alia176
SILVER Star
It's time to head up to Ouray again folks. Like previous years, the plan is to base camp out of 4J+j+1 CG based on the dates shown in the title. This is a family/dog friendly (dogs on leash inside the CG) event and everyone is welcome. You MUST have a 4x4 with low range capability. Even though some of the trails are Subaru friendly, the steepness require the use of a low range gearbox. Having a high clearance 4x4 means that you're not going to cringe every time you rub or hit something on the trail!
For the first timers, please read this long post and let us know if you have any questions!
Dogs
They can roam free while we're on the trail but the CG is small so all dogs must be tied up while we're at the CG. If you have a dog that barks incessantly while tied up in the CG, please consider leaving him/her at home with a sitter!
Weather
The temps should be decent in the daytime and colder at night time. If we're on a trail and the clouds move in, we'll probably need to re-evaluate at that time. I don't want to be on the shelf roads at high elevations while visibility slowly diminishes. Poor visibility is a large contributor to vehicular accidents in this area. We usually get rained on once or twice during this trip.
Communications
As usual, our trail comms will be HAM 2M radios. Few of us carry extra hand held (HT) HAM radios to hand out to folks. If you're not used to using HAM radios, this will be a nice introduction for you. If you want to purchase a radio, go here https://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-5...&sr=8-2&keywords=baofeng+handheld&tag=ihco-20
Hiking/MTBing
This area is pristine for hiking and riding so bring your gear. I'd like to go at least one or two hikes during our outing if possible. The air is thin up there but we managed to hike to the bottom of Mt. Sneffels' peak last year, around 13k'.
Reservations
You MUST make res as early as possible, even if you're remotely thinking about attending because it gets filled up fast due to their short camping season. You can always cancel 24 hour prior or just ask someone else to take over. The CG owner doesn't care whose name is on the Res, as long as someone pays for the spot!
Campground owner's name is Jill and she's very nice on the phone. They don't have a website so you'll need to call and reserve sites. We paid $24/night last year for the cliff side spots with no hookups or water. Pets are allowed at this CG so we'll be bringing Riley the Border Collie with us. This CG is walking distance from downtown Ouray and has the usual amenities. The Ouray swimming pool that's fed by the hot springs is also nearby. In the past, we'd let the kids swim after returning from a trail run.
I usually reserve site #8 hill side. All hillside tent spots from # 1 - #7 have Elec + Water. Their phone # (970) 325-4418. This CG can easily handle a giant class A, C and fifth wheel campers. It is a full service camp ground with pull-throughs. The Hillside spots can handle popup up trailers and small hard sided campers, like Scamp/Casita/etc. These spots are large enough to be able to handle three or four tents so couple of guys can share a site if needed. Or if you're Steve @lurch, you have one giant tent that can accommodation a small country inside.
If you're looking for a super quiet, serene campground then this isn't it! We use this CG for convenience/centralized location and not really for the ambiance.
See the attached map of the campground, please disregard the names on the camp sites, this is from three years ago.
Trail info
I'll be taking the 4Runner on a 2" lift on this trip, again. The rocks can be sharp in some places so please have a decent set of tires on your 4x4. I'm running a set of all terrain P metric tires and do just fine on the trails.
We'll be airing down at the trailhead and possibly airing back up at the exit of the trail if we have a long hwy drive back to Ouray. If we exit the trails near Ouray, then we simply roll into the campground w/o airing back up. Regardless, an compressor or a CO2 bottle will come in handy for airing up duties. A recovery gear bag is also a nice thing to have (straps, gloves, etc).
Our daily activities consist of making day runs on various trails and returning to base camp. Chances are that it may rain up there so bring appropriate camping and clothing gear. You can opt to skip out on trail runs and just hang out in town, go to the hot swimming pool or meander around the town of Ouray.
In the past, we usually ate lunch on the trail and made it back to the camp site for dinner before the kids head to the hot swimming pool next door. The location of this CG makes it easier to eat out or cook in.
There are lots of Hotels, Motels and B&Bs in Ouray. There is also a FS campground less than five miles away, it's called the Amphitheater Campground. Make reservation through www.recreation.gov website. The trail to Yankee Boy basin has several free primitive campsites. KOA campground is five miles North of Ouray and is more secluded and serene.
Trails conditions
Bushducks Colorado Pass Page
Post up if you're interested in joining us. The wheeling up there is not severe so a stocker will do just fine. Really, all you need is a low range for some of the super steep hills.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pics from 2013 thread:
Ouray camping/wheeling trip July 24 - 28th, pics start at post #51
Pics from 2014 thread:
Ouray trip Aug 6th - Aug 10th, pics start at post #37
Pics from 2015 thread:
Annual Ouray Trip Aug 5-9 2015, pics start at post #92
Pics from 2016 thread:
Annual Ouray camping trip Aug 3rd - 7th, 2016
Pics from the 2017 trip:
Umm, does anyone got any pics from last year?
