The “Serious Explorations” Colorado Colors Run may have
been misnamed. This was the third annual running of the event and we have yet to
schedule the run at the height of the fall colors. The first year we were too
late and the majority of the leaves had already dropped, the second year we were
too early and the leaves had yet to change, this year we were again to early for
a spectacular display of color, but… with or without color the third annual
Colorado Colors Run was a fantastic success!
Mt. Brosso |
Jen and Wade descending Brosso |
18 Explorers and 2 Rangers from 6 states showed up for this
run. Dark Knight traveled the longest distance to join us at this event. His
wife and 4 children accompanied him. They traveled all the way from Virginia to
join us in the Central Colorado Mountains. We awarded Dark Knight a case of
Amsoil synthetic motor oil and a tube of their synthetic grease to help maintain
his rig after their long journey.
On Friday the day before the run officially began I rode
with Chris Woodley to the top of a 14,500 ft. mountain, Mt. Brosso. We were
pre-running this trail to test its difficulty for a stocker run planned for the
following Monday. Chris’s sister Jen in her 2001 Sport and Wade in his new
Ranger accompanied us on the trip.
The trail to Mt. Brosso starts in a tiny community by the
name of Alma. Charles Wells who wrote the Guide to Colorado Back Roads and
Trails stated that there was a gas station that we should be looking for as a
landmark, but the gas station is no longer there. Only an air pump remains in
front of an old wooden building.
The trail starts out in a thick pine forest, passes an old
mine building and quickly climbs above tree line. Numerous narrow switchbacks
wind their way up to the summit of Brosso. Once reaching the area which Charles
Wells described as the end of the trail we noticed several more trails branching
out in several directions. Chris headed us towards a trail that he thought would
take us to the top of neighboring Mt. Lincoln. As we approached the base of the
trail we talked to a few hikers about conditions farther up. The hikers told us
that the trail narrowed down to a single track suitable only to hikers and
bikes. We were both happy to have heard this advice before proceeding, as we
would have had a long distance to back down a very narrow trail!
Since that trail was out of the question Chris pointed his
2002 Explorer Sport in the opposite direction and followed another trail that
would allow us to gain even more altitude. After negotiating a few more sharp
switchbacks we found ourselves at the summit of the mountain. The summit was
totally flat except for a small 3 sided rock shelter that may have been used by
hikers to shelter themselves from the high winds at the top. The 360-degree view
from the top was very impressive; we didn’t stick around long though as a storm
front was approaching and this was no place to be caught in a storm!
Saturday morning was the first official gathering of the
Colorado Colors Run. We met at 8:00am in City Market’s parking lot. 15 Explorers
and 2 Rangers showed up the first morning. After we had time to check out
everyone’s rigs and introduce ourselves we gathered our group in a long line and
headed out to the trails.
The first portion of the trails was run as one large group.
We took a an easy trail to the top of Georgia Pass where we stopped for a group
photo. After the photo we descended Georgia Pass and once again hit pavement. We
traveled down the paved road for about 5 miles until we reached the turn
off for Red Cone and Webster Pass. Here we ate lunch at a clearing just before
the two trails split off from each other.
Photo by: Chris Woodley
After we finished a quick lunch the stockers tackled
Webster Pass and the modified rigs took on Red Cone. I can only recount the Red
Cone trip, as that’s the trail I ran.
Red Cone Trail
The trail leading to Red Cone is rough, but not extreme in
any way. Lots of rocks, holes, and narrow passages between the trees make for an
exciting climb. On the way up we came to a stop and I saw someone helping a
women get her dirtbike back on the trail. She had apparently ridden off the
trail dumping the bike. It turned out that this women was Perry and Terri’s son
Patrick’s teacher from last year. She told Patrick to tell his friends that his
teacher really does ride a dirt bike!
Brian1
Along the trail we were constantly being passed and
approached by dirtbikes. We also passed several Toyotas and Jeeps along the way
up to the summit. The weather was picture perfect all day right until we reached
the summit. By the time we got there freezing rain started to come down, luckily
for us it was just a mild sprinkle. Sitting at the top of Red Cone’s summit and
looking down can be very intimidating for the first timer! The decent is VERY
long and VERY steep. Combine this with loose dirt and deep moguls and it makes
for a heck of a ride! Several people asked for recommendations on how to get
down safely. I said; low range, low gear, keep it straight, and use the brakes
sparingly, but use them!
Group at Webster Pass Red Cone Junction
When our group reached the base of Red Cone the stocker
group was just reaching the intersection of Webster Pass and Red Cone trail. The
timing was absolutely perfect! We met up for another group photo and had a quick
meeting. It was decided that several people would continue up Radical Hill and
the rest would head back to town.
Saturday Nights Moab 2001 Video Preview
Saturday nights activities were awesome. Chris Woodley (MMPC),
had reserved the meeting room in the Quality Inn to preview his video, Moab
2001. Chris played to a full house! The room was packed with drivers, wives,
friends, and kids. I believe we had over 40 people in attendance. The Moab video
was fantastic! It was obvious that a four wheeler had produced this video as it
was fast paced and hard driving. After the video presentation we had a raffle,
no one left empty handed, we had enough prizes for two rounds of raffles. Thanks
go out to Perry & Terri, Joe Dietz and Chris for adding to the assortment of
prizes.
