Colorado Passes - LC 200 Stock (1 Viewer)

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Try dealing with the utv’s when you’re on a dirt bike…..

Agreed, they are a nightmare. That said, on two wheels I am faster than everything else so I still get around them but they challenge you and that's the last thing that should be taking place on a busy mountain pass at 12,000ft ASL.
 
If you were there last week the reason Alpine Loop (Mineral Creek, Engineer Pass, Cinnamon Pass) were so busy on Monday an Tuesday was because Camp Bird Rd was being repaired so Yankee Boy, Governor, and Imogene were all closed.

We did Corkscrew, California, and part of Cinnamon to get to a trailhead on Tuesday, and my daughter drove Imogene on Thursday, following a 40/60/80-series group as apparently it was the Solid Axle Summit, though she wasn't brave enough to pull out onto Poser Point so I had to do that...

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If you were there last week the reason Alpine Loop (Mineral Creek, Engineer Pass, Cinnamon Pass) were so busy on Monday an Tuesday was because Camp Bird Rd was being repaired so Yankee Boy, Governor, and Imogene were all closed.

We did Corkscrew, California, and part of Cinnamon to get to a trailhead on Tuesday, and my daughter drove Imogene on Thursday, following a 40/60/80-series group as apparently it was the Solid Axle Summit, though she wasn't brave enough to pull out onto Poser Point so I had to do that...

View attachment 3081105
Solid axle summit… makes sense, we saw tons of vintage Cruisers when we did Imogene on Thursday, Aug 4. Seeing all those old cruisers made us feel good about ours, the only old vehicles we saw on any of the trails we ran over the last couple weeks were all Toyotas except for a few purpose built custom rigs owned by the deep pocket types.
 
Ophir and BB definitely have little to know SxS traffic. They ruin most places and it’s why they get the ban hammer as well.
They're their own worst enemy, and ours as well since they treat public land like a resource to be used and disposed of with absolutely no regard to etiquette or common sense. I'm not saying that owning a SxS turns you into an ignorant a-hole, but I've seen very little evidence to the contrary.

Like you said, at least on a dirt bike you can get around them - unless they're not yielding the trail to you/reaching for another beer and running you off the trail.
 
Solid axle summit… makes sense, we saw tons of vintage Cruisers when we did Imogene on Thursday, Aug 4. Seeing all those old cruisers made us feel good about ours, the only old vehicles we saw on any of the trails we ran over the last couple weeks were all Toyotas except for a few purpose built custom rigs owned by the deep pocket types.
We did it 8/4 as well. Wish I knew you were there, we'd have synced up with you.
 
I hear ya, I need to get around some more experienced drivers for sure.

We’ll cross paths eventually.
Well my daughter actually drove it (everything but pulling out onto Poser Rock) and it was only her second trail ever (first one was Corkscrew on Tuesday). Can't get much less experienced than that!

 
Well my daughter actually drove it (everything but pulling out onto Poser Rock) and it was only her second trail ever (first one was Corkscrew on Tuesday). Can't get much less experienced than that!


That’s great parenting right there, mine will be behind the wheel once they can touch the pedals. They’re already in the garage on the crawler now at 5 and 6. My wife will drive but she leaves the crawler to the boys. If she can’t reach it from the top she said it’s not for her.
 
We just enjoyed this area for the first a couple days before you and had the same impressions on the side by sides. Even my 5 and 6 year olds started to get annoyed after their first thoughts of “oh cool, what are those?!?” turned to “oh no, more of these guys!!, UGH”.

I get it, the trail is for everyone but a little etiquette goes a long way.

We went into Lake City for lunch and they were everywhere there but they behaved like cars and didn’t bother me there.

Ophir and BB definitely have little to know SxS traffic. They ruin most places and it’s why they get the ban hammer as well.

They're their own worst enemy, and ours as well since they treat public land like a resource to be used and disposed of with absolutely no regard to etiquette or common sense. I'm not saying that owning a SxS turns you into an ignorant a-hole, but I've seen very little evidence to the contrary.

Like you said, at least on a dirt bike you can get around them - unless they're not yielding the trail to you/reaching for another beer and running you off the trail.


