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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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#7 ·
Colorado driving is always fun. On my first trip a couple of decades ago, I thought I could save gas by coasting down the mountains in my Honda Civic. Bad idea. I ruined a fairly new set of brakes in a week. Last time in my little Patriot, I knew I had to downshift to save my brakes, but the little 4 cylinder CVT had a lot of difficulty going up steep grades. I would try to find an 18 wheeler or large RV to climb behind. Merging or lane changes caused me to break out in cold sweats. The Wrangler was a MUCH different ride. Up and down any grade with no problems. I merged and changed lanes like a local.

Our first stop was on Colorado Highway 91, about 6 miles from Copper Mountain. Hwy 91 is called the "Top of the Rockies Byway", and is very much worth a drive. We stopped at the Clinton Gulch Reservoir right off the highway.




If you look closely, you can see some paddleboarders in this picture.



That's Fletcher Mountain on the left, and off-camera, Wheeler Mountain and Clinton Peak on the right, all of which are in the 13,800-foot range.
 
#8 ·
Mt. Elbert sprung into view, and I knew we were getting close to Leadville.




Our campground, Lakeview, sits right at the base of Mt. Elbert. Not far now!




Still north of Leadville, we are blessed with views of Mt. Massive and Mt. Elbert, Colorado's #2 and #1 highest peaks. That's (the aptly named) Massive on the right, Elbert on the left. Although it doesn't look nearly as big, Elbert is 12 feet taller than Massive.





We plan on hiking both during the trip, but we would only get to one.
 
#12 ·
Can't post pics from work, but I'll add more tonight. I hope this thread is a little different because we were camping, and I threw in a 14er hike for extra credit.

I can't recommend the Lakeview campground enough. I stayed in it 2 years ago because of how close it is to the Elbert trailhead, plus the Twin Lakes for some decent lake trout fishing. It's one of the cleanest and well-kep National Parks I've stayed in. The vault toilets were impeccably clean, and the views were incredible.

Some of the best sites are in loops E-G, which are walk-in only, no reservations. We made a reservation in January for a site in loop B. This site had great views, but the only good tent spot had 2 steep sides. With a lot of rain in the forcast, it was less than ideal. When we arrived on Sunday, we waited until after checkout time, then toured the other loops for an alternative. It was a Sunday, so we had tons to choose from. We picked a spot in Loop G that was much more level, had a barbecue grill (some do not), and was close to the water and the bathroom. There was a $10 transfer fee to change campsites, but it was well worth it. It's what I'll do in the future: reserve a site so I know I have a place to stay, then see what's available.

The camp host Mike is on his 10th year at this site, and he was a wealth of information from everything what kind of fishing lures to what to take to avoid altitude sickness.

Highly recommend!
 
#13 ·
I just moved here (to Colorado) a few months ago. Work transfer from Michigan. I'd never been here before. I had the same thought as we closed in on Denver. We were 30 minutes out and I said 'where the heck are the mountains?'. Now that I've been here a while, I love this state. We ventured out to Grand Junction a couple of weeks ago. Beautiful country.

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Jeep Automotive tire




Land vehicle Automotive tire Vehicle Tire Car



Badlands Formation Rock Natural landscape Canyon
 
#14 ·
We rolled into Leadville about 11:30, with a spot of rain here and there (which would be a common theme). It's the US' highest incorporated city, and the views of the Sawatch Range are incredible. Massive on the left, and Elbert on the right.











As we got closer to the campground on Hwy 24, Mt. Massive loomed so close you could touch it.




Crossing over Lake Creek, which feeds from the Twin Lakes Reservior into the Arkansas River.




We finally got to the campsite around noon. 16 hours of almost straight driving, 3-4 hours of sleep, but we're stoked to finally be there. We loafed around for a half hour, checking campsites before we decided on one and transferred our reservation.
 
#15 ·
I forgot to apologize for the poor pics. Obviously, I don't have a professional camera. All pics were taken with my trusty Samsung Galaxy S4.



A view of Elbert from the beginning of the campsite. You have views of Elbert to the West, Twin Lakes, LaPlata Peak, Twin Peaks, and Rinker Peak to the South.

Elbert:







Now the work begins unloaded the Jeep and setting up camp.

Canopy is up.



Tent is up.



and gear is somewhat organized.







We spent the rest of the day setting up camp, running back to Leadville for firewood (much cheaper roadside from the locals), and loafing. Hey, I'm on vacation! We plan on spending Monday acclimating, and running Mosquito Pass.



Sunday was one of the few nights it didn't rain on us, but we saw a big storm and lightning show to the south.




It's 10:30pm, and still fairly light out.






The adrenaline is wearing off, and we're feeling the effects of the long drive.





