4WD Fat Beagle

[Jerry Winchester]

Okay Fat Beagle Boy,

Forget the coaches. I'll load my crew and the camping gear in the Scout and you load your gang and a toothbrush in the Jeep and we'll drive them from Houston to Colorado.

My guess is your bladder will last until we get to Collie Humperville and your 'roids will attack before we get to Waco. The good news will be that the rest of the POGGER's will be able to track you by the smell since August in Texas coupled with a rag top Jeep should be quite odoriferous.

[rfoster]

You Flat Lander Texans sure do talk big about 4 wheeling out there in them thar high elevation trails.

Some of you may turn out like me and need air. What I mean --is breathe-- without Jdub sitting on your chest. You get much over 9000 feet of elevation - I am looking for the mask to drop out of the ceiling.

Plus - after seeing some of those drop offs with no guard rail -between Montrose and Durango-- no thanks.

The only 4 wheeling I would be in on is way down at the bottom of the gulleys.

Are any of these trails like Riverside or riverbottom??

[tdelorme]

Nobody said this deal was for sissy's, Roger. Man up, head west and I'll bring an extra O 2 concentrator for the over 60 bunch.

[rickdesilva]

Loc
How extreme are the 4WD trails, does a soccer mom's Santa Fe make it or do you need something more radical?

[jello_jeep]

Well, Locmesiter, you have started it now!!!!!

[garyde]

Loc, is this one of those 'get down the mountain no matter how many times we roll' trips. I met a guy in Havasu who rents Jeeps out in Colorado so let me know when and where.

[parksincpp]

Will a full size 4WD truck "fit" on the jeep trails?

[Loc]

I have run all of these trails before. They rent stock Jeep Wranglers in the area and they are allowed to run all of the trails except Black Bear Pass. If you have reasonable ground clearance and four wheel drive you can run most of these trails.

Cinnamon Pass and Ophir Pass can be run in two wheel drive. They are scenic but not very demanding.

Engineer Pass has a couple of places where 4 wheel drive is required and you need reasonable ground clearance. The trail is a little more difficult running it from Ouray to Lake City, but not bad either way. Engineer and Cinnamon make up the Alpine Loop.

Imogene Pass requires 4 wheel drive and has a couple of places where good ground clearance is needed and a couple of creeks that you have to ford. Depending on the runoff the crossing can be a little deep, but stock Jeeps run this trail all the time. A low range is a nice to have because of some areas with small rocks where you will bounce considerably if you are not moving slowly. The pass is at 11,000 feet plus and the air is a little thin. Last time we crossed the pass we ran into a herd of sheep being driven over the mountain with a couple of dogs and a shepherd on foot (pretty amazing). Going down into Telluride there are some very steep drop offs but the road is pretty good. This is a very scenic trail. There may be a couple of places where you have to back up to get around a tight corner if you are in a full size pick up but it can be done. There are Jeep tour companies in Ouray that take full sized suburbans over this trail.

Corkscrew and California Pass are also scenic trails that I have taken my father and his wife on in their 4WD Toyota 4Runner. A couple of steep drops, but very doable trails. He is a flat lander and had never driven off road in the mountains.

Black Bear Pass is not for the faint of heart. It is one of the most demanding trails in Colorado. We will go to the top of Black Bear (the going down into Telluride is where it is dangerous) which is one of the most scenic areas in Colorado IMHO and a great place for a picnic. From there we will turn around and go back down and miss the descent into Telluride which has incredible drop offs and switch backs that require a small Jeep to back up on to get through (which is fun given the drop off if you make a mistake).

Poughkeepsie is a more difficult trail that requires four wheel drive and good clearance and a locker or two is helpful. This is not something that we will run with stock vehicles.

James,

To get to the trails from Durango requires driving on the highway and you need a street legal vehicle. Most of the trails start or terminate between Silverton and Ouray or in Telluride. It is about a 45 mile drive to Silverton.

Rick,

I have seen stock automobiles pretty far up on some of these trails. I don't know if they ultimately made it, but they got pretty far. The soccer mom-mobile should be able to make most of it.

Gary,

This is only a rock thing not a rock and roll thing. The goal is to keep the shiny side up.

Scott,

You can drive a full size 4WD truck on these trails. It may require some additional backing to get around some of the corners, but it can be done.

Jeep,

It doesn't take much to get it started.

JDUB,

Blah blah blah.

[Xtreme James]

Loc, that sounds fun !!!! You must be out of breath after all those answers. I don't think it will take all that much to get my rock crawler street legal, I think I'll get started...James

[GDeen]

For those who aren't into the jeeping, the Durango area offers some great hiking and mountain biking as well. You are at the gateway to the Weminuche Wilderness which is beautiful. Also rafting, riding the Silverton Train, fishing, etc. Pretty area.