After the raffle we all headed out for a group dinner at
the Dillon Dam Inn. Their staff did a great job of accommodating our large
group. It did take a while for our main course to come out, but they made sure
everyone was served at the same time. Thanks to Heath for making the
arrangements.
Sunday morning…8am. Back at the City Market, we met a few
more folks who had just arrived and we were soon ready for another day of
wheelin’. The itinerary said Wheeler Lake for the modified rigs and Mosquito
Pass for the stockers.
Rumney on Wheeler Lake Trail
Fourteen Explorers headed out to Wheeler Lake Sunday
morning. We broke up into two groups of seven to help things run smoothly. The
first group, which I was in was led by Matt, the second was led by Heath. The
trail starts off with a set of obstacles which gives the driver several choices
for his lines. In our group only a few took the most radical line to the right.
This line either put you at a severe off camber angle or caused the truck to get
some serious air depending on the exact placement of tires. We would find out
later that Dark Knight rolled his Explorer on it's side at this obstacle.
Luckily his wife and kids weren't in the truck with him, that could have made
the situation much more serious.
Gerald on Wheeler Lake Trail
The next obstacle also had several lines. To top it off
there was water at the bottom of the hill so traction was marginal until the
water was “burned off” the tires. For the next few miles there were no serious
obstacles just loads of bone jarring rocks, holes and ledges.
About 2 miles in we came across a Toyota T100 pickup and a
Jeep Cherokee. The Toyota had ripped it’s spring perches away from the axle
housing causing the housing to twist and also causing a loss of fluid. The owner
asked if anyone had a welder, one of our group members told them that I had a
Ready Welder onboard and would be glad to let them use it once we were on our
way back out.
Climb Naked Left...Rick Gettin' a Little Air
Everyone ran the trail without a hitch until we got to the
“Bowling Ball Alley”. That stretch was appropriately named for it’s large
rounded rocks which were set on a very steep incline. Along the route to make
things more interesting were a couple of ledges which caused those without
lockers or limited slip diffs to have problems with forward progress. We opted
to leave a couple rigs behind and take their passengers up to the top in the
vehicles equipped with lockers.
Just past “Bowling Ball Alley” was the last obstacle, a
waterfall complete with flowing water (something we don't see in too much in
Arizona)! There were two possible lines here. One was right up the waterfall and
the other was to the right which was smoother, but had a steep drop off which no
one would want to fall into. All the Explorers that I saw conquered the
waterfall with little difficulty. It was really a blast to watch. While I was
climbing the waterfall I heard my rear tire let out a rush of air. Many of the
bystanders thought it was just the ARB engaging, but in reality it was an
internal problem with one of my beadlock rims. I continued to the lake which was
a short but rough ride from the waterfall. There I changed the tire at 12,500
ft. which literally took my breath away. Working at that altitude is VERY
difficult for someone not accustomed to the altitude.
While I was changing the tire the rest of the group had
lunch and took photos. After a while a Bronco II and a Cherokee joined us at the
top and we had a nice conversation with their drivers. I handed the Bronco II
owner a card from “Serious Explorations”, hopefully we’ll have a new member
soon.
Lunch at Wheeler Lake
The ride back down seemed to go by much more quickly than
the ascent, most likely do to the fact that gravity was now on our side helping
us descend the trail. When we got back to the folks with the broken Toyota we
were surprised to see that they had removed the rear axle entirely and had it
ready for us to work on. I unpacked my Ready Welder and Tom Davis proceeded to
weld both spring perches back in place and fill a large gap in the housing which
had been ripped open. I gave the Toyota owner a quart of gear oil and a tube of
silicone sealer to apply around the welds to make sure that their axle wouldn’t
leak. They were tremendously pleased that we were able to offer them so much
assistance. They kept offering me money, but I flatly refused. I told them that
the only compensation needed was to be sure to help the next guy that they find
in trouble on the trail. I really hope that the trail repair held up long enough
for them to get home safely. By the looks of the welds I’m sure they did.
By now we were just over a mile from the trails end. We
went down the last few obstacles without a hitch and soon were back out to the
parking area. We broke out at about 3:30pm. What a terrific day of wheelin’!
Waterfall at Wheeler Lake
Participants
Matt Adams |
Colorado |
1994 XLT |
Joe Dietz |
Colorado |
1993 Eddie Bauer |
Jared Finkenbinder |
Colorado |
2000 Ranger |
Wade Gidney |
Utah |
2001 Ranger |
Marshall Graves |
Colorado |
1991 XLT |
Rick Horwitz |
Arizona |
1993 XL |
Gerald Jarrett |
Texas |
1999 Eddie Bauer |
Heath Johnson |
Colorado |
1996 XLT |
Trint Ladd |
Colorado |
1994 XLT |
Rand Martinez |
Colorado |
1998 Sport |
Derek ONeil |
Colorado |
1993 XLT |
Ryan Penner |
Colorado |
1992 Sport |
Joe Readmond |
Virginia |
1994 XLT |
Andrew Robinson |
Colorado |
2000 XLT |
Perry Schwab |
Colorado |
1994 XLT |
Mickey Spiers |
Colorado |
1991 XLT |
Brian Sumner |
New Mexico |
1991 XLT |
Joe Weaver |
Colorado |
1993 Sport |
Chris Woodley |
Colorado |
2001 Sport |
Jennifer Woodley |
Colorado |
2001 Sport |
James Young |
Utah |
1991 XLT |
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