half a tank, don't risk it. So many times I'd burn through half a tank of fuel and be nowhere near a gas station. You don't need to go all stupid and put 5 gas cans on the back of your rig, just don't let it get below half. We did run into availability problems in Clear Lake. We just showed up the wrong day or whatever. Had enough to get back to Silverton but if we didn't, you are just SOL.

Transmission coolers. Invest.

That is all I gots. Let me know if you have any other questions. I can try to field it. But overall, do it.
 
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