Photos *Official* Return from CCR08 - Ouray Colorado Pics and Trip Reports

[Brian1]

Here is the official return thread from the Colorado Colors Run 2008, Labor Day weekend trip to Ouray, Colorado. (See the planning thread HERE)

Post your trip pictures here!

jtsmith's pics:
http://s239.photobucket.com/albums/ff269/jtsmith1362/
Brian1's pics:
http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b141/Brian4x4/Ouray CO LaborDay08/
wakesk8er's Pics:
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2288936&l=ba273&id=14811518
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2289558&l=dc6b4&id=14811518
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2289565&l=867df&id=14811518
nssj2's pics:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v336/nssj2/Ouray/
SDVike's pics:
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2083087&l=0bba8&id=116507216
jeffbethandkidz pics:
http://s533.photobucket.com/albums/ee336/jeffbethandkidz/Ouray_2008/

Members attending:
Brian1 - New Mexico
jtsmith - Kansas
offroader_69_me - Colorado
Jeffbethandkidz - Colorado
nssj2 - Colorado
Hokie - Colorado
SDVike - Colorado
wakesk8er - Colorado
tbars4 - California

Friday
Last Dollar Road

Friday afternoon a few of us got together around 3PM to run a trail just west of Ridgway called Last Dollar Road. This trail is an easy and scenic run to Telluride. Jtsmith, Offroader_69_me, TBars4 and myself headed out and ran to a scenic overlook point with a road that led to the sky it seemed which made for a great shot. After we took our pictures we headed back towards Ridgway. On the way out we had a little fun with a water crossing, making some big splashes. That night all of us went to the True Grit restaurant for dinner.

Saturday
Black Bear
Imogene

Saturday morning everyone met at 7:30 AM in order to beat the traffic - some of you may have thought I was joking about the traffic! We got to the trail head of Black Bear pass around 8:30. Just as we were airing down a group of 17 Toyota Landcrusiers pulled up next to us. We all hurried in order to get on the trail before them. We headed up the trail and then stopped at a nice viewpoint above tree line with a waterfall to let jtsmiths transmission cool down and take some pictures. When the Land cruisers caught up to us we continued on to the pass where we stopped for a few quick pictures. From there the trail went down the mountain on some shelf roads until the point where the trail becomes one way. The trail suddenly drops off the face of the mountain with a great view of Telluride below. First up are The Steps - a section of small rocky ledges on the shelf road with a drop off to the left. I went down and then stopped at the falls right after the first switchback. We heard over the CB that jtsmith had no brakes coming down the steps That is definitely NOT the place to have that happen. Jon got to the first switchback safely where we stayed for a while to let his transmission and brakes cool down.

Next up came the tightest switchback of the trail where everyone made it with some guidance. After that the switchbacks got easier or so I thought (sorry guys I should have stayed back to help)- SDVike (Josh) got 2 wheels in the air in his '03 on a switchback and had to be dragged with a strap to a better position to negotiate the switchback . Josh's passenger mirror came off in the process and it was dangling by the wires but Brett popped it back into place.

After everyone made it down to the 2 way road again we went into Telluride to split up for lunch, ice cream, souvenirs, etc.

About 1:45 we started up Imogene. After meeting some traffic coming down we made it to the large mine site about 1/2 way up to the pass. We stopped here for a little while to walk around and explore the mining site and get pictures. We continued on to the top where we met back up with Kevin in his Toyota truck who we ran Black Bear with earlier in the day. His kids had set up a lemonade and snack stand at the top of the pass. They said they had made $27! We went down the other side where we all lined up and Brett took a great shot of the group from above. From there we went down the rest of the trail which ran through a stream a few times. Once we finished we all went our separate directions for dinner.

Sunday
Engineer Pass
Cinnamon Pass

Sunday was not a very nice day, the mountains were completely overcast and some of the peaks could not even be seen. It was raining and a little cold. We held the group raffle that morning. Thanks to Rick and Jtsmith for providing the prizes!

