Buena Vista to Ouray to Telluride Pics & Vid...
08-24-2018, 05:01 PM
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Buena Vista to Ouray to Telluride Pics & Vid...
Two hours after receiving the call from my buddy Chris, Zach and I hit the road for Colorado on our first Father and Son off-roading trip together. And, what an epic trip it was! We arrived to the Mount Princeton Hot Springs Resort in Nathrop, CO a little after Midnight on Thursday night, and Zach held up the entire road trip. He was so excited to stay up that late with Daddy, and I promise Jamie, we ate healthy the entire day...lol.
Friday morning, we were up and at it early. We had a long day planned, and both of us were super excited to get rolling. Our first adventure was walking through the woods at the resort. Then, we loaded up and headed 12 miles up the road to St. Elmo, CO to feed the chipmunks. And, boy was that a hit with Zach. They climbed and jumped all over him...it was awesome. After that we bought a few souvenirs and shirts in the store and hit the trails. Our first trail was Tin Cup, which took us from St. Elmo to Tincup Pass and down into the town of Tin Cup. On the way, we stopped for lunch at Mirror Lake, and outside of having a few people pass by and folks on the far side, we had the whole spot to ourselves. After Tin Cup we headed up to the Taylor Park Reservoir, bought a few more things, filled the cooler with ice, and got back on the pavement towards Gunnison and then down to Lake City to meet up with Chris. Once we hit the road, Zach assured me he wasn't tired, yet shortly into the ride he was fast asleep. We rolled into Lake City about 3pm, and Chris wasn't going to arrive till around 5pm. So, we had a nice late lunch at the Southern Vittles restaurant. Zach quickly found some friends playing cops and robbers in the field next to the restaurant. So, I grabbed a real estate magazine and dreamed of owning something in the CO mountains while Zach had a ball with his new friends. 5pm rolled around, and we met Chris at the gas station and headed up Cinnamon Pass. We had to cross the Southern loop of the famous Alpine Loop to get over to Ouray, CO that evening.
Of course, it started raining as soon as we hit the trail, but it made for some cool pics. Once we got to Animas Forks, we dropped into Mineral Creek and over to Ouray around 8:15pm. We made a quick stop at Box Canyon Lodge & Hot Springs to checkin, then off to dinner at the Ouray Brewery...nearly all the restaurants close at 9pm in town even on a Friday night, so we were glad to make it there just in time. Food was really good, and of course Zach was super excited about going to the hot springs at our hotel. So, we left everybody and headed back to the hotel to soak in the hot springs till a little after 10pm. We loved every minute of it, but I think Zach was most excited about staying up so late...lol. Overall, our first day in the mountains of Colorado was spectacular! A huge thanks to my beautiful wife Jamie for letting us escape the Des Moines West KOA and enjoy our favorite past time. Day 1 was a success, and we were looking forward to another exciting day on Saturday. Our plan was to do Black Bear down to Telluride then back up to Ouray on Imogene.
Chris
Friday morning, we were up and at it early. We had a long day planned, and both of us were super excited to get rolling. Our first adventure was walking through the woods at the resort. Then, we loaded up and headed 12 miles up the road to St. Elmo, CO to feed the chipmunks. And, boy was that a hit with Zach. They climbed and jumped all over him...it was awesome. After that we bought a few souvenirs and shirts in the store and hit the trails. Our first trail was Tin Cup, which took us from St. Elmo to Tincup Pass and down into the town of Tin Cup. On the way, we stopped for lunch at Mirror Lake, and outside of having a few people pass by and folks on the far side, we had the whole spot to ourselves. After Tin Cup we headed up to the Taylor Park Reservoir, bought a few more things, filled the cooler with ice, and got back on the pavement towards Gunnison and then down to Lake City to meet up with Chris. Once we hit the road, Zach assured me he wasn't tired, yet shortly into the ride he was fast asleep. We rolled into Lake City about 3pm, and Chris wasn't going to arrive till around 5pm. So, we had a nice late lunch at the Southern Vittles restaurant. Zach quickly found some friends playing cops and robbers in the field next to the restaurant. So, I grabbed a real estate magazine and dreamed of owning something in the CO mountains while Zach had a ball with his new friends. 5pm rolled around, and we met Chris at the gas station and headed up Cinnamon Pass. We had to cross the Southern loop of the famous Alpine Loop to get over to Ouray, CO that evening.
