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Adventure Time, Colorado: 3 Jeep trails and 1 14er

8K views 86 replies 29 participants last post by  scipio337 
#1 ·
Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

(I will either find a way, or make one)

- Hannibal of Carthage

In August 2013, two fortyish suburbanite dads decided a guys-only road trip was needed. My Jeep was only a month old, but I knew the only place that road trip could be was Colorado. I had been there two years before in my Jeep Patriot (gag), and knew I could have 10 times as much fun in a "real" Jeep.

The plan was to camp for a full week, fairly high to acclimatize, hit as many Jeep trails as we could, and successfully summit at least one 14er (shooting for two).

After 11 months, a dozen trips to REI, countless miles on elliptical trainers and stair climbers, weekly hikes (and 25 pounds for me), it finally happened.

Getting there: 13 1/2 hours from Eureka MO, to Lakeview Campground near Twin Lakes, CO, about half way in between Leadville and Buena Vista on Hwy 24 in the San Isabel National forest.




A little on my Wrangler: It's embarrassingly stock. Ace sliders are the only non-cosmetic upgrade I've made. 2014 Rubicon in Commando. With a kid in college we're paying cash for, and two more in private grade school, the mods will come, but painfully slow.

It's July 12th, the Jeep is loaded at my house, let's hit the road!



A 2 mile drive to my buddy Vince's house, load up his stuff, and we're ready to go!



On the last trip in my Patriot, two guys and camping gear had us sitting woefully low, even with everything loaded as close the the middle as we could.



Oh, what a difference a couple of years makes!





It's now about 4pm, we have about 15 hours of driving ahead of us. I apologize I don't have many pics of the drive there (I may get some from my buddy later), but if you've never driven across MO or KS, there isn't much to see. Also, we were driving at night. The most fun spot was about 40 miles of construction on I-70 in KS. A heavy thunderstorm hit right as one side of the highway was closed, and we were on single lane traffic.

We switched off driving once, and just talked and listened to the radio the whole time. We hit the Colorado border around 4am, and decided to stop at the first rest stop/welcome center for a few hours of shuteye.

We saw our first glimpse of Colorado as we hit the road around 7am, but it was hard to tell Colorado from Kansas here.




Vince: "I expected the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier than this."

Me: "I was thinking the same thing. That John Denver's full of crap, man."




About three hours of driving later, we finally got a glimpse of some mountains:





More to come!
 
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#33 ·
We scouted the Elbert trailhead before getting back to the campsite. There is a lower trailhead less than a mile away, but it adds a few miles to the hike. The upper trailhead is only about 2 miles from the campsite on an easy trail through some beautiful aspen groves.




We've had a full day to acclimate so far, camping at 10,000 ft. We take ibuprofen at the first hint of a headache, and drink water, water, and then some more water. We think we're ready to conquer a 14er.


We pack the day before, tomorrow is an early start!

 
#35 ·
Awesome trip! Just got back from a week in CO. I'm ready to move now. Such a cool place. Hiked in RMNP and did two 14ers, Grays and Torrey's Peaks. The rest of the time was spent in bars and on Brewery tours, but it was a nice balance. Only bad thing about the trip was that my jeep was sitting at an airport in TN. I'll be driving next time around. - too many ways to use a jeep in CO!!!!
 
#36 ·
This is an odd year for rain, usually July is crazy hot, a lot of wild fires and people look forward to any rain we may get.....it has been raining for two days (on and off for much longer than that), sadly I haven't had the soft top off nearly as much as I did last year. We were on a trail at the end of May, in one day of Jeeping we had Sun, clouds, rain, hail, sun again, wind and then it snowed on us! True Colorado weather! Last Saturday we did Bill Moore Lake and the Empire Loop, most of the day was overcast but shorts and a t-shirt were warm enough until the sun went down.....
Love reading about your trip and seeing the pictures!
 
