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San Juan Badge of Honor trip planned Sept 7-10, would be nice to meet w/ a few others.

Frezski

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We just made it from Colorado and Utah. Sounds like @Col_Sanders summed up what I was going to say. Overall wasn't very difficult. We based out of Ouray, ran Ophir first as an easy break in trail after arriving. Next day was Black Bear Pass. The steps wasn't as bad as we thought it might be, however I noticed some Yotas had a little more challenging time. Just focus on driving and you will be ok. Get a good spotter for the second switch back. We had planned to run Imogene after lunch in Telluride, however half way up my buddies 4runner steering was acting up. We decided to turn around. Anna and I went back the next morning and did it solo. This kind of scrambled our planned timing. We ran Engineer to Lake City. Beautiful. Due to the paranoia of my buddy and his Yota, after the start of Engineer pass he didn't favor trying Poughkeepsie. By then we ran out of time as that was our last day. If you start Engineer Pass on the Ouray side, the climb is beautiful. First so many miles of the climb is rocky and a tiny bit technical. It was fun! Once you hit the start of the Alpine Loop portion its smooth sailing.. literally...

That said, it was wild in Ouray. Not sure what Jeep event was going on but it was busy. Even our neighbors who come out and stay yearly there to hit the trails in their Jeep said it was the busiest in their 10 years visiting. Surprisingly, all the big companys left before the weekend. Maybe a little prerunning some trails? Not sure. Across from where we stayed was where Savvy and RK staged. They seemed to arrive the same day we did, (Tuesday) and were gone by Friday. Quite a few other shops.. Outlaw I believe out of East Coast. That said, I hope your trip out to CO is less busy, as sometimes traffic gets a little wild.

Let me know if you if need more info or detail. I have my planned routes on Gaia. Would be glad to share them if you would like them.
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We just made it from Colorado and Utah. Sounds like @Col_Sanders summed up what I was going to say. Overall wasn't very difficult. We based out of Ouray, ran Ophir first as an easy break in trail after arriving. Next day was Black Bear Pass. The steps wasn't as bad as we thought it might be, however I noticed some Yotas had a little more challenging time. Just focus on driving and you will be ok. Get a good spotter for the second switch back. We had planned to run Imogene after lunch in Telluride, however half way up my buddies 4runner steering was acting up. We decided to turn around. Anna and I went back the next morning and did it solo. This kind of scrambled our planned timing. We ran Engineer to Lake City. Beautiful. Due to the paranoia of my buddy and his Yota, after the start of Engineer pass he didn't favor trying Poughkeepsie. By then we ran out of time as that was our last day. If you start Engineer Pass on the Ouray side, the climb is beautiful. First so many miles of the climb is rocky and a tiny bit technical. It was fun! Once you hit the start of the Alpine Loop portion its smooth sailing.. literally...

That said, it was wild in Ouray. Not sure what Jeep event was going on but it was busy. Even our neighbors who come out and stay yearly there to hit the trails in their Jeep said it was the busiest in their 10 years visiting. Surprisingly, all the big companys left before the weekend. Maybe a little prerunning some trails? Not sure. Across from where we stayed was where Savvy and RK staged. They seemed to arrive the same day we did, (Tuesday) and were gone by Friday. Quite a few other shops.. Outlaw I believe out of East Coast. That said, I hope your trip out to CO is less busy, as sometimes traffic gets a little wild.

Let me know if you if need more info or detail. I have my planned routes on Gaia. Would be glad to share them if you would like them.
I wouldn’t mind the planned routes for Gaia. I’ll be heading to Ouray at the end of September.
 

Frezski

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I wouldn’t mind the planned routes for Gaia. I’ll be heading to Ouray at the end of September.
PM with your email and I will forward you the folder so you can D/L the map.
 
