Postcard from Ouray
We arrived late Friday night winding down the pass from Durango, It was pretty late and a bit of a white-knuckle drive due to the ever-present deer. A couple of near misses and sighting fifty more we knew this was a special place. Crashed at the hotel, thin air, bubbling river outside the window and a couple of Breckinridge micro brews makes for a great sleep, and late starts.
Saturday was dedicated to fact-finding and a little local time. Nice town pretty much catering to the tourist crowd, but with a local Colorado appeal. No fast food chains, or big box stores here, they must fight to keep them out.
Spoke to the local info guys. They have a ranger (BLM I think) there, he is pretty expert regarding the off road trails. I told him I had an FJC, He wasn’t familiar, but was quick to point out the difference between all wheel drive and four-wheel drive. I told him that wasn’t going to be a problem. . .
The Ranger had some valuable advice, including staying within your limits. I asked about access to the loop from Ouray, was Engineer Pass something my FJC could handle? (Was it something I could handle?) He suggested that if I got through the first 2.2 miles, the rest was easier and more of the same. “Not sure what your clearance is, but remember to put a tire on the high spots and don’t straddle them”. I soon found out this was good advice.
“By the way, steer clear of Poughkeepsie Gulch, not for you.” Got it. . .
I admit, I am a novice at off roading. I was a bit anxious about our plans. Sunday, we would navigate the Alpine Loop. My baptism in off roading seemed a bit intimidating now.
Spent the day shopping, getting some provisions for lunch on the trail and a dip in the Hot Springs, nice!
That evening we decided to take a trial run up Corkscrew Gulch, to get our wings and test my nerve. I was told it was a bit easier than Engineers so thought it would be a good practice run. WOW! A bit trickier than I imagined, cautiously rolling up the pass, Kristin climbing out about every 75 feet to check the road, clearance, the best line through some steep areas, creeping through the narrow spots. She was a quick study and I soon trusted her direction, a great spotter from the start. Restraint was the way we took it, about an hour up (3/4 of the way up the pass) and it was getting dark so we headed back down.
Oops, nobody told me “down” requires other skills than “up”! Low gear, brakes, stuff looks different on the downhill. Did I really just climb this??? Seems steeper going down. . .
Confidence was much higher, we really learned a lot. The FJC got us up and back, strong, planted.
Got up early, ate breakfast at the hotel. I aired down the tires to 20 PSI (replacing the stocks tires with BFGs was a good idea). I had made my decision to take on Engineers Pass. Rolled up 550 and stopped at the entrance to Engineers for a photo. Wait, nobody here? We are the only guys going up at 8AM? I expected dozens, not an encouraging sign. . .
I had made a strategy: 1. Do not get into anything I couldn’t back out of. 2. Stay aware of turn outs 3. learn from experienced experts around me ( where are they?) 4. Evaluate after each mile, 5. Don’t endanger my family.
Engineer Pass was less intimidating than I had psyched myself into. Rocky, tight, narrow, steep, yeah, But we cautiously conquered each challenge and confidence grew. 100 feet, 500 feet 1000 feet, a mile! By 2.2 miles we were having a blast!
With the intimidation factor behind us we were really on our way!
Engineers pass, exploring old mines, fantastic wildflowers, a thousand sheep, marmots, turkey vultures, approving nods from jeeps, four wheelers, dirt bikers and former fj40 owners. Lunch in Lake city, Kristin’s first wheeling over Cinnamon Pass, Ghost towns, thunderstorms, California Gulch (Yikes!), Corkscrew Pass. Ten hours, four 12,000 ft passes, great times, great sights and a non-stop thrill ride for my family. We’ll be back soon!
I came to try my hand at wheelin and conquer some trails and left with a real appreciation for this beautiful, rugged, delicate, intricate, fabulous, heavenly high country. I’ll be back.
(For those who care, my FJ is
2WD, w rear locker, 285 BFGs, no lift and running boards are still intact!)
Linear Mode