#39 ·
This is an odd year for rain, usually July is crazy hot, a lot of wild fires and people look forward to any rain we may get.....it has been raining for two days (on and off for much longer than that), sadly I haven't had the soft top off nearly as much as I did last year. We were on a trail at the end of May, in one day of Jeeping we had Sun, clouds, rain, hail, sun again, wind and then it snowed on us! True Colorado weather! Last Saturday we did Bill Moore Lake and the Empire Loop, most of the day was overcast but shorts and a t-shirt were warm enough until the sun went down.....
Love reading about your trip and seeing the pictures!

This happened on the Sunday I arrived: 12 struck by lightning, 2 killed.

Lightning strikes in Colo. park kill 2 people in 2 days - CNN.com

My wife had to call me because my 9 year old daughter was scared to death I was one of them.

We spent a lot of time dodging storms.
 
#40 ·
I'm trying to upload my gps track for the Elbert hike, and hopefully can get it done tonight.


In the meantime, a little backstory on my last trip to Colorado: I stayed at the same campground with a childhood buddy (who couldn't make it this year) in 2012, and wanted to do the same hike. My friend was planning on fishing one day, and I thought that would be a good day to hike Mt. Elbert.

I wanted to scout out the upper trailhead, and hiked the 2 miles on the road to a parking area, but did not know where the trailhead was from there. There was a lone Nissan Xterra parked there, and I thought I saw some movement inside. It was around 7pm and still fairly light out. Not wanting to look like a total creep peeping in car windows, I called from a distance "Hello, is anyone in there?"

A few seconds later, a sleepy-looking guy comes out of the truck. I apologize if I woke him, he replies he was just resting, getting ready for bed. He's hiking Mt. Elbert the next day. He confirmed that the road continued on for only about 800 meters or so past the parking area, and ended at the trailhead. He asked if I was hiking Elbert the next day, and said "Great, I'll see you on the trail tomorrow!". I don't remember his name, so I will refer to him as "Mr. Xterra".

I've done some through hiking, but not many dayhikes, and a total of 0 dayhikes on a 14er at this point. I decided I would load my pack with enough gear for an overnight stay in case I get lost or off-trail, and a 3 liter camelbak bladder. I load my 2800 cu inch, 4 lb military pack with gear, and the pack is probably now tipping the scales at 18-20lbs. Waaay too heavy!

Typically, you want to start your hike very early. Storms and lightning are common after noon, and the highest point for lightning is you. You want to summit, and then get back down below the treeline before noon. I started my hike around 10am. Waaay too late! Luckily, this wasn't a huge problem. I didn't see a single cloud, much less any storms, the whole day.

Did I mention I was by myself?

I did fine, until around 3 hours into the hike, at about 13,000 feet, when I hear a hollow gurgling sound coming from my camelbak bladder. One of the disadvantages of a hydration bladder is you really can't see how much water you have left in it. There was almost no humidity in the air, and with the high elevation, I had drank every drop. I still had 1400 vertical feet, AND the whole way down, without any water. This is not good.

Around 5 minutes later, I see "Mr. Xterra" on his way down. He had summited, the weather is perfect. He didn't see a single cloud on the other side of the mountain. You're getting close! He asked how I was feeling. I said physically, I was doing fine, but I just ran out of water. He hands me a 1 liter Nalgene bottle, about 1/2 full. "Here, take this" he says. I didn't want to. How would I get the bottle back to him? Wouldn't he need the water on the way down? "Don't worry about it!" he replied. He might wait a little bit at the trailhead, but if I didn't see him, I should just keep the bottle.

I push on.

Long story even longer, at about 14,200 feet, my legs are totally bonking, and starting to cramp. I'm down to less than half of the water Mr. Xterra gave me, my pack is heavy as hell, and I don't know if I can make it. But I'm only about 240 feet from the summit! It's close to 3 in the afternoon, and I decided to head back down. I just didn't have it in me to make that last push.

I didn't see "Mr. Xterra" at the trailhead, even after waiting an extra hour there and looking around for him, so I kept the Nalgene bottle. After his sacrifice, I felt like I owed it to him to make it to the top, and was bummed out I failed.

When planning this trip, I wanted to hike a different mountain, like LaPlata Peak or Mt. Belfort, but my friend Vince wanted to try the tallest peak in Colorado, Mt. Elbert. I agreed. Two years after my first try, I might be able to vindicate Mr. Xterra! I would take that Nalgene bottle to the summit!!

