Gary's Jeeping Near Ouray

[Gary Lewis]

As some of you know, Janey and I've been gone for two weeks on a vacation to Colorado.  We got back last night and now I can tell you about the day we spent Jeeping near Ouray.

Some may ask why I should report on that in a Bullnose forum, and the simple answer is that I intend to take Big Blue to the same area in the near future.  So this was basically a scouting trip.

This was a two-couple vacation, and it turns out that I was the only one really gung-ho for renting a Jeep.  In fact, the ladies were very skittish about going on high roads, so we chose easy trails.  And, we went with a really capable vehicle - a 4-door Rubicon which had roll control, sway bar disconnects, and lots of other features.  And, it had 35's on it aired down to 24 psi, which was adequate for the highway and ok for the trails.

LAST DOLLAR ROAD:

The first trail we went on was Last Dollar Road, which was essentially a dirt road.  In other words, EASY!  And the scenery was stunning.  We were there are exactly the right time for the aspen, and they were brilliant against the green of the pines.

Here's a shot through the windshield of the Jeep:




Here's another section of the road:




And this was taken from roughly the same spot but shows the wide range of colors:



To sum up the road, it is EASY.  We were going south and when we got to the high point we were stopped by some folks in a 2wd minivan asking if they should go on.  And the answer was "Certainly!"  Turned out that they'd already done the hardest part of the journey with a few rocks to negotiate, and the north part is just a dawdle - but BEAUTIFUL!  So even 2wd Bullnose trucks will make this easily.


OPHIR PASS ROAD:
After Last Dollar Road, and lunch in Telluride, we went up and over Ophir Pass.  This is rated 2 on a 5-point scale and 2 on a 3-point scale, but is certainly more of a "trail" than a "road".  In fact, on this I disconnected the sway bars on the Jeep to allow a bit more articulation as we traversed the rocks in the road.

This was all the trail my passengers wanted, although the Rubicon made it very easy.  It was just the long, steep road on the side of the mountain, shown below, that had them spooked.  This shot was borrowed off the internet, but was taken from exactly the spot where we caught up with another Jeep.  We pulled over and talked to them and the guy asked if we'd ever been on that road as he was "puckered up from the road ahead".  I told him I had and that it isn't all that bad, so he asked if he could follow me.

Given that, off we went.  The roll control was already on and the sway bars disconnected, but at that point I locked the front and rear diffs to ensure we didn't spin a tire as that would spook the passengers.  And sure enough, we didn't spin a tire and the ascent was easy.




And here we are at the top of Ophir Pass - Janey, Gary, Leesa, & Rob - at 11,789':




The descent, going east to Colorado 550, aka the Million Dollar Highway, was gentle and easy.  So while my passengers weren't thrilled, I think the rating of "2" on a 5-point scale is about right.  It is an easy trail that is best done in a vehicle with a low range so you can hit the rocks gently, but locking diffs aren't needed.  And wheelbase length isn't an issue.

And now I'm chomping at the bit to take Big Blue and try some of the other trails!!!!  

[Sac79]

Sounds like a great day!

[grumpin]

Cool! Thanks for the report! Looks like fun!

[Nothing Special]

Glad you enjoyed it!  Ophir is one of the trails I haven't done out there yet, so it's good to get a report there too.

[Ford F834]

Wonderful pictures and good recommendations Gary. Thanks for sharing.

I’m not very experienced with Jeep/off-road vehicle features and capabilities... I am very interested to see what Big Blue is capable of once you have him trail worthy.

[kramttocs]

Love that scenery!

[86 1/2 Brutus]

Love the pics.  Would love to be able to go up that way sometime.  I'm originally from Maryland and used to love to go to West Virginia especially for the scenery.  Love it.  Glad ya'll had a good time

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks, guys!

Renting a Jeep out there is pretty reasonable.  That Rubicon cost $222 for a day, plus gas, and was very capable.  

We passed the turnoff to Engineer Mountain trail and a sign said "Recommended for short wheelbase vehicles."  That got me to wondering about Big Blue's 133" wheelbase.  But as Bob has noted, the locals use long wheel base trucks with seats in the back to take people on tours on many of those trails.  And, I saw several of the Jeep Gladiators up there, which have a 137.3" wheelbase.  So I'm pretty sure BB will be fine.

[Machspeed]

Thanks for the report, Gary. Looks like you guys had some fun!!!

[Nothing Special]

Big Blue will work fine on Engineer Mountain Road.  But as we discussed before and as your passengers pointed out on this trip, the vehicle often isn't the limiting factor.  Driver and even passenger comfort level often (usually?) are.  The "short wheelbase recommended" probably helps keep some people from getting in beyond what they can handle.

Which brings me back to my broken record message.  Don't go anywhere that isn't fun.  Turn around if you need to.  Push your limits as much as you want, but only as much as YOU want.

[Gary Lewis]

I'm pretty unfazed by heights in vehicles.  (But not elsewhere - you should have seen me at the Eiffel Tower!)  I had absolutely no concerns whatsoever going up Ophir Pass, and wished for more.  But it was clear that was One Toke Over The Line for my passengers.    (We'd just heard that song on the radio that morning, so it stuck in my mind.)

So I'm trying to get a group up to go some time next year.  I'd certainly like to take my son, and have already asked him.  And I've asked my brother, who has an FJ and might take it.  Maybe one of his sons would go as well and we could have some fun.

I hadn't ever read much about the FJ, so Googled "how capable is an FJ off road" and found this article.  And, it included this pic.  

[Nothing Special]

Not far from where this Toyota was in this pic!  This one looks to be a 4runner, but we saw a lot of FJ Cruisers out there too.  They do fine on all of the Ouray trails too, although "the Wall" on Poughkeepsie really needs a locker.

[Gary Lewis]

Yep, I thought that's where it was.  As for the locker, that article says they come with a rear locker, stock.  Dunno as I haven't looked his over that closely.  But I sent him a link to the article and he owes me a call today, so maybe we can talk about it.  

[Nothing Special]

Gary Lewis wrote

....  As for the locker, that article says they come with a rear locker, stock....

Interesting!  I know Toyota was one of the first manufacturers to put actual lockers in * (always a selectable locker), but I didn't know they were available in the FJ Cruiser.


*  (OK, GM was probably the first with the G80/M-Locker/GovLock)