Hey fellas...just joined this forum, and its great to see so many toyota fans

Well...me and some buddies are takin a trip to Ouray, CO this next July. What were gonna do is hit some trails they have and do some campin. Im hopin itll kick ass.

 

Eh, it might be okay.

This next July? Isn't that an oxymoron?

Welcome to the board! Where will you be traveling from?

 

:pat: heh

Ill be travelling from Omaha, NE

Ill be workin on my truck until then too

 

Now Darren...
That has to be the most controlled, understated post ever.
Brew, Welcome!
Darren was one of my chief advisors when I went to Ouray the past TWO (2!) July's, and, of course... it is more than just okay!
CLICK HERE to see the link from my last trip. The one from last, not next, July...

 

At the moment...my '91 4x4 22re is completely stock...

Im very amateur in the off-roading department also...so, Id like to figure out some basic mods to do so I wont end up in a bad jam.

Im gettin some 31" A/T's this comin week. Im not gonna be hittin the hard trails...just tryin to get my feet a little wet.

Thanks for the welcomes too!!

 

I didn't know I was a chief advisor. I better update my profile!

Brew, you won't need a single mod for ANY of the roads there. Not a single one of them is technical. If you're comfortable driving on shelf roads, then you're all set. If you were to get into some kind of "jam," the roads are pretty well traveled, so there will usually be others close by.

 

There are several good books and maps available on the roads/trails around Ouray. From what I've seen, these are the best.

1. Charles Wells:
Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails vol1 & vol. 2

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/boo...tP&cds2Pid=946

2. The National Geographic -Trails Illustrated, Map #141 - Telluride - Silverton - Ouray - Lake City

http://www.trailsillustrated.com/acb..._ID=118&DID=15

 

so darren, you don't consider the lower extent of engineer (on the west side) technical? i'm afraid to ask what you do consider technical! hehe. the rocks they had piled up there last summer made for some pretty careful route-finding, imo. maybe i'm just a noob, but i thought it was a challenge. cheers...

 

While, for me, the lower part of Engineer is by far the most technical portion of that route, most have more difficulty with the mental aspects of high altitude shelf driving. Even if it is on a pretty tame piece of dirt. Engineer had some rocks last summer, but it did not seem too tough for something pretty stock. We will see what the weather did to it this winter as we hope to return in the summer for the hat trick.

 

both responses quite true. i scraped a couple times, but likely just due to poor choices. as you say, the rub is in route-finding and traffic. overall, if one simply considers the *roadbed* itself, something like cumberland pass (or most of engineer) is very easy... but the incredible exposure adds another element altogether. do you find that the difficulty grade of a road only takes into account the quality of the bed, or do various authors also look at potential hazards as well? thx, leif

 

I will be in Ouray in late June.

 

Just about every guide I have read lumps the "typical Colorado shelf road" into a special catagory. I would say that Imogene is much tougher for me. Not as rocky but much more exposure. When we went this last summer (actually first week in July) some of the steep sections were slippery and were drenched with melt-off. It makes you take it easy when the thought running through your mind goes something like this...

"Now if my truck goes off the road here it will probably drop about 200 feet before it bounces the first time..."

 

yep, you got it! that's how it feels on cumberland. nice runner. lookin' sharp.