Offroader_69_me, SDVike, Tbars4 and myself decided to hit the trails while the others were going to spend the day in town or sightseeing on their own so we started up Engineer Pass. Engineer Pass was very rocky. We met nssj2 on the trail where he had camped that night and we continued on. We came to a large rocky section which was on a shelf road and around a bend which made choosing a line almost non-existent. There was only 1 way up and that was right up the jagged rocks. SDVike gave it a couple tries in his 3rd gen and made it up unassisted after hitting the frame a couple times. Those 3rd-Gens wheel pretty good!

We got to the bottom of the switchbacks where we waited for traffic to clear. We started up and soon found ourselves driving through clouds on a narrow switchback with limited visibility. We got to the pass where we walked around some and then went back down the other side which was not as bad as coming up. We went by a nice cabin where the entrance was accessible by a footbridge over a good size canyon. We kept on going and stopped at Whitmore falls. We hiked down to the bottom of the falls and got our pictures then went down to Lake City for lunch in the park.

The rain and clouds had not lifted yet but it was a long drive back to Ouray via pavement so we continued on to Cinnamon Pass. The road was mostly easy with a few rocky and slippery switchbacks near the top. At the top there was a small break in the clouds right above us with some blue sky. We lined up and took another group shot then continued down to Animas Forks ghost town. Almost to the bottom we spotted 2 deer that could care less that we were only 50' away. We got into Animas Forks around 4 and explored the ghost town and took more pictures. From there it was an easy dirt road into Silverton and then 24 miles on US550 back to Ouray.

Monday
Red Mountain Mining Area

This was a new trail in the Wells 2nd Edition guidebook. On my way out of town I wanted to run at least part of this trail so anyone who wanted to come along met at 9 at the Rotary Park in Ouray. This was a very scenic, easy trail that paralled 550 between Ironton and Red Mountain Pass. It passed by many old mining sites in various conditions.

Harley exploring a mine site

Thanks to everyone for coming, I had a good time and it was nice to meet some new people from the board.

 

[mrboyle]

I so missed wheeling with you guys this weekend. Looks like you had a great time!

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

Nice to see some pics of a 3gen off roading. 3gens seem to be discriminated upon when it comes to off roading pictures on this site.

 

[jenren81]

fun times this weekend everybody, it was cool to meet y'all!! sleep deprivation nearly let me miss black bear, but i'm glad brett convinced me it would be a good idea to get up and do it.. haha. after wetting my pants a few times on the steps, i was quite happy to get on the ground! i got some great pics (like everybody else) but i'll post some up soon.

how did i miss the freebie giveaway?? must've been when i couldn't drag my butt out of bed on sunday morning, haha.

thanks for the fun weekend all!

 

[Turdle]

....Stuffed and wheel standing on a switch back. The Ranger is an awesome vehicle...:

 

[jenren81]

and jon, thanks for the tire we'll work out the logistics of getting my old wheels to ya. you wanted the tires too, right?

how was the run today? traffic was lovely back into denver, haha

 

[sparkyXplorer]

Sounds amazing...I wish I could have made it just to much stuff going on at the time....

I was really curious to see how ur sport would wheel Jenni...Im just glad that the body didn't fall off the frame...I mean considering brett, jim and I put the BL on...thats scary!!!:

and also Jon, So has this changed your mind on what your mounty is? a tire burning, car killing, dragster? or a lean mean 4 wheeling machine? or are you just going to build to suspension types and the weekend before go from lowered an inch to up on 35's and 4.88's? lol

 

[SDVike]

Thanks guys for the great weekend. I have to thank John and Sherri for being such great hosts at the camp site and the free stuff (I hear Rick also contributed, so thanks Rick). Brian for being the fearless leader. Ted for the tips on driving and giving me the Imogene and Black Bear Pass stickers. Brett for weighing me down on Engineer Pass. Marshall for making my tuck look so small. Finally, Jenni for pulling me out when I had the front wheels 6 inches from the edge of a 1000 foot drop.