For the first timers, please read this long post and let us know if you have any questions!
Dogs
They can roam free while we're on the trail but the CG is small so all dogs must be tied up while we're at the CG. If you have a dog that barks incessantly while tied up in the CG, please consider leaving him/her at home with a sitter!
Weather
The temps should be decent in the daytime and colder at night time. If we're on a trail and the clouds move in, we'll probably need to re-evaluate at that time. I don't want to be on the shelf roads at high elevations while visibility slowly diminishes. Poor visibility is a large contributor to vehicular accidents in this area. We usually get rained on once or twice during this trip.
Communications
As usual, our trail comms will be HAM 2M radios. Few of us carry extra hand held (HT) HAM radios to hand out to folks. If you're not used to using HAM radios, this will be a nice introduction for you. If you want to purchase a radio, go here https://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-5...&sr=8-2&keywords=baofeng+handheld&tag=ihco-20
Hiking/MTBing
This area is pristine for hiking and riding so bring your gear. I'd like to go at least one or two hikes during our outing if possible. The air is thin up there but we managed to hike to the bottom of Mt. Sneffels' peak last year, around 13k'.
Reservations
You MUST make res as early as possible, even if you're remotely thinking about attending because it gets filled up fast due to their short camping season. You can always cancel 24 hour prior or just ask someone else to take over. The CG owner doesn't care whose name is on the Res, as long as someone pays for the spot!
Campground owner's name is Jill and she's very nice on the phone. They don't have a website so you'll need to call and reserve sites. We paid $24/night last year for the cliff side spots with no hookups or water. Pets are allowed at this CG so we'll be bringing Riley the Border Collie with us. This CG is walking distance from downtown Ouray and has the usual amenities. The Ouray swimming pool that's fed by the hot springs is also nearby. In the past, we'd let the kids swim after returning from a trail run.
I usually reserve site #8 hill side. All hillside tent spots from # 1 - #7 have Elec + Water. Their phone # (970) 325-4418. This CG can easily handle a giant class A, C and fifth wheel campers. It is a full service camp ground with pull-throughs. The Hillside spots can handle popup up trailers and small hard sided campers, like Scamp/Casita/etc. These spots are large enough to be able to handle three or four tents so couple of guys can share a site if needed. Or if you're Steve @lurch, you have one giant tent that can accommodation a small country inside.
If you're looking for a super quiet, serene campground then this isn't it! We use this CG for convenience/centralized location and not really for the ambiance.
See the attached map of the campground, please disregard the names on the camp sites, this is from three years ago.
Trail info
I'll be taking the 4Runner on a 2" lift on this trip, again. The rocks can be sharp in some places so please have a decent set of tires on your 4x4. I'm running a set of all terrain P metric tires and do just fine on the trails.
We'll be airing down at the trailhead and possibly airing back up at the exit of the trail if we have a long hwy drive back to Ouray. If we exit the trails near Ouray, then we simply roll into the campground w/o airing back up. Regardless, an compressor or a CO2 bottle will come in handy for airing up duties. A recovery gear bag is also a nice thing to have (straps, gloves, etc).
Our daily activities consist of making day runs on various trails and returning to base camp. Chances are that it may rain up there so bring appropriate camping and clothing gear. You can opt to skip out on trail runs and just hang out in town, go to the hot swimming pool or meander around the town of Ouray.
In the past, we usually ate lunch on the trail and made it back to the camp site for dinner before the kids head to the hot swimming pool next door. The location of this CG makes it easier to eat out or cook in.
There are lots of Hotels, Motels and B&Bs in Ouray. There is also a FS campground less than five miles away, it's called the Amphitheater Campground. Make reservation through www.recreation.gov website. The trail to Yankee Boy basin has several free primitive campsites. KOA campground is five miles North of Ouray and is more secluded and serene.
Trails conditions
Bushducks Colorado Pass Page
Post up if you're interested in joining us. The wheeling up there is not severe so a stocker will do just fine. Really, all you need is a low range for some of the super steep hills.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pics from 2013 thread:
Ouray camping/wheeling trip July 24 - 28th, pics start at post #51
Pics from 2014 thread:
Ouray trip Aug 6th - Aug 10th, pics start at post #37
Pics from 2015 thread:
Annual Ouray Trip Aug 5-9 2015, pics start at post #92
Pics from 2016 thread:
Annual Ouray camping trip Aug 3rd - 7th, 2016
Pics from the 2017 trip:
Umm, does anyone got any pics from last year?
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