Colorado's Alpine Loop

[wander]

Originally Posted by bozwell13

I live in Durango, just did Alpine last summer and was shocked, it has changed a lot over the last few years. It's packed, super packed with tourists in UTVs, they drive like idiots gas flat to the floor. They have removed all of the road dirt with spinning tires leaving just the bedrock. The Loop is far far rougher than I have ever seen it. Every camp spot (there are very few, and now fenced so little off the road parking for a van, we're no longer welcome to disperse camp?) was packed with multiple people. If you park a camper van on the road you are blasted with clouds of dust every few minutes by said UTVs roaring by, even at night. The road to Carson City ghost town used to be easy, is now technical and not for a van, is so torn up I had to choose my line very carefully in a suburban with 2.5 lift, 285s or risk big rocker damage. I was shocked and very very disappointed at the changes. I have never seen so many out of staters back there nor ever seen such poor back woods etiquette. I'm not trying to be a buzz kill but I would not take my extended Quigley back there these days but would have a few years ago. That said, it is awesome country so if you go. My advice is start very early in the day, go slow, choose your line, enjoy the views, tolerate the UTVs (grrr) find a camp spot by 2-3 pm, after that campers are stacked on top of each other with people running around at 50mph frantically looking for a spot as the sun goes down. Keep in mind, if you are a flatlander, everything up there is above 10000 ft, high altitude edema, is a big deal, very common and a lot of people experience it most when they try to sleep. Your health, fitness has no bearing on HAE, some fat guys are fine, some pro althlete's drop like flies. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

Bozwell13, thank you for the great overview. I will certainly take your recommendation to heart. I'm a neophyte 4x-guy and intend on starting slow. I just bought Harry Lewellyn's "Shifting into 4WD: The SUV Owner's 4WD Handbook" from abebooks.com and have been learning a lot. I also bought FunTrek's Colorado and Northern Colorado 4X trails guidebook and have found some pretty cool trails in that.

Thanks, again!!

[bozwell13]

Originally Posted by wander

Bozwell13, thank you for the great overview. I will certainly take your recommendation to heart. I'm a neophyte 4x-guy and intend on starting slow. I just bought Harry Lewellyn's "Shifting into 4WD: The SUV Owner's 4WD Handbook" from abebooks.com and have been learning a lot. I also bought FunTrek's Colorado and Northern Colorado 4X trails guidebook and have found some pretty cool trails in that.

Thanks, again!!

I am long time (37yr) off roader, back in the day have done the Rubicon, Dusy Ershim, I used to live in a huge Unimog, blah, blah, point being I'm very experienced. I own a 2010 Quigley Chevy Express and I could get it over Alpine Loop (friend of mine just did with his) but it would be work and is hard on something that big and heavy. Air down your tires (40-50ish) to the right place depending on weight which is night and day difference on ride, wear and tear, not peeing blood and just slow down. I was there few years ago when a guy came over Engineer in an overloaded SMB, in a hurry with his tires at 80psi. It was so painful to watch, all I could think about was all his stuff crashing out of the cupboards and drawers inside piling up on the floor. When we talked a little I broached the subject of tire pressure and he was angry, defensive, full on amygdala reaction. He was way out of his comfort zone, inexperienced, offended that it wasnt "easy" to get a $150k 13K lb 4WD van through mining roads made up of nothing but sold broken rock. There are really great places here, the best ones with no people are the ones not on the web and farther from camp grounds, RV parks etc. Most of the TX UTV people are not campers, they park in Lake City and then rip around all day, retreating at nightfall back to civilization.

[bozwell13]

Get under your rig and learn where everything is, transfer case, shock bottoms, diffs, the rocks here do not move and will tear off anything that hits them. I have followed many oil trails only to find a stranded truck at the end. The last one was on Ophir, there was one lonely rock (on the west side) in the middle of an otherwise flat trail. The guy had sheared off his rear diff drain plug and the rear end burned up after a stream crossing at the bottom. Nice guy, he had no way to know and was super bummed. That day I saw how just an inch or two of extra clearance can make or break the trip.