Anyway, now I'm rambling. I hope someone is still reading. :redface:
 
#41 ·
great pics and story man! i am heading up to the ouray/telleuride/silverton area in a few short weeks with a good friend to do some jeeping and camping and maybe catch a stage of the Tour de Colorado. i was considering meeting up with some other friends headed up to do a little climbing at a 14'er but they will probably be up in the denver or vail area and i don't think i want to go that far. on top of that i am almost 3 months post breaking both bones in my forearm and having plates and screws and not sure i want to climb on it yet. i will be posting a trip report with pics when we get back!
 
#42 ·
Wow, 3 months!? You might be able to do some class 1 or 2 hikes that doesn't have any scrambling, but trekking poles are a big help on even those. There are plenty of good hikes in the Front Range area near Denver. You could even do a 12er or 13er. They're all pretty fun. It's hard to lose on a Colorado hike. Copper Mountain was my first.

That being said, it sounds like a serious injury, and you might want to let that heal for a while. Looking forward to your trip report.


Sorry, I wont have a chance to upload more photos until later. My buddy brought by his, so I'm adding them to the mix. It also looks like photobucket photos show up better on the forum than imageshack ones, but the upload is painfully slow. I did get my gps tracks uploaded, with screenshots.

To be continued!
 
#46 ·
THE PILGRIMS:

We are the Pilgrims, master; we shall go
Always a little further: it may be
Beyond the last blue mountain barred with snow,
Across that angry or that glimmering sea,
White on a throne or guarded in a cave
There lives a prophet who can understand
Why men were born: but surely we are brave,
Who make the Golden Journey to Samarkand.

"The Golden Journey to Samarkand"
James Elroy Fletcher

July 15th

I heard the storm coming around 2 am. There were some distant rumbles of thunder, and I could hear the wind had picked up. I snoozed a little, and around 2:30 it began to rain. I listened to the rain, seeing the occasional flash of lightning through the roof of the tent. It wasn't a big storm. It rained for about 20 minutes or so. The tent stayed perfectly dry, and we had covered the firewood the night before.

I was too excited to sleep. I had trained a lot for this trip. As "ultralight" backpacking gear is expensive, I updated my backpack to a much lighter version, and decided to lose weight rather than shed everything in my backpack. Around December, I started hitting the gym twice a week, usually doing the elliptical machine and a stair stepper for about 45 minutes each. When the weather warmed up, I limited the gym to one trip and added a 2 mile jog once a week. Every other weekend, I would go on a five mile hike with the backpack. I had dropped from around 220lbs to 195. It was around 3:30 am, and it was obvious I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep.

Today was the day!

Outside of the tent, the weather was still pretty ugly. The Wrangler EVIC showed 39 degrees. It was very foggy, with a light drizzle. We could hit the trail as early as we wanted to, but the early part is one of the steepest, with lots of rocks and tree roots in the way. It would be pretty slick, and with nothing but headlamps, a little treacherous. We loafed around for a while, checking and re-checking our packs, and decided to head to the trailhead and wait for a little more light.

2 miles away, at the trailhead, the weather is still ugly, with lots of fog and drizzle.





We study the trailhead and our own maps. Our route is in red, the South Elbert trail. The peak is about 4.5 miles away with 4100 ft in elevation gain.



Around 6:30 or so, the drizzle has slowed down, and we have enough light.

Vince is ready



So am I






Up we go.
 
#48 ·
The trees start to thin out a little bit. We start passing through some meadows in between patches of trees. The sun starts to burn off some of the fog, but we can still see it's a little heavy on the trail below.












The trail ahead looks clear.







It's still pretty cool, around 43 degrees, but the wind is bad only in the clearings. Those jackets are staying on! Yes, we both have the same shell. Vince's was on clearance at backcountry.com. It's a Stoic Stash shell, normally $189, but Vince got his for a steal at $58. I've had mine for a couple of years, and have taken it hiking in heavy rain, skiing, and even for shoveling snow. It's been a great shell, and my only minor complaint is that I wish the hand pockets were a little higher for easier access with a backpack.
 