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blnewt

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We just made it from Colorado and Utah. Sounds like @Col_Sanders summed up what I was going to say. Overall wasn't very difficult. We based out of Ouray, ran Ophir first as an easy break in trail after arriving. Next day was Black Bear Pass. The steps wasn't as bad as we thought it might be, however I noticed some Yotas had a little more challenging time. Just focus on driving and you will be ok. Get a good spotter for the second switch back. We had planned to run Imogene after lunch in Telluride, however half way up my buddies 4runner steering was acting up. We decided to turn around. Anna and I went back the next morning and did it solo. This kind of scrambled our planned timing. We ran Engineer to Lake City. Beautiful. Due to the paranoia of my buddy and his Yota, after the start of Engineer pass he didn't favor trying Poughkeepsie. By then we ran out of time as that was our last day. If you start Engineer Pass on the Ouray side, the climb is beautiful. First so many miles of the climb is rocky and a tiny bit technical. It was fun! Once you hit the start of the Alpine Loop portion its smooth sailing.. literally...

That said, it was wild in Ouray. Not sure what Jeep event was going on but it was busy. Even our neighbors who come out and stay yearly there to hit the trails in their Jeep said it was the busiest in their 10 years visiting. Surprisingly, all the big companys left before the weekend. Maybe a little prerunning some trails? Not sure. Across from where we stayed was where Savvy and RK staged. They seemed to arrive the same day we did, (Tuesday) and were gone by Friday. Quite a few other shops.. Outlaw I believe out of East Coast. That said, I hope your trip out to CO is less busy, as sometimes traffic gets a little wild.

Let me know if you if need more info or detail. I have my planned routes on Gaia. Would be glad to share them if you would like them.
Thanks for all that Allan, sounds like a great trip. I think the trail traffic is probably my biggest concern so hopefully the time we picked won't be as busy as the holiday weekend and the following Jeep Jamboree week. Should have my full skids on this weekend so I feel pretty good about having my Jeep in the proper shape :) I think I'll keep my Patagonias on since I still have decent tread, although my 35" Mickey Thompsons would give me a bit more clearance. Still have to get my tire deflaters adjusted and a few other odds & ends. Ordered that Colorado Backroads book and will be priniting up some trail info from trailsoffroad.com
I'm so old school I'm not familiar w/ Gaia, I assume it's a GPS app?? Thanks for the offer to provide that info :)

Still not sure who can meet up with us, so anyone reading this that might be in the area and want to run one or all the trails w/ us that would be great!
 

Col_Sanders

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Gaia is supposed to be pretty good but I have not used it. I got 50% off the Alltrails app so that is what I ended up trying. Sometimes it is not very intuitive and my wife, who is not a tech person and not very patient with it, got frustrated with it a few times. Rather than argue with her, we relied mostly on the book and the Uconnect navigation. Most of those trails are county roads so they are on Uconnect's maps.

I got an email a couple days ago from Jeep Wave with 6 months free OnX. That might worth trying.
 

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Frezski

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Thanks for all that Allan, sounds like a great trip. I think the trail traffic is probably my biggest concern so hopefully the time we picked won't be as busy as the holiday weekend and the following Jeep Jamboree week. Should have my full skids on this weekend so I feel pretty good about having my Jeep in the proper shape :) I think I'll keep my Patagonias on since I still have decent tread, although my 35" Mickey Thompsons would give me a bit more clearance. Still have to get my tire deflaters adjusted and a few other odds & ends. Ordered that Colorado Backroads book and will be priniting up some trail info from trailsoffroad.com
I'm so old school I'm not familiar w/ Gaia, I assume it's a GPS app?? Thanks for the offer to provide that info :)

Still not sure who can meet up with us, so anyone reading this that might be in the area and want to run one or all the trails w/ us that would be great!
The traffic was my concern too! Figured knock out the good stuff during the week so I can take my time, relax and enjoy the views. Quite the opposite! It all slowed down by the weekend. Wish I would have known. I hope it's a rare occurrence. Especially when technically you're on a bi-directional trail, and all the big guys hauling ass in their built shop rigs are telling you the opposite. Sorry bro did my research, and we were going the preferred route.. just a broken rig behind me trying to limp off the trail.. but I digress.

You'll be fine on either set of tires. I am actually really interested in the Mickey Thompsons! If I was in the market for a new tire, I would definitely consider it! I wish they would make it in a 37x13.50R17 for my truck. Anywho, I am on 35s.. hardly catching any low hanging fruit on my JL.. mostly my rear lower controll arm mount. But all I have is the factory Rubicon skids. I caught 4x more than that in Moab last week.. lol

Nothing wrong with the books IMO. I use Gaia and it's nice to just have it on a tablet, however it's not easy to use until you get the hang of it. It can get very technical. I feel like I have to reteach myself every time I use it!

