Sixth Annual 100s in the Hills Trip Report

[Clunky]

I had a dead (stone dead, not just drained) battery on Friday morning, of all times. My fault because the battery was nearly 4 years old. I thought about getting a new one before the trip but got lazy. Drove the trails all day and 90 minutes up to Montrose for the new battery, all on the alternator.

Also had the driver's door window pop out of the track so it wouldn't completely seal when it got to the top. Probably due to driving the trails with the window down and the door getting slammed shut a million times. Took it all apart when I got home and fixed it.

I was running 33" Michelin AT 2s with everything else bone stock. Only hit the lower portion of the receiver hitch a few times and scuffed the spare. Proof that a stock truck can do all the main passes.

My truck amazed me once again with its capabilities.

I think the cold beer helped take some of the sting out of the dead battery at Clear Lake

 

[artisticsob]

Great time, super rad little town, wonderful weather. Trail day one was a pretty much a cluster f@*k mostly due to lack of communication (our trail leaders CB was not in working order) and even though we didn't complete our intended trail is was great to be out with other 100's in those hills again. A well sorted and functioning CB can not be overstated as a necessary piece of equipment not only for getting to know who your in the mountains with, but also as a tool to keep everyone moving along at a similar pace, not to mention the safety factor. Trail day two on Poughkeepsie was the most fun trail I have ever been on, we had the two top dawgs on lead and tail (Chris and Stan) and the team for the say made short work getting to the WALL (done done donnnn). Every truck that attempted it made it up the WALL (done done donnne) minus one. Everyone did a great job of working together to assist Stan and Chris in spotting and encouragement and celebration as each truck (some with no lockers or sliders such as mine) made there way up the obstacle. Lake lunch. A few crazy people jumped in the freezing clod lake and all was right in the world. We took day three as a relax before the return day and soaked in the hot springs in Ouray and eat at a real table.
We didn't break anything on the truck, only the bank in Sante Fe in route to Silverton. We spent a full day at Mesa Verde National Park on the way to Silverton as well, followed by a west to east trip over Ophir in route to camp. Each year we manage our time a little better, pack a little lighter, and try to remember to do more with less. It's a odd addiction, spending many thousands of dollars to live like a gypsy hobo. On that note, back to work so that I can buy a fridge for the truck. Thank you to everyone who gave a wave or a smile, conversation, beer, or dram of whisky. Also, a huge thanks to 4X4 Labs for the $500 raffle prize, I almost shot whisky out my nose when my number was called. The generosity and hospitality of all involved will get us over until next year. -Three Cheers for Chris and Stan!

 

[bluecruiser]

@artisticsob Great story...CB troubles can be annoying. We will get that dialed in...FOR SURE!! Congrats on the win. Check your email, Luke is awaiting a note from you. Give him a call too, very nice guy. See you at HIH7!

 

[artisticsob]

Great time, super rad little town, wonderful weather. Trail day one was a pretty much a cluster f@*k mostly due to lack of communication (our trail leaders CB was not in working order) and even though we didn't complete our intended trail is was great to be out with other 100's in those hills again. A well sorted and functioning CB can not be overstated as a necessary piece of equipment not only for getting to know who your in the mountains with, but also as a tool to keep everyone moving along at a similar pace, not to mention the safety factor. Trail day two on Poughkeepsie was the most fun trail I have ever been on, we had the two top dawgs on lead and tail (Chris and Stan) and the team for the say made short work getting to the WALL (done done donnnn). Every truck that attempted it made it up the WALL (done done donnne) minus one. Everyone did a great job of working together to assist Stan and Chris in spotting and encouragement and celebration as each truck (some with no lockers or sliders such as mine) made there way up the obstacle. Lake lunch. A few crazy people jumped in the freezing clod lake and all was right in the world. We took day three as a relax before the return day and soaked in the hot springs in Ouray and eat at a real table.
We didn't break anything on the truck, only the bank in Sante Fe in route to Silverton. We spent a full day at Mesa Verde National Park on the way to Silverton as well, followed by a west to east trip over Ophir in route to camp. Each year we manage our time a little better, pack a little lighter, and try to remember to do more with less. It's a odd addiction, spending many thousands of dollars to live like a gypsy hobo. On that note, back to work so that I can buy a fridge for the truck. Thank you to everyone who gave a wave or a smile, conversation, beer, or dram of whisky. Also, a huge thanks to