CO trip with family--summer 07.

[Whoknows]

Hey all,

I'm relatively new to the forum, but read it with frequency. I found it just in time to purchase a Adventure Trailer instead of a Fleetwood/traditional pop-up. Very pleased with that decision. We've had fun so far and made several trips as a family. This summer, we're planning our first big trip. The rough plan is to explore trails and camping in Colorado. I have two excellent books for off-road guidance and plan to stick to moderate rated trails at best/worst and keeping on the tamer side of those.

I'd love to hear ideas about fun trails, and places I could take advantage of the self-contained living that the trailer provides in the high country (i.e., good spots). I'm really excited about the idea and want to plan well.

Concerns I have are: 1) my lack of off-road experience -- I'm a beginner (I've had my 4runner 2 years, have strong driving skills, and have gone off-road whenever I can to gain experience), 2) we will be traveling alone, 3) hauling my trailer and dealing with the potential of needing to turn around on a trail.

The upsides are: I think I have a capable rig (V8 runner w/ 3" OME lift and AT tires) and the trailer is well-suited for the situation. I have lots of backcountry experience in CO. I've researched and purchased good recovery gear (but would welcome input).

Sorry for the LONG post. Your feedback and ideas are appreciated.

David

[durango_60]

No shortage of great spots in my area, SW Colorado, its an easy drive from Texas, especially if you are by chance in the DFW area. What are the ages of the family?

[crawler#976]

Perhaps the best recommendation I can give you is a forum member and friend - Darren Kilgore

Check out Darrens site: http://www.mycolorado.org/index.html

On his advice we toured the Alpine Loop (Engineer and Cinnamon Passes) a couple years ago. It offers a great variety of sights and terrain. We were on the Loop inbetween snow closures late in Sept - it snowed so heavily we never saw a thing above 11'000 feet...

We have spent a couple weeks in the Creede area - lots to see there also. We really enjoyed the remote and seldom visited Wheeler Geological Area. It would offer an opportunity to really use an off highway camper!

Mark

[Rubi-Khan]

I highly recommend Imogene Pass! I've done it in my newer Jeep and my Avalanche. It's a blast!

The trail from Animas Forks up to Stony Pass is a really neat trip with some fun side roads. I haven't done the other side though.

If you're looking for a little more of a challenge in that area, do the leg of Engineer Pass that runs from Animas Forks towards Ouray. Some of the books are calling it by a different name. Something like Mineral Springs.

If you are interested in having the company of someone with wheelin' experience, let me know!

-neal

[Rubi-Khan]

Dave,

If you've done Engineer from Lake City to Ouray then you've done the section I speak of. One of the newest guide books doesn't call it Engineer Pass between the turn off to Animas and the paved road below Ouray. It is the section that Poughkeepsie turns off of. (I hear Poughkeepsie is a challenge but I haven't had the chance to do it.) I mention this section because it seemed to be a notch harder than the Alpine Loop part of Engineer which is what most folks do. I met a guy there once riding an enduro style motorcycle who had come from Lake City and said it was all gravy to Animas Forks turnoff and the rest was kickin' his butt. I either heard, read or dreamed that this section of the trail was no longer being maintained by the dept that was maintaining the Loop.

Hope this helps! If it's real important I might be persuaded to go dig the book outta my heep and see what it was called.

-neal

[pskhaat]

I still probably consider myself to be a CO native. This would be a great 'round CO trip that would highlight most all that the state has to offer in terms of varied scenery and interesting places:

I would start with a short stop around Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park, and Grand & Grandby Lakes. It's a slightly populated area, but worth the visit. You can easily traverse across the top of the state on country roads filled with sagebrush to the Steamboat area where things are layed back and lots of camping in the surrounding hills.

Head over to the Dinosaur Nat'l Monument with the Yampa River. Cut down across the Western Slope desert into Grand Junction and enjoy some of the finest wine in the country IMNSHO in Palisade. The CO Nat'l Monument is just South and you can wind your way to Ouray and do the famous alpine loop road sets. Down through Durango or Lake City, over to Wolf Creek and across to the Great Sand Dunes and the San Luis Valley. Avoid the state highways where possible of course. Done.

This route is a little off-the-guidebook track, but contains mostly forest service type roads but gets you to a few really good locations where the guide books will detail the true harder `trails' in each area.

Want more time? Head North from the San Luis and you'll hit a pack of 14'ers that will keep you busy.

[Rubi-Khan]

and across to the Great Sand Dunes and the San Luis Valley. Done.

If you do the Dunes, consider taking the Medano Pass 4wd road out of the park if you're headed north or into the park if headed south. There are some great free primitive camping sites along this trail. A few sites even offer a little nearby fishing.

[kcowyo]

Just a suggestion, but for a summer visit to Colorado, I would have a Plan A and a Plan B itinerary. Maybe even a 3rd, Plan C.

I'm thinking of weather, fires, crowds, etc. If you lock yourself into one route but in that area the fires and smoke are bad next summer, or it rains everyday like the San Juans had this year, it can really put a damper on your trip. If by next summer you have two different potential routes in mind, you'll be one step ahead of Mother Nature and you'll double your chances of a fun, safe trip.

Regarding your concerns, which I think are very valid and should be appreciated by everyone who may cross your path next summer, I would be leary about dragging a trailer over Imogene or Black Bear or even Engineer. I'm thinking only about the logistics of some of the extremely tight switchbacks and potential headaches that could occur. If you can leave it in camp, you'll enjoy those trails and others like them in your 4Runner a lot more.

There are tons of beautiful spots in Colorado (Darren's site as suggested would make a great place to do some research), but I'm partial to the San Juan Mountains and the SW corner of the state.

[Wanderlusty]

I am hoping to plan a very similar trip next summer as well, possibly mid-August. A lot of puzzle pieces have to fall in place between now and then, though.

So is there any one 'must have' map for the Alpine Loop and Imogene Pass?

Around here, I pretty much use the National Forest maps, and some PC based topos, MS Streets and Trips, etc...

But is there another map that comes highly reccomended?

[Rubi-Khan]

So is there any one 'must have' map for the Alpine Loop and Imogene Pass?

Around here, I pretty much use the National Forest maps, and some PC based topos, MS Streets and Trips, etc...

But is there another map that comes highly reccomended?

I like the following book:

GUIDE TO
Colorado
Backroads &
4-Wheel Drive Trails
2nd Edition
by Charles A. Wells

75 Trails with Maps (83), Directions
Over 425 Photos plus GPS Waypoints
286 Pages
http://4x4books.com/cb.htm