If I don't hear from you! Enjoy your trip, have fun, and be safe!

Jeep Wrangler JL San Juan Badge of Honor trip planned Sept 7-10, would be nice to meet w/ a few others. IMG-20210805-WA0010


Jeep Wrangler JL San Juan Badge of Honor trip planned Sept 7-10, would be nice to meet w/ a few others. IMG-20210805-WA0012


Jeep Wrangler JL San Juan Badge of Honor trip planned Sept 7-10, would be nice to meet w/ a few others. IMG-20210805-WA0024


Jeep Wrangler JL San Juan Badge of Honor trip planned Sept 7-10, would be nice to meet w/ a few others. IMG-20210806-WA0007


Jeep Wrangler JL San Juan Badge of Honor trip planned Sept 7-10, would be nice to meet w/ a few others. IMG-20210805-WA0037


Jeep Wrangler JL San Juan Badge of Honor trip planned Sept 7-10, would be nice to meet w/ a few others. IMG-20210808-WA0009
 
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blnewt

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The traffic was my concern too! Figured knock out the good stuff during the week so I can take my time, relax and enjoy the views. Quite the opposite! It all slowed down by the weekend. Wish I would have known. I hope it's a rare occurrence. Especially when technically you're on a bi-directional trail, and all the big guys hauling ass in their built shop rigs are telling you the opposite. Sorry bro did my research, and we were going the preferred route.. just a broken rig behind me trying to limp off the trail.. but I digress.

You'll be fine on either set of tires. I am actually really interested in the Mickey Thompsons! If I was in the market for a new tire, I would definitely consider it! I wish they would make it in a 37x13.50R17 for my truck. Anywho, I am on 35s.. hardly catching any low hanging fruit on my JL.. mostly my rear lower controll arm mount. But all I have is the factory Rubicon skids. I caught 4x more than that in Moab last week.. lol

Nothing wrong with the books IMO. I use Gaia and it's nice to just have it on a tablet, however it's not easy to use until you get the hang of it. It can get very technical. I feel like I have to reteach myself every time I use it!

If I don't hear from you! Enjoy your trip, have fun, and be safe!

Jeep Wrangler JL San Juan Badge of Honor trip planned Sept 7-10, would be nice to meet w/ a few others. IMG-20210808-WA0009


Jeep Wrangler JL San Juan Badge of Honor trip planned Sept 7-10, would be nice to meet w/ a few others. IMG-20210808-WA0009


Jeep Wrangler JL San Juan Badge of Honor trip planned Sept 7-10, would be nice to meet w/ a few others. IMG-20210808-WA0009


Jeep Wrangler JL San Juan Badge of Honor trip planned Sept 7-10, would be nice to meet w/ a few others. IMG-20210808-WA0009


Jeep Wrangler JL San Juan Badge of Honor trip planned Sept 7-10, would be nice to meet w/ a few others. IMG-20210808-WA0009


Jeep Wrangler JL San Juan Badge of Honor trip planned Sept 7-10, would be nice to meet w/ a few others. IMG-20210808-WA0009
Thanks Allan, looks like Poughkeepsie is my main concern regarding scraping but w/ the skids I'm not concerned too much. Since you have the Rubicon I assume you had no sway connect the entire time, and did you air down for all the trails? I'll be disconnecting sway for Imogene, Black Bear, Poughkeepsie. I guess I'll be aired down for the entire BOH trail runs, especially if I start w/ Imogene rather than Ophir.

Hopefully starting our run on Tuesday will be better regarding the swarm of 4x4s out there.
 

Frezski

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Thanks Allan, looks like Poughkeepsie is my main concern regarding scraping but w/ the skids I'm not concerned too much. Since you have the Rubicon I assume you had no sway connect the entire time, and did you air down for all the trails? I'll be disconnecting sway for Imogene, Black Bear, Poughkeepsie. I guess I'll be aired down for the entire BOH trail runs, especially if I start w/ Imogene rather than Ophir.