Of course, it started raining as soon as we hit the trail, but it made for some cool pics. Once we got to Animas Forks, we dropped into Mineral Creek and over to Ouray around 8:15pm. We made a quick stop at Box Canyon Lodge & Hot Springs to checkin, then off to dinner at the Ouray Brewery...nearly all the restaurants close at 9pm in town even on a Friday night, so we were glad to make it there just in time. Food was really good, and of course Zach was super excited about going to the hot springs at our hotel. So, we left everybody and headed back to the hotel to soak in the hot springs till a little after 10pm. We loved every minute of it, but I think Zach was most excited about staying up so late...lol. Overall, our first day in the mountains of Colorado was spectacular! A huge thanks to my beautiful wife Jamie for letting us escape the Des Moines West KOA and enjoy our favorite past time. Day 1 was a success, and we were looking forward to another exciting day on Saturday. Our plan was to do Black Bear down to Telluride then back up to Ouray on Imogene.
Chris
08-24-2018, 05:26 PM
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Our second day started out with breakfast at the The Timberline Deli of Ouray with Chris & Robert. Robert drove all night from Greeley, CO to meet us in Ouray, so needless to say he was running on pure adrenaline in anticipation of what the day would hold. Todd, Robert's friend had arrived late last night. Todd had wheeled the Alpine Loop previously, and Robert had never been to this area to wheel. It's always fun to introduce friends to areas that we love, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Chris and I met for the first time here to go wheeling back in 2006 and ever since we've had tons of epic wheeling adventures together. So, this was sure to be another one for the story books.
So, we headed out from the hotel around 8:30am with the rain settling in. We joked about how smart it was to head down Black Bear while it was raining, and we ensured our spouses it was completely safe of course.
Black Bear is one of the sought after trails in this area that takes you from Hwy 550 down descending rapidly down into Telluride through some of the tightest switchbacks known. The trail isn't really that difficult, but for those scared of heights or cliffs, it's a hairy trail. Many of the switchbacks require multiple point turns and a good spotter to prevent you from driving off the cliffs. Bridal Veil Falls is the big waterfall you'll see on this trail and popular photo location. From the top of the pass down to the base of the falls, the trail is one-way, because it's too narrow for two-way traffic. So, once you begin the descent, there's no turning back.
We ate lunch in Telluride, fueled up, and hit the Imogene Trail back to Ouray. It's cool to stop along this trail and look at the switchbacks we just came down on Black Bear. Imogene is a beautiful trail that took us up to 13,114' elevation. Chris and his brother-in-law Todd were sucking down some oxygen to boost their spirits...lol. The trail riding ended today around 5pm, allowing us to enjoy a nice dinner at the Buen Tiempo Mexican restaurant where old time stories ensued. There was tons of laughing and shenanigans, for sure. Day 2 was in the books, and tomorrow we decided that instead of taking the easy route over to Lake City, we'd take the hardest route possible: Mineral Creek to Poughkeepsie Gulch up and over California Pass, up and over Engineer's Pass, and then down in Lake City.
So, we headed out from the hotel around 8:30am with the rain settling in. We joked about how smart it was to head down Black Bear while it was raining, and we ensured our spouses it was completely safe of course.
Black Bear is one of the sought after trails in this area that takes you from Hwy 550 down descending rapidly down into Telluride through some of the tightest switchbacks known. The trail isn't really that difficult, but for those scared of heights or cliffs, it's a hairy trail. Many of the switchbacks require multiple point turns and a good spotter to prevent you from driving off the cliffs. Bridal Veil Falls is the big waterfall you'll see on this trail and popular photo location. From the top of the pass down to the base of the falls, the trail is one-way, because it's too narrow for two-way traffic. So, once you begin the descent, there's no turning back.We ate lunch in Telluride, fueled up, and hit the Imogene Trail back to Ouray. It's cool to stop along this trail and look at the switchbacks we just came down on Black Bear. Imogene is a beautiful trail that took us up to 13,114' elevation. Chris and his brother-in-law Todd were sucking down some oxygen to boost their spirits...lol. The trail riding ended today around 5pm, allowing us to enjoy a nice dinner at the Buen Tiempo Mexican restaurant where old time stories ensued. There was tons of laughing and shenanigans, for sure. Day 2 was in the books, and tomorrow we decided that instead of taking the easy route over to Lake City, we'd take the hardest route possible: Mineral Creek to Poughkeepsie Gulch up and over California Pass, up and over Engineer's Pass, and then down in Lake City.
