Seven Mile:
http://www.4x4trails.net/db_view_trail.php?trailNum=246
Access: From Ft. Collins, CO, take Hwy 14 west to the town of Rustic (about 40 miles). As you approach Rustic, look for a trail heading north marked CR 69. Follow this to FR 225.
"The trail is moderate, however, good ground clearance is required if you're not willing to take time to follow the directions of a good spotter. I take this trail all the time in a Land Rover Discovery II without problem and friends have even taken two-wheel-drive Jeep Cherokees through the entire trail (one friend, however, in a Honda CRV did over $5000 worth of damage to his vehicle by cracking open his rear differential and dislodging his header from his exhaust manifold...probably could have been prevented with good tire placement and patience.) The trail is rocky, however, the most challenging parts occur toward the end between miles 3 and 4 (from the start of FR225). There are numerous stream crossings and depending on what time of year the trail is taken, these can be rather challenging; during warmer weather, these crossings are simple dips in the road that just happen to have water in them, however, in winter, thick ice shelves can develop in odd places making it neccessary to stack rocks in the stream to ascend to the opposite banks. Just into the trail, after about 1 mile, is a nice little mine area off to the left with a scenic parking spot that is highly recommended. Farther into the trail, another road NO LONGER leads off to the left again up "Passible-Impassible Hill", a steep intimidating hill that leads to a small secluded campsite (***This road is officially closed now***). The nice part about this trail is that you can bail out at any time and simply turn around. At about mile 4, a deep water hole in a meadow NO LONGER leads to a more difficult stream crossing and another fun trail(*** This stream crossing and subsequent trail was closed last fall The USFS closed this portion of the trail....blocking it with boulders, and creating a large trench to keep people out. Unfortunately some people have decided to tear down the CLOSED ROAD sign and are creating a huge obstacle where there should NOT be one.***). To complete Sevenmile Road, turn left at the meadow and ascend a large hill around it. On the way back, basically, keep turning to the right and heading east (one right turn will take you due south again, skip this one.) Avoid going into private driveways. The road back goes through FS 171, FS 162, and finally County Road 69 back to Rustic. "
Kelly Flats:
http://www.trails.com/tcatalog_trail...lid=HGR221-003
http://www.4x4trails.net/db_view_trail.php?trailNum=74
There are by-passes for the rough stuff I believe if we don't think we can go around it. I have never been up there, but have looked at it and have had friends drive it. Jim (N7VDR) may be able to give some insight on the trail.
Trail: The fun begins right away as the beginning of the trail is rough, rocky and rutted. Continue on through this mildly difficult stuff for about a quarter mile before the road smooths out for a little while. A couple of minor spurs branch off but the main road is fairly obvious. At a little over a half mile you reach the first major obstacle, Heart Attack Hill. It is a steep hill about a quarter mile long. It is very rough and rocky, has some large ruts and is quite loose in places. Lockers or limited slips are helpful but open diffs can make it with a lot of driver skill. A road going down to the right before you start the assent toward Heart Attack Hill leads to a lengthy bypass.
The bypass is fun in its own right. It was a couple miles long and includes some moderately challenging hills which we jovially dubbed "Minor Coronary," "Myocardial Infarction," and "Triple Bypass." First you descend into a small valley and then climb easily over the next ridge. Now you drop a little more steeply into the next valley. About half way down this descent, as it starts to become a little steeper, the trail divides very briefly. To the right is easy, to the left takes you over about a 2 foot rock ledge. Once you reach the valley floor the trail turns sharply left and begins climbing.
The first part of the climb has a fairly substantial rut running down the middle of the road followed by a mildly rocky section (Minor Coronary). The ascent then become easy for awhile. As you begin gradually turn back toward the south the trail become steeper, looser and full of moguls (Myocardial Infarction). After you crest this hill the trail levels out for a bit, traveling along the top of the ridge before you make the last (and hardest) climb (Triple Bypass).
After the bypass reconnects with the main trail you will enjoy about a mile of mild to moderate 4-wheeling before coming to private property. As the trail crosses the private property it becomes graded gravel road for several miles. In the middle of this graded section (about 5 and a half mile from the trail head if you came up Heart Attack Hill) you find the turn off for the other major obstacle, The Chutes. The entrance to The Chutes straight ahead when the main road swings right and then left to go around a large rock formation.
The Chutes is a very rough, steep assent through a very narrow gap between huge granite boulders. It is full of very large rocks and has a very tight turn in the middle. You will probably need lockers and a lot of clearance to make it and even then the risk of damage is high. This is a hard-core obstacle. I think the name may be spelled wrong. It probably got its name from people going, Vroom, vroom, BANG, “shoot!” Vroom, vroom, bang, “shoot!”
Another mile or so of graded road brings you out of the private land and back into 4wd. As you leave the private land the trail splits. I’ve always gone to the left, down hill. You go descend mildly for a little while and then more steeply before crossing some major water bars and meeting a road coming from the right. This may be the other fork rejoining, but I don’t know for sure. In another quarter to half mile there is a large rock to drop over. The drop is from about 16" to about 3 feet; the further right you take it the bigger the drop (or there is an easy bypass to the far left). A couple miles of easy to moderate 'wheeling with occasional mud puddles some beautiful meadows (please stay on the trail and don’t mess up those meadows) and one last switchbacked descent bring you out to County Road 69. Go left (down hill) to reach Rustic and CO 14.
So who wants to go ?
I'm in as is GoFastHockey, tisilverFJ and N7VDR.
Who else ?
Linear Mode