Hopefully starting our run on Tuesday will be better regarding the swarm of 4x4s out there.
I wish I could provide more info on that. Skids for me is the next investment after the Hemi swap in Oct. They did their work, especially on the fuel tank. I have a tendency to pick the more challenging to see what it can actually do and it impresses me or often than not. You are correct, I did not have my sway bars connected and I aired down on average to 15 PSI. Not that it's 100 percent needed but who doesn't like a smoother ride. Traction is the game my friend! Let the sidewall flex! Imogene isn't technical really, just the back side going to Ouray towards the end has it's fair share of obstacles. Too beautiful there. I would air down and disconnect for Engineer Pass. You will be driving through the tougher bits just to get to the start of the Poughkeepsie trail head.
 
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I wish I could provide more info on that. Skids for me is the next investment after the Hemi swap in Oct. They did their work, especially on the fuel tank. I have a tendency to pick the more challenging to see what it can actually do and it impresses me or often than not. You are correct, I did not have my sway bars connected and I aired down on average to 15 PSI. Not that it's 100 percent needed but who doesn't like a smoother ride. Traction is the game my friend! Let the sidewall flex! Imogene isn't technical really, just the back side going to Ouray towards the end has it's fair share of obstacles. Too beautiful there. I would air down and disconnect for Engineer Pass. You will be driving through the tougher bits just to get to the start of the Poughkeepsie trail head.
Perfect, thanks!
And a Hemi on the way, wow, I'm impressed :rock: :like::handsinair::rock:
 
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blnewt

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OK, it's getting close to launch :)
If there's anybody that wants to run a trail or two beginning on Tuesday Sept 7th just shoot me a PM or a reply here.

Leaving from Durango every day, so hopefully we can get to the trailhead(s) around 8am.

Still planning to run Ophir/Imogene (or Imogene/Ophir) on Tues.

Alpine connector to Engineer Pass Summit, then back to Poughkeepsie Gulch on Wed.

Day off Thurs.

Black Bear to Ophir (or Imogene) on Friday if my wife is still on board :please: :fingerscrossed:

May switch the day off to Tues or Fri depending on weather outlook, want to be sure to hit Black Bear only if the weather isn't looking shaky.

One Jeep that was going to join up from my town had to cancel as he used his time off for a family emergency. Another JL from our town is about 50-50 since his wife is getting over Covid, so I may be rolling solo.

Just let me know you may want to join up!

B
 

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My plans are pretty dynamic right but hopefully we will be out there Wednesday. I’ll shoot you a PM when I know for sure!
 
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My plans are pretty dynamic right but hopefully we will be out there Wednesday. I’ll shoot you a PM when I know for sure!
Nice! For sure let me know if you're there and have time for a run or two. And Colorado Avalanche fan here FWIW :)
 
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Had a great run today, hit Ophir & Imogene w/ Trevor (and his family) from Texas. Weather was crazy good and the traffic was very light during the runs, couldn't ask for a better day! Only buzzkill was leaving the town of Ophir we hit a "dust reduction" stretch of road that was coated w/ fresh tar/oil and gravel, so I guess that is our new "badge of honor on the Jeep", but this I'll be trying to remove ASAP :(

Jeep Wrangler JL San Juan Badge of Honor trip planned Sept 7-10, would be nice to meet w/ a few others. ophir pass


Jeep Wrangler JL San Juan Badge of Honor trip planned Sept 7-10, would be nice to meet w/ a few others. imogene tunnel


Jeep Wrangler JL San Juan Badge of Honor trip planned Sept 7-10, would be nice to meet w/ a few others. imogene
 

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Had a great run today, hit Ophir & Imogene w/ Trevor (and his family) from Texas. Weather was crazy good and the traffic was very light during the runs, couldn't ask for a better day! Only buzzkill was leaving the town of Ophir we hit a "dust reduction" stretch of road that was coated w/ fresh tar/oil and gravel, so I guess that is our new "badge of honor on the Jeep", but this I'll be trying to remove ASAP :(
Awesome! Glad you made it there and having a good time with little traffic! Sorry about the oil and gravel thing. That happened to me once when my truck was brand new 8 years ago. Worst part of it is while being trapped in traffic there was no where to escape and it started raining.. It took a whole lot of chemicals to get that oil/tar off the side of the truck, like door handles down.... be safe and have fun!
 

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Glad to hear you guys had good trips. I'm headed up there this Friday and plan on spending Sat/Sun/Mon on the trails.
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