#50 ·
We're taking a 3-5 minute water break every 20 minutes or so, but I'm being careful to ration it (I took the 3l camelbak, plus the 1l "Mr. Xterra" nalgene), but so far, we're both feeling pretty good.


We finally make it to the treeline, and have a great view of Twin Lakes, close to our campsite.









 
#51 ·
At about 13,500 we stop for a half hour for some snacks. We're taking water breaks a little more often now. At this altitude, you get winded fairly easy, and the dry wind seems to suck the moisture out of your body. None of us are feeling any symptoms of altitude sickness, but my feet are feeling pretty sore. There are some dark clouds to the northwest, but it doesn't look like a major storm and like it will stay to the north.

We keep moving up.





A shot of Mt. Massive.



Box Creek Coulior is below us. Some hike up and ski down at this point during the winter.








There's still decent amounts of snow. It's getting colder, and windier.
 
#52 ·
We pass 14,000, then my previous fail point, 14,200. The trail is steep and the switchbacks have started. It's slow going. We time out hiking for two minutes, then stopping to catch our breath. We switch back and forth setting the pace. Sometimes Vince has a burst of energy and takes the lead, sometimes I have my second wind and move to the front.

We are close enough now that we can hear other hikers cheering when they reach the summit.

I think I see it.







Made it!



It's about 11:30, and there is a fair amount of people at the summit. I've heard it gets crowded on the weekends.






Twin Lakes and our campground (somewhere) to the southwest.




The "St. Louis Sicilian Connection" at the top.




The highest point in Colorado, 2nd highest point in the lower 48 states.



We can see some storm clouds start to build. It's started sleeting. We only stay at the peak for about 30 minutes total. The wind is brutal, with huge gusts.













The weather looks like its turning uglier, so we decide to head down. It's sunny here, but the storm clouds are building to the northeast. It doesn't look like this one will miss us.

 
#53 ·
Nice marmot.





We pass two groups of hikers heading up that we saw on the summit. Did we know where the North Elbert trail is? I take out the gps and show them they are on the South Elbert trail, that they'd have to get close to the summit and cut north. I warn them that the storm is coming, and they would be moving right into it. They should head down with us, and I can drive a couple of them to their car at the Halfmoon Creek trailhead. They decide to hike it. I didn't hear of any incidents or injuries from our camp host, so I guess they made it alright.

The storm blows in quicker than I thought it would. The sleet really opens up. We can hear rumbles of thunder. We're still pretty far above the treeline. No time for water breaks, Doctor Jones! This could get dangerous, quick.

This



turned to this in about 10 min.







We double time it to the treeline hiking what took us almost 3 hours on the way up in about an hour. Made it!





My right foot is feeling pretty rough, like one of the toes was smashed. The descent is not as bad as the way up, but harder on your feet. You're constantly jamming your toes up against your shoes.
 
#54 ·
We hike back to the Jeep without any incidents, getting there around 3:00. The round trip took us about 9 hours, with breaks. Longer than usual, but not bad for two guys in their 40s. And we made it! Mr. Xterra's nalgene bottle was vindicated.












We clean up at camp and head to Leadville for dinner at Quincy's. They only have one thing on the menu: Filets on Mon-Thurs and prime rib on Fri and Sat. I go for the 12oz filet. I guess it wasn't bad for a $15 steak, but pretty tough and stringy for a filet. We were almost too hungry to notice, and knocked it back with a few bourbons.

Success!


I later discovered I had developed a blister under the nail on my toe next to the little toe on my right foot. It would be our only hike for the trip, but a good one.

Sorry to turn this into a hiking thread. I promise from here on out there will be more Jeep stuff.
 
#55 ·
Wednesday, July 16th.

The legs are sore! We decide to do an easy trail, either Hagerman Pass or Mt. Zion. We decide to first take a drive up to Independence Pass. It's about 20 miles up state Hwy 82 from the little town of Twin Lakes. If you're close to Leadville or Aspen, its worth a look. I think it's the 2nd highest paved pass in Colorado. It's a two land highway with some steep grades, big dropoffs, and hairpin turns, but the views are great.