Just some observations on the 3rd gen and wheeling. If you are looking for a good truck to start building a rig with I would not recommend the 3rd gen, but it actually has some redeeming qualities. If you have the factory skid plates it really is quite protected underneath (Yes they were used on more than one occasion). Almost everything of importance is in between the frame rails, and with the IRS you don't have the pumpkin hanging down. The 4 wheel drive is quite capable as long as you keep pressure on at least 3 wheels. I drove over some things this weekend I had no idea a 3rd gen could handle.

Finally, about me getting stuck on Black Bear. When you drive something with the limited flex my truck has you have to take the proper line every time. That time I got lazy and turn too tight on a switch back and took pressure off the opposite wheels. I think 3rd Gen owners every where dropped their heads a little in disappointment. Nothing like having the front of the vehicle point straight off a cliff and not being able to back up. Did I mention the from tires were 6 inches from falling off the edge. I just can't believe no one got a picture. Well now I guess I have a reason to go back and do it again.

 

[SDVike]

Somewhere Josh also hit his passenger mirror off and it was dangling by the wires but Brett popped it back into place.

For the record, the mirror got pulled off when they were trying to get me unstuck. It couldn't be my bad driving.

 

[FROADER]

Copied and pasted from the other thread.

Looks like a great time! I'd still like to make it out there one of these years...

So was anyone even close to being as built as Marshall, or was he the only "Big Dog" of this run? Oh, and I'm talking about his truck... :

Great pics!

 

[Brian1]

For the record, the mirror got pulled off when they were trying to get me unstuck. It couldn't be my bad driving.

My bad...I changed it in my post to reflect that.

So was anyone even close to being as built as Marshall, or was he the only "Big Dog" of this run?

He was the most built of the group. Tires ranged from Marshall's 36s to the stock size on Jeff's Explorer with 31's, 32's and 33s on the others.

 

[SDVike]

....Stuffed and wheel standing on a switch back. The Ranger is an awesome vehicle...:

That is almost exactly how I got stuck. My flex is not quite that good.

 

[Hitchhikingmike]

Thanks guys for the great weekend. I have to thank John and Sherri for being such great hosts at the camp site and the free stuff (I hear Rick also contributed, so thanks Rick). Brian for being the fearless leader. Ted for the tips on driving and giving me the Imogene and Black Bear Pass stickers. Brett for weighing me down on Engineer Pass. Marshall for making my tuck look so small. Finally, Jenni for pulling me out when I had the front wheels 6 inches from the edge of a 1000 foot drop.

Just some observations on the 3rd gen and wheeling. If you are looking for a good truck to start building a rig with I would not recommend the 3rd gen, but it actually has some redeeming qualities. If you have the factory skid plates it really is quite protected underneath (Yes they were used on more than one occasion). Almost everything of importance is in between the frame rails, and with the IRS you don't have the pumpkin hanging down. The 4 wheel drive is quite capable as long as you keep pressure on at least 3 wheels. I drove over some things this weekend I had no idea a 3rd gen could handle.

Finally, about me getting stuck on Black Bear. When you drive something with the limited flex my truck has you have to take the proper line every time. That time I got lazy and turn too tight on a switch back and took pressure off the opposite wheels. I think 3rd Gen owners every where dropped their heads a little in disappointment. Nothing like having the front of the vehicle point straight off a cliff and not being able to back up. Did I mention the from tires were 6 inches from falling off the edge. I just can't believe no one got a picture. Well now I guess I have a reason to go back and do it again.

Did you leave your sway bars connected? Would it have been better if you had just disconnected your sway bars at the trail head and reconnect them at the end of the trail to drive home?

Or would all this had been way too much work?

 

[SDVike]

Did you leave your sway bars connected? Would it have been better if you had just disconnected your sway bars at the trail head and reconnect them at the end of the trail to drive home?

Or would all this had been way too much work?

Seeing as I am still learning what all that "stuff" under there does I never even thought of that. I might play around with it in the driveway some day. What is the chances of breaking something if it is disconnected?

I hope we are not watering down this thread.