[wander]

Thanks, again, bozwell13. I recently read to drive on the big rocks rather than straddle them. I'm sure that's basic, basic foe many, but it made sense and I appreciated it. I will deifinitly get under that rig.

I'm going to have Timberline install their rocker sliders, but not sure how that will work with my grey tank drain.

Again, thank you.

[86Scotty]

Wander, my first experience in the Alpine Loop area was in a rented Jeep out of Ouray. IIRC we were in a Sportsmobile but wanted to explore the area in something lighter, smaller and more capable so the van stayed in the campground. It cost around $200 for 24 hours (then, surely not still) and we had a great day with the kids in an open top Jeep. We felt pretty confident even as new offroaders ourselves.

Just another idea for you to consider. I have since taken a Sportsmobile over Imogene and some of the other high passes but I'd rather do it in a Jeep honestly.

[wander]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

Wander, my first experience in the Alpine Loop area was in a rented Jeep out of Ouray. IIRC we were in a Sportsmobile but wanted to explore the area in something lighter, smaller and more capable so the van stayed in the campground. It cost around $200 for 24 hours (then, surely not still) and we had a great day with the kids in an open top Jeep. We felt pretty confident even as new offroaders ourselves.

Just another idea for you to consider. I have since taken a Sportsmobile over Imogene and some of the other high passes but I'd rather do it in a Jeep honestly.

Thanks, 86Scotty. That's a great idea. I guess we could always rent an ATV in Lake City, at that. I'd like to get above the backcountry treeline once, but, honestly, I personally prefer the streams and forests. I think I'll check out the rental approach.

Thanks, again. This forum is amazing!!

[86Scotty]

My wife and I visited Lake City for the first time right in the middle of the Covid apocalypse last Summer. It was amazing. Very few people were there. Our goal wasn't offroading but knocking out a 14er (on foot of course). We drove up to the upper parking lot and hiked from there Uncompagre Peak. The hike from the road/lower parking is an insane elevation game/time suck and it's a road, not a trail, so you can work on your offroading chops just getting up there. We did it in a basically stock 4wd Tundra. Amazing hike. The first 14er I have done and I'd like to do the rest before I die. You pretty much start out at the tree line. Check it out.

[wander]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

My wife and I visited Lake City for the first time right in the middle of the Covid apocalypse last Summer. It was amazing. Very few people were there. Our goal wasn't offroading but knocking out a 14er (on foot of course). We drove up to the upper parking lot and hiked from there Uncompagre Peak. The hike from the road/lower parking is an insane elevation game/time suck and it's a road, not a trail, so you can work on your offroading chops just getting up there. We did it in a basically stock 4wd Tundra. Amazing hike. The first 14er I have done and I'd like to do the rest before I die. You pretty much start out at the tree line. Check it out.

That sounds like fun! I hike, but my wife....nada.

BTW, just checked on rentals in Lake City. A Jeep is $195/day and a 2021 Polaris 1000 4-seater is $485/day.

Thanks, again.

[bozwell13]

I was in Lake City four times last summer and every time it was packed to the gills. But I camped in a massive meadow at 11,500 between Lake City and Creed and had the entire thing to myself. One because it was so high the out-of-towners probably can't tolerate it and I think two because it wasn't something you can find on the internet. Look for roads that go way out without established campgrounds and you will find great stuff. Most people these days are tethered to their phones and if there's no Wi-Fi or cell service they refuse to go. I have some fantastic areas around canyonlands that I really love. The negative reviews all complain about a lack of cell and Wi-Fi service which is the whole reason you're supposed to be going out. I'm shocked at the price for a UTV for one day wow!

[bozwell13]

Sorry I'm using talk to text so grammar spelling third world sentence structure I blame Google