Bedtime, and Mosquito Pass to come.
 
#17 ·
I was really surprised how much it rained there.

During my 2012 trip, the same area was having a stretch of drought with numerous wildfires. There was a fire ban in all the national forests outside of established campsites with fire rings. I didn't even see a cloud in the sky until my fourth day there.

This time around it rained every day, sometimes two or three times a day. The rain would only last about 15-30 min, but it always hit around noon, some days it rained again around 6 or 7pm, and another round about 2-3am. Nothing dangerous, but it can be a PITA when you're camping.

We spent a lot of time dodging and trying to outrun storms. I had an NOAA Weather Free app that gives you radar of your location, and it was a big help.
 
#18 ·
Monday is Mosquito Pass Day


There were some low clouds in the morning, but the forecast called for mostly sunny with a 40% chance of showers.

The view below down to Twin Lakes. That's Twin Peaks in the foreground, with Rinker Peak (I think) to the left.














The sun is starting to rise, time for breakfast.










And some beautiful scenery while we eat.






I called the Leadville Ranger district, and unfortunately, Mosquito is closed on the Alma side. I can make it to the pass, but won't be able to go all the way through. Part of the trail is better than nothing, so we're taking a shot.
 
#19 ·
Sun is out, the top is off. I wish I could have used the soft top on the trip, but food has to be kept in the Jeep. The hard top adds a little bit of security against animals. Plus, it's a bit of a pain to keep zipping and unzipping the windows to get full access to the back.

We had to drive back into Leadville to get to the trail. You make a single turn off of Harrison Ave/Hwy 24, the main street in Leadville, east on 7th St. 7th Street turns into Lake County Rd 3, and goes straight to the pass. It's rated a "Medium" trail in the guide, but aside from a few areas of steep grade, wasn't too bad.

The beginning of Lake County Road 3 is smooth sailing.



We stopped at a pull-off with some interesting structures to air down.











Some parts from an abandoned mine at a pull-off






This was below the wooden rig







The view, of course, was amazing. There is a handy tool you can use on the 430n that gives your elevation. You go to the options screen, tools, and then "Where am I?". It gives your gps coordinates, elevation, and closest cross-street. At this point, I think we were just a couple of hundred feet above Leadville, about 10,500 ft.

 
#20 ·
Mosquito pass,continured:

The road got a little rougher after the mining area, but not too bad. This is where we passed the first people on the trail: Two older ladies in a Honda CRV. They told me I couldn't go all the way through, and although they never mentioned how far up the trail they went, my hat is off to them for attempting it in a Honda.



field of flowers along the way



Elbert, Massive, and a part of Leadville in the backdrop









Getting higher....






We passed a few people on the trail. As a pretty new off-road driver, that was my major concern on the trip. It wasn't bad a all. You could see other cars coming quite a while away, and there were plenty of spots to pull over like the one above. One guy in a stock JK sport said "Hey, you're doing it wrong, you have the right of way!" I just smiled, waved and said "I'm new!"

There were a few areas of steep grade that probably make this a "medium" trail, but I was pleasantly surprised how well the Rubi did. I was in 4 lo about half the time, and never used the lockers or disco.

Almost to the top






Made it!








Sorry about the panoramic shots. I'm not sure how to post or resize them in imageshack. Kinda loses its impact. Any tips on posting these is appreciated!



 
#22 ·
Thanks for posting the pics and telling your story! Good stuff !

The two older ladies in the Honda made me laugh!!

My wife and I want to head out there in two years. Not sure if I want to take our truck and travel trailer, or our Jeep.
 
#24 ·
Keep it coming! Living vicariously from the "mountains" of West Virginia. Just the access to trails makes me jealous. Any talk yet of a return trip in a couple years? Set up a WF trip!!!
 
#28 ·
We do want another trip, but probably not until 2016. My hiking buddy wants to hike Mt. Whitney in CA. I want to come back to CO and hike Massive. We've got plenty of time to figure it out, but I wouldn't want to drive the Wrangler all the way from MO to CA.

I'd love to see the Silverton/Durango trails, but none of the nearby hikes look too interesting.
 
#29 ·
One of the things that surprised me on the mountain trails was the gas levels. I started out with a little over a half of a tank. The trail is about 10-11 miles each way. About a mile down on our descent, my low gas light came on. I admit I panicked. Luckily, it leveled out to a little over 1/4 a tank once we leveled out further down. :facepalm:
 
#30 ·
We headed back down to Leadville and had lunch at High Mountain Pies. It rocked.




Then to the Silver Dollar Saloon, an old-timey saloon founded in 1879 for a few bourbons



Better pic (not mine)




Then back to the campground to pack.





Tomorrow we hike Elbert!
 
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