Last summer the UTV's were ridiculous on most of the trails but Ophir (due to the trailering issue). I asked some of the locals in Ouray, and they complained about the UTV's ruining the trails by driving too fast. Unfortunately, almost all of the UTV's I saw were going too fast for the trail and really didn't want to spend time figuring out the best way to pass, which is probably the thing that will get restrictions on trails put in place. Right of way was also apparently an optional rule for them as well, and the big tour vehicles.

I've seen this not just in CO, but AZ, CA & UT - UTV's drive up on the wall/bank at high angles to squeeze around other vehicles, instead of reversing to find a suitable place to pass. I'm sure it's fun, but that's damaging the trail, and at some point the forest service and other agencies are gonna take action.
 
Silverton has already voted to ban UTVs from the public right of ways, which is no real surprise.
 
Last summer the UTV's were ridiculous on most of the trails but Ophir (due to the trailering issue). I asked some of the locals in Ouray, and they complained about the UTV's ruining the trails by driving too fast. Unfortunately, almost all of the UTV's I saw were going too fast for the trail and really didn't want to spend time figuring out the best way to pass, which is probably the thing that will get restrictions on trails put in place. Right of way was also apparently an optional rule for them as well, and the big tour vehicles.

I've seen this not just in CO, but AZ, CA & UT - UTV's drive up on the wall/bank at high angles to squeeze around other vehicles, instead of reversing to find a suitable place to pass. I'm sure it's fun, but that's damaging the trail, and at some point the forest service and other agencies are gonna take action.
I just got here so I can't pretend to be a local and complain too much, but the same thing is happening in Idaho. I've been here for a month and have already seen posts about trails getting closed/private landowners revoking access through their property to public lands due to these wonderful people. I honestly don't know what the answer is, but I do know that it sucks and it's going to reduce all of our enjoyment of these lands in the short term, and likely our access to them in the long term.

Anyways, back to the regularly scheduled programming...
 
Silverton has already voted to ban UTVs from the public right of ways, which is no real surprise.
Locals and absentee landowners in Lake City are growing weary of the full SxS access in town. They voted previously to allow them, with the hope of economic benefit. It remains to be seen whether they are at risk of wearing out their welcome.
 
Locals and absentee landowners in Lake City are growing weary of the full SxS access in town. They voted previously to allow them, with the hope of economic benefit. It remains to be seen whether they are at risk of wearing out their welcome.
That town had the strangest vibe due to the SxS’s. We camped outside of town at Deer Lakes and when we drove into town for the first time it was weird to see cars outnumbered by SxS’s 3:1. They behaved like cars so it wasn’t annoying but once off pavement things changed.

I bet the are hella fun but it’s a double edged sword. They provide access to people who may not know proper trail/outdoor etiquette and it shows.

We saw a similar phenomenon where we live in north GA during the lockdowns. A rush to the mountains from people in the city because they were the only thing open led to an insane amount of trash and dog poop bags just left at trail heads.

These areas belong to everybody but if the regular users don’t start gatekeeping it will be ruined by the fair weather fans and once our access is restricted the ones to blame will have moved on or back to their regular activities.
 
Lake City has long been a cheap base camp location in comparison to other towns along the loop. It definitely has a different vibe but I prefer it over Silverton.
 
Lake City has long been a cheap base camp location in comparison to other towns along the loop. It definitely has a different vibe but I prefer it over Silverton.
We didn’t make it into Silverton but we cruised through Telluride and we felt really out of place. Ouray seemed pretty neat but we only stopped for a quick lunch.
 
We didn’t make it into Silverton but we cruised through Telluride and we felt really out of place. Ouray seemed pretty neat but we only stopped for a quick lunch.
I find ouray to be the sweet spot....if I had a spare million for a 1000sqft home. 🤣
 
I find ouray to be the sweet spot....if I had a spare million for a 1000sqft home. 🤣
Ain’t that the truth! We looked on Zillow and quickly discovered we either need to win the lottery or part with a kidney apiece, we aren’t willing to part with either child.
 
Real estate in general is silly nationwide but it is starting to fall.
 
plus side is the property taxes in Colorado are a fraction of Illinois. If I could forgo $15k of my annual property taxes I could afford a lot more home…
 

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