It's about 11am. Sun is up, doors are coming off. I stash them in the tent, on top of a cot. They should be okay.



Off we go.















You can see a little bit of the road we came up at the bottom of this one. Last time, in my Patriot, I would pull over whenever I could to let cars pass. There are some pull of spots for pictures. That little four cylinder didn't care much for the steep grade. Much easier in the Wrangler.





 
#56 ·







At the first pull-off, you get a good view of the road below you. There is a little creek that runs along side it.

















I may have gotten a pic of the elusive Colorado Sasquatch in the lower right of this one.

























There's a parking area at the top with a restroom and a few trails to some viewing areas.


 
#57 ·
Some views from the top


























It's cold and very windy at the top. Once again, my little Stoic jacket is a lifesaver. We head back down. It's my first time with the doors off. I have some wee ones and no trail doors, so the wife has always nixed the idea. It's incredible. If you only do it to drive to the grocery store, I highly recommend it.














 
#59 ·
We finished driving to Independence pass around 1pm, just enough time for a trail. As Mt. Zion was a little bit closer, it won out over Hagerman Pass. The Wells guide ranks this as a green, "Easy" trail, so I decided not to air down. Mistake on my part. The trail starts just a few miles north of Leadville on Hwy24, and starts innocently enought.





Great views of Mt. Massive (center) and Mt. Elbert (to the left) as we pass into some meadows.







The road starts to get a little chunkier after our 2nd meadow. Nothing like the steep grades on Mosquito, but pretty rocky, with some steep areas.









The Colorado weather starts to toy with us. A storm just blows by to the north of us. I have the sunrider top off, but the doors are back at the campground.














Getting close to the end of the trail at Buckeye peak.

 
#60 ·
We can spy a little farm in one of the valleys.






But storm clouds look like they're building. Not again! Luckily, this one blew by us to the north, too





The trail ahead, through my bug-splattered windshield.





This is the steepest part of the trail. I did fine going up.

Finally at the top, at Buckeye Peak:




Views of the peak above, and Buckeye Lake, about 1000ft below.








To the southwest, you can catch a glimpse of Leadville.




I don't have a grill and steaks handy, but I do have my home-made alcohol stove and a Mountain House meal.




The wind has picked up quite a bit, and it's getting colder. We slap the sunrider top on, and end up eating the hasty lunch in the back seat.

It looks like Leadville is getting part of the storm to our southwest.



But the northwest looks worse, and it's heading right towards us.







We beat a quick retreat. The wind is gusting probably 20-30mph, with spatters of rain. This was the only part of the trip I had any trouble with on the trail. Maybe it was my nerves over the quickly approaching storm, but on one section of steep decline, I held in the clutch too long on an upshift. The Wrangler started to slide, as I didn't want to throw it into gear and bring us to a dead stop. I pumped the breaks lightly a few times and found my gear to stop the slide. Easy trail, my arse!

We didn't pass any other vehicles on the trail, up or down.

We are racing the storm all the way through Leadville, back to the campsite. The temps have dropped to the upper 40s. I've always kindof laughed at Ace Engineering's "Lava Jacket", but at this point, I wish I had one! The wind nearly rips the hat off my head, even with the sunrider top on. We've got the heat on full blast, holding our jacket sleeve openings over the vents for warmth.

We were lucky as the storm passed in two waves: ahead of us in Leadville and down Hwy 24, and right behind us. Surprisingly, the campground is bone-dry. We've avoided our second (or is it the third) storm. I should have learned my lesson about that on the Elbert hike!
 
#62 ·
Soo very jealous, this is my dream vacation. I use to go to Colorado every year for a week of backpacking. We went every year for 16 years. Now I am married with kids so I don't get to go anymore.
That sounds pretty cool. A multi-day "through" hike may be in the cards next time. It might be Mt. Whitney. My kids are old enough now (7 and 9) that my wife doesn't mind if I make an occasional trip. They're not big camping fans, so consider it a blessing that I don't ask them to go.
 
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