First
of all, sorry to everyone who missed this one. You missed one
great trail.
Attendees:
Michael and Larry in "Troubled Child" 86GW
Toby and Doug in "Rocky" 87GW
9:00
am
I got to Jefferson right on time. There
is nothing in Jefferson except a gas station. My friend Doug and
I waited ... and waited ... and, well you get the picture.
9:45
am
Michael and his friend Larry finally showed
up late ... as usual. He wanted to know where everyone was. This
is it I said. So after a fill up of gas, we were on our way. We
figured it would probably take us an hour to get to the top. It
took 20 minutes. This was beyond EASY.
10:15
am
There are several trails that branch off
in different directions. We decided to head up towards Glacier
Peak. It is a easy/moderate little road which goes up to an three
way fork. Left, Right, or wow, straight up. And I do mean straight
up. Which do you think we picked? ............. Yep, straight
up!
This
is positively the most vertical trail I have ever gone on. It
was pretty touch with lots of medium size rocks and loose dirt.
But in 4 LO, no problem. The power of our rigs in LO still always
amazes me. Towards the top it became even more vertical and i
began to get bogged down. I hit a small boulder and that was it.
Tires spinning, I was not going any farther ... with this approach.
With Michael spotting me from behind he talked me into a different
line .... no problem making it up now.
We
came to a flat area that looked like the end of the trail ...
wrong ... turns out that just past a couple of large rocks the
trail continued up. Let's keep going. We kept thinking the trail
must end over the next ridge ... nope just kept going up and up.
With several more very, very steep climbs and two times I stalled
it, we finally made it to the very top of Glacier Peak.
13,000
+ feet - 360 degree view which included all of South Park, Breckenridge,
Lake Dillon and Red Cone/Webster pass. Absolutely amazing! Time
for lunch.
11:45
am
As we were eating lunch with the most spectacular
views ever, then the unexpected (well not really) happened ...
THUNDERSTORM. I still think it is the most amazing thing to see
a thunderstorm from the top, with the lightning below you. We
didn't think much of it at first, but then realized ... two large
METAL vehicles on the tip top of a mountain. O.K. eat really fast
get back in and lets get off the top of this mountain.
The
trip down was much scarier than the trip up ... always is. Mainly
because it was raining lightly and making the rocks very slick.
Going down those very steep inclines made me think that Red Cone
would be a breeze. We made record time getting down. And, of course
once we get down, the sun came out .. damitt.
1:00
pm
After stopping at the flat part of Georgia
Pass, we decided to stop a while and rest. We did not observe
the rule "Don't 4x4 until at least 30 minutes after eating". So
we sat and let the "foam" that was our food settle in our stomachs.
1:45
pm
Time to head down. There are several trails
heading down. According to the book, all would meet at the trail
to Breckenridge ... wrong. We had picked a dead end. Sorta glad
we did. It was a moderate trail with a really cool mud/water crossing,
abandoned log cabins, rock fields and great views. After turning
around we found the correct trail. It is a rough ride ... at least
for "Rocky" but not difficult. There are tons of trails to explore
.. and easily get lost on. We finally got down to smooth road
about an hour and a half later to enjoy a lovely hail/rain storm.
On
the Toby 1-10 rating scale .. I give it a 9.
Challenging climbs, spectacular views, and
not anything that was guaranteed to break your Jeep. Even though
Michael had some problems with his shackles getting stuck in the
"up" position. I would recommend a lift, but a daring "stock"
owner could make it.
By
following the book ... I think I will try more trails listed as
"OTHER"
Toby
