Anyway after helping a stranded guy that had broken down, we were off to Black Bear. As we got on the trail a motorcyclist told us that there was a SxS broken down beneath the steps and had traffic backed up as far as you could see. I was determined to do this trail so I forged on hoping that it would be cleared up by the time we got there. Getting to the peak is the easy part here and it was a short climb.
The drive down to the one way is beautiful.
Once we got to the one way, it got more serious. We saw 3-4 vehicles coming back up the one way part because they gave up. I had a few moments where I almost decided to turn back because of the traffic but saw group in front of me that were still going so I decided to follow them.
Black Bear is only rated a 5 but it was much more challenging than Mineral Creek (also a 5) to my barely modded truck. People talk about the steps but there were a few other areas that were tough for a novice like me and my only spotter was my 16 year old.
Here is a video of my poor driving with my kid spotting me.
Black Bear Pass random:
Once I got to the steps, I watched a bronco lift a rear tire about 6 inches and look like it was going to tip. People were talking about the Jeep that rolled last week. So much of the obstacles are off camber that I asked the guy in front of me to spot me on the steps. Turns out he was an instructor and made the steps actually very easy.
Black Bear Pass Steps:
Steps out of the way and on to the visually scary part Here is a pic of that Bronco going around the corner at the waterfall. It is such an insane visual but that part is actually not bad at all.
After we went around the corner we all stopped to take some pics and enjoy the view before the hitting the switchbacks.
The switchbacks weren't that bad. Maybe because the GX is a little smaller. What I had some issues with is the width in a few spots. Especially where there is a little climb on the inside and your truck tips out to the cliff.
Anyway finished up the pass and had a nice dinner in Telluride. We camped near Trout Lake that night. It was very muddy there so the GX got a little dirty.
Heading home and by the time we got back, We had driven a little over 1800 miles and was in the truck for 42 hours out of the 96 hours we were gone. My GX is the only vehicle that I have ever had that I could do that. My back never hurts and I feel like I could drive it forever. Only gripe is the lack of power at elevation. I am going to have to do gears at some point. The truck feels fine in Texas but it just has no power above 8000 feet.
The drive down to the one way is beautiful.
Once we got to the one way, it got more serious. We saw 3-4 vehicles coming back up the one way part because they gave up. I had a few moments where I almost decided to turn back because of the traffic but saw group in front of me that were still going so I decided to follow them.
Black Bear is only rated a 5 but it was much more challenging than Mineral Creek (also a 5) to my barely modded truck. People talk about the steps but there were a few other areas that were tough for a novice like me and my only spotter was my 16 year old.
Here is a video of my poor driving with my kid spotting me.
Black Bear Pass random:
Once I got to the steps, I watched a bronco lift a rear tire about 6 inches and look like it was going to tip. People were talking about the Jeep that rolled last week. So much of the obstacles are off camber that I asked the guy in front of me to spot me on the steps. Turns out he was an instructor and made the steps actually very easy.
Black Bear Pass Steps:
Steps out of the way and on to the visually scary part Here is a pic of that Bronco going around the corner at the waterfall. It is such an insane visual but that part is actually not bad at all.
After we went around the corner we all stopped to take some pics and enjoy the view before the hitting the switchbacks.
The switchbacks weren't that bad. Maybe because the GX is a little smaller. What I had some issues with is the width in a few spots. Especially where there is a little climb on the inside and your truck tips out to the cliff.
Anyway finished up the pass and had a nice dinner in Telluride. We camped near Trout Lake that night. It was very muddy there so the GX got a little dirty.
Heading home and by the time we got back, We had driven a little over 1800 miles and was in the truck for 42 hours out of the 96 hours we were gone. My GX is the only vehicle that I have ever had that I could do that. My back never hurts and I feel like I could drive it forever. Only gripe is the lack of power at elevation. I am going to have to do gears at some point. The truck feels fine in Texas but it just has no power above 8000 feet.