 

[jenren81]

yeah i'm glad the body didn't fall off too ;-) my beast did pretty well except for my poor turning radius on the right side... need to trim that up, all the backing up got annoying!

i was behind josh for the way down the scary part on black bear.. and he did awesome, i was very impressed that his 3rd gen was doing so well. i could swear one of my passengers got a pic of you teetering on two wheels and then me towing you back, but i think we were all too concerned watching you (and me concerned on keeping my car in park and not sliding into you somehow, lol). but i got a pic from right before you got stuck!

 

[Turdle]

I added more pics to my album
Today after an almost tearful good bye-and I am not saying this lightly-we meandered through the mountains with Tbars4 and Miss Harley.
After a ride down county road 14, we hit Silverton and met up with a stranded bronco II owner camped 3 sites down from us-
Earlier I had chesed them thru the parking lot-yelling "stop that truck. I introduced myself, geav him a license frame and invited him to go along with us-
Well, it turns out he blew his oil pump, and is going to rent a car and drive back home to Kansas, leaving the bronc to be towed home later-
After making sure he and his wife had things arranged, we went on to the ghost town, and took a few pictures-. Along the way, we ran into a flock of sheep grazing on a high alpine meadow that seemed to go on forever. Just as we got close to them, 2 big pyraneese sheep dogs came up to us expressing their dislike of us being around their sheep-. Down the road was an outfitter tent where the shepherds lived, at about 11,000 feet elevation. A bit chilly

we then drove on to the old ghost town and took in a bit of history. I don't think Harley was amused.

Jeff-(jeff bethandkids)
I really enjoyed our brief visits, and look forward to seeing you again, You seem to know your stuff and have real good ideas-
Sheri enjoyed meeting "Beth" and the kids.

Josh-(SDVike)
You are a crazy, crazy man-taking that 3rd gen all over shows real guts.
OH, Where's my beer?

Jenni-(wakesk8ter)You are a fun person to hang with, even though you like your reverse gear a bit too much-
Tell Doug and Shelby we really enjoyed their company also. They added great air to the conversations.

Jim-(nssj2)Killer Mounty man -I enjoyed the time we hung. we really did want to go up into the forest with ya-but needed to stay near the campground. I hope you understand, and, hope we have the chance again. It sounds like the thing to do.

Brett, ( Hokie, of course)I am honored to have been in your presence for the short time I was-even if you are thinking of buying a jeep. I am so glad we were able to chat in person. I think a mullet would be a bad idea though.

Marshall.(Offroder_69_me) Man, what can I say. You have a wonderful family. I know they are in great hands. I still can't believe you took that full width axle'd truck on those trails-hanging a tire off into thin air like that--a bit spooky at the least. Just plain awesome. Sheri and I both want to do this again with ya. And-we never did get to have that drink together dangit--

Maybe Moab????

Ted-(Tbars4)we are still hanging with you so I'll save my opinion :

Brian.(Brian1) Thanks so much. You don't know what this has meant to me, and my wife. We both owe you quite a bit, as we have found a new thing in common, and rekindled a bit of fire.

And to Brian's father Jim,(Dad)
Thanks for being so cool and collected through it all, and jumping out to spot for all of us. You did an excellent job. It felt like we were prepared for anything.


All in all, Sheri and I were very impressed with the group we just met. Every one of you exceeded my expectations. I have some new great friends, and hope the feeling is mutual. I already miss all of you. This is the sad part--now we gotta go back home--

 

[Burns]

Looks like one great trip. I wish i would have been able to make it out there Jon. The pictures are amazing.

 

[ktford]

WOW, what a great trip and great pictures, awesome scenery. Awesome to see our 3rd gen mate mixing it with you guys, we are proud of him
Scotty

 

[offroader_69_me]

we made it home about 10:30 last nite took the long way home also did a little sight seeing, will post pics and more later!

 

[nssj2]

thanks for the great trip, looks like everyone had a blast. great to meet all of you and thanks to rick and john for the free goodies! hope to see yall there next year!