This will be my first official thread on mud, I've been lurking and researching for a while. The family and I started with a 96 LC80, and now have moved on to a 06 GX470. We are planning an epic upgrade/build thread for December on the GX, but until then this will have to suffice.
We ended up taking an early summer trip to CO this year. Stayed at the Chalk Creek Campground Chaffee County CO. The campground was above and beyond our expectations. They always cleaned the outhouses every morning, there were dedicated RV/trailer and tent campsites, there was wifi
, and the staff was super helpful.
We drove a multitude of trails, but I wanted to mention two that were of interest. The first was Clohesy Lake, which had several different rabbit trails that came of of it. When we traveled it in May it was very accessible and easily traveled with the stock GX. Once you reach Rockdale, which is supposed to be a ghost town, things start getting more interesting. We took the left fork at Rockdale, crossed a little bridge, and immediately began a single lane rutted road further up the mountain. At no point was it overly difficult to drive, just extremely narrow. What made the trek more eventful was the traffic coming down the trail. Met a shortbed F250 and couple of lifted jeeps. All drivers were courteous and actually backed up the trail so we could pass, before traversing down. We never bottomed out, however the center locker did engage on a few occasions when we were climbing small berms after some mud. After 30 minutes of progressing up the hill, we actually ended up turning around. This was due to our fluffy dog puking in the backseat and a very "patient" wife not wanting the car to have additional pin striping. If you were to go all the way up the trail, I would definitely suggest some additional lift. There are places where it would benefit having ground clearance. Stock tires and adjusting the air suspension was about the max for the GX.
The other trail I wanted to mention was Hancock Pass. This trail is also a dirt road, however the road is pretty much a two lane road until the town of Hancock. At Hancock, there is a rock road that progresses up to the train tunnel and Continental Divide. The rocks and drops on this portion of the road were just too abrupt for me without a spotter. If I had known someone that had traversed that trail, or my wife had been willing to spot me from outside, I think I would've tried it. The elevation at Hancock is over 11,000, so residual snow was evident, as well as the 31 degree temps! There is much history on both of those trails that is fun to see. Old mining houses and equipment litter the trails and are fun for the kids to climb around in. Not always safe, but fun. Pics are as follows:
-J-
We ended up taking an early summer trip to CO this year. Stayed at the Chalk Creek Campground Chaffee County CO. The campground was above and beyond our expectations. They always cleaned the outhouses every morning, there were dedicated RV/trailer and tent campsites, there was wifi
, and the staff was super helpful. We drove a multitude of trails, but I wanted to mention two that were of interest. The first was Clohesy Lake, which had several different rabbit trails that came of of it. When we traveled it in May it was very accessible and easily traveled with the stock GX. Once you reach Rockdale, which is supposed to be a ghost town, things start getting more interesting. We took the left fork at Rockdale, crossed a little bridge, and immediately began a single lane rutted road further up the mountain. At no point was it overly difficult to drive, just extremely narrow. What made the trek more eventful was the traffic coming down the trail. Met a shortbed F250 and couple of lifted jeeps. All drivers were courteous and actually backed up the trail so we could pass, before traversing down. We never bottomed out, however the center locker did engage on a few occasions when we were climbing small berms after some mud. After 30 minutes of progressing up the hill, we actually ended up turning around. This was due to our fluffy dog puking in the backseat and a very "patient" wife not wanting the car to have additional pin striping. If you were to go all the way up the trail, I would definitely suggest some additional lift. There are places where it would benefit having ground clearance. Stock tires and adjusting the air suspension was about the max for the GX.
The other trail I wanted to mention was Hancock Pass. This trail is also a dirt road, however the road is pretty much a two lane road until the town of Hancock. At Hancock, there is a rock road that progresses up to the train tunnel and Continental Divide. The rocks and drops on this portion of the road were just too abrupt for me without a spotter. If I had known someone that had traversed that trail, or my wife had been willing to spot me from outside, I think I would've tried it. The elevation at Hancock is over 11,000, so residual snow was evident, as well as the 31 degree temps! There is much history on both of those trails that is fun to see. Old mining houses and equipment litter the trails and are fun for the kids to climb around in. Not always safe, but fun. Pics are as follows:
-J-
has been on multiple motorcycle tours in the Fall/etc, etc. Anyways, we love it. I really would like to take the 80-Series on the trip, but it's good to see that MUCH fun can be had in a stock vehicle such as our GX (which would be the more practical vehicle to take from the on-road portion of the trip). 
. Welcome! Make sure you browse the build threads and start your own as well!
