There was a good turnout for this trip with seven rigs: one FJ80, two FJ40s, two Tacomas, one Forerunner, and one full size Bronco whose driver maintained his sense of humor in the midst of an occasional jibe.
We all met up at the turnoff from Hwy 285, aired down, and headed up the trail where we were delayed by stock Land Rovers until they pulled over to let us by and turn around to head to safer ground. We had a leisurely trip up to the meadow before the last pitch up to Red Cone where we stopped for lunch. Then, we drove up to the top, passing two mountain goats standing next to the road. Parking was tight with seven rigs on top. The weather was great and I'm sure lots of pics will be posted. I should also mention that everyone seemed to enjoy the section through the trees about midway up that has lots of switchbacks and narrow passages between the trees.
Leaving the top of RC, we low-geared it down the pitches and made it to Webster Pass, where the snow drift is melted out enough to allow passage of full sized vehicles. Then, down the WP road toward Montezuma where we found a great campsite and built an epic campfire where manly stuff was discussed and emitted for the rest of the evening. One of the Tacos (can't remember the owner's name) and the FJ-80 (Ryan) left that afternoon via Radical Hill; maybe they can post up some details and pics of their trip out.
We left Sunday AM around 9 and drove up Radical Hill. Some of the shelf road sections running along the bottoms of tailings piles are getting narrow and off-camber for sure! We stopped at the shack, then at the final tailings pile before driving up the shelf road. The dog-leg near the top is getting dug out. My passenger Jason took video of the dog-leg and ascent ofthe last pitch, where a mtn. goad was waiting in the road, but I can't repeat in this post (X-rated) some of the things he was shrieking. Anyway, there was the ubiquitous heard of goats at the top, including some young-uns, that socialized with us, some even parking themselves under the Bronco.
Then, on to Glacier Mtn.. There was a large herd of goats in the road and I had to honk the horn a couple of times to encourage them to move. We drove over to the mine on the ridge above Saints John, had lunch, then drove through the townsite and out to Montezuma.
Drove across Loveland Pass to Georgetown, then back to Hwy 285 via Guanella Pass, which mostly repaved and refurbished. Saw some bighorns next to the road. I was glad to see a large turnout for this trip, especially with gas prices being high, as we accumulated a lot of miles this weekend. We spent a lot of time above treeline and the views and camaraderie made for a great club trip.
Victor
We all met up at the turnoff from Hwy 285, aired down, and headed up the trail where we were delayed by stock Land Rovers until they pulled over to let us by and turn around to head to safer ground. We had a leisurely trip up to the meadow before the last pitch up to Red Cone where we stopped for lunch. Then, we drove up to the top, passing two mountain goats standing next to the road. Parking was tight with seven rigs on top. The weather was great and I'm sure lots of pics will be posted. I should also mention that everyone seemed to enjoy the section through the trees about midway up that has lots of switchbacks and narrow passages between the trees.
Leaving the top of RC, we low-geared it down the pitches and made it to Webster Pass, where the snow drift is melted out enough to allow passage of full sized vehicles. Then, down the WP road toward Montezuma where we found a great campsite and built an epic campfire where manly stuff was discussed and emitted for the rest of the evening. One of the Tacos (can't remember the owner's name) and the FJ-80 (Ryan) left that afternoon via Radical Hill; maybe they can post up some details and pics of their trip out.
We left Sunday AM around 9 and drove up Radical Hill. Some of the shelf road sections running along the bottoms of tailings piles are getting narrow and off-camber for sure! We stopped at the shack, then at the final tailings pile before driving up the shelf road. The dog-leg near the top is getting dug out. My passenger Jason took video of the dog-leg and ascent ofthe last pitch, where a mtn. goad was waiting in the road, but I can't repeat in this post (X-rated) some of the things he was shrieking. Anyway, there was the ubiquitous heard of goats at the top, including some young-uns, that socialized with us, some even parking themselves under the Bronco.
Then, on to Glacier Mtn.. There was a large herd of goats in the road and I had to honk the horn a couple of times to encourage them to move. We drove over to the mine on the ridge above Saints John, had lunch, then drove through the townsite and out to Montezuma.
Drove across Loveland Pass to Georgetown, then back to Hwy 285 via Guanella Pass, which mostly repaved and refurbished. Saw some bighorns next to the road. I was glad to see a large turnout for this trip, especially with gas prices being high, as we accumulated a lot of miles this weekend. We spent a lot of time above treeline and the views and camaraderie made for a great club trip.
Victor