08-24-2018, 05:54 PM
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The 3rd day was our last day of wheeling, but in normal fashion Chris and I had big plans for another super fun day. Our last day, our plan was to go back up Mineral Creek to Poughkeepsie Gulch, then up and over California Pass, up and over Engineer Pass, and then down into Lake City. It was a gorgeous bright sunny day like most days in Colorado, so we all were excited for another adventure. Todd decided to make a separate run up to Alta Lakes to do some tent camping, instead, so he was missed. Mineral Creek trail is a fun trail with nice obstacles to play around on before getting to Poughkeepsie Gulch. Once we got on PG, the obstacles begin to get a little more challenging and fun with lots of loose rocks on some fairly steep climbs. The main obstacle on PG is the Wall, which we were all excited to hit again. For Robert, with his more mild all-terrains and his first time here, I'm sure his heart was racing as we guided him up the wall. Chris, on the other hand, was determined to make it up in Todd's TRD Pro 4runner, but after a few failed attempts, a scratched up front bumper, and hurt ego, I ended up winching him up. It's all about the perfect line when you don't have a front locker, and luckily for Robert, he was right on target and with a few bumps made it right up unscathed and floating on cloud nine. I decided to head back down the right side and try the left side in the Jeep, because I had never gone up that route. After dipping through a muddy puddle and getting to the base of the climb, my nice wet and muddy tires required a little heat to get me up. But, in the end, the Jeep didn't disappoint. Once I found the right line, it walked right up and over the top. There's a few more fun sections while approaching Lake Como, which is one of the prettiest spots in the area. We took some pics and headed up and over California Pass at 12,963'. From there, we headed to Odom point just before you get to Engineer's Pass. 360 degree views just never seem to get old up there. After that, we headed up to Engineer's Pass, grabbed a few pics and started down the mountain. On our first trip Chris & I raced our SxS's down the mountain, which was insane but so much fun! This trip, we kept it under 75mph babe! We got down to Lake City about 2 hours behind schedule, so everyone was ready to hit the road home. Zach had fallen asleep about 20 minutes from the end of the trail, but I had promised him that we'd eat at Southern Vittles again, because he wanted to see his friends he made a few days ago. We had a good lunch, walked around the building where the kids were playing and one of them was riding his bike around. They exchanged some words...till next time! Of course the end of all epic guys trips ends with some fantasticly large helpings of ice cream, right? So we walked over to the San Juan Soda Co.for some delicious ice cream before our road trip home. Overall, this was one of the best trips of my life, and I think Zach felt the same way. And, to top it all off, we stopped on the side of 285 while making our way back through Denver to shoot some quick pics and vids of a young moose! I really look forward to future trips we take together, because there's something super special about sharing memories like this with your kiddos. Till next time, Chris, Robert, and Todd. I'm thinking the Rubicon Trail and Fordyce, or Moab anytime sounds awesome! Who's up for another adventure?!?!
It's all about the perfect line when you don't have a front locker, and luckily for Robert, he was right on target and with a few bumps made it right up unscathed and floating on cloud nine. I decided to head back down the right side and try the left side in the Jeep, because I had never gone up that route. After dipping through a muddy puddle and getting to the base of the climb, my nice wet and muddy tires required a little heat to get me up. But, in the end, the Jeep didn't disappoint. Once I found the right line, it walked right up and over the top. There's a few more fun sections while approaching Lake Como, which is one of the prettiest spots in the area. We took some pics and headed up and over California Pass at 12,963'. From there, we headed to Odom point just before you get to Engineer's Pass. 360 degree views just never seem to get old up there. After that, we headed up to Engineer's Pass, grabbed a few pics and started down the mountain. On our first trip Chris & I raced our SxS's down the mountain, which was insane but so much fun! This trip, we kept it under 75mph babe! We got down to Lake City about 2 hours behind schedule, so everyone was ready to hit the road home. Zach had fallen asleep about 20 minutes from the end of the trail, but I had promised him that we'd eat at Southern Vittles again, because he wanted to see his friends he made a few days ago. We had a good lunch, walked around the building where the kids were playing and one of them was riding his bike around. They exchanged some words...till next time! Of course the end of all epic guys trips ends with some fantasticly large helpings of ice cream, right? So we walked over to the San Juan Soda Co.for some delicious ice cream before our road trip home. Overall, this was one of the best trips of my life, and I think Zach felt the same way. And, to top it all off, we stopped on the side of 285 while making our way back through Denver to shoot some quick pics and vids of a young moose! I really look forward to future trips we take together, because there's something super special about sharing memories like this with your kiddos. Till next time, Chris, Robert, and Todd. I'm thinking the Rubicon Trail and Fordyce, or Moab anytime sounds awesome! Who's up for another adventure?!?!
Last edited by ravencr; 08-24-2018 at 05:56 PM.
08-25-2018, 04:25 PM
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Looks like it was a great trip! Love that area, and those chippies at St Elmo are indeed always a hoot! Great father/son time.
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08-27-2018, 04:10 AM
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Looks like we're headed to Moab the 14th of October. That's by far my favorite place to wheel. But, I'll be in my Polaris ACE 900XC for that trip with a bunch of Toyotas.
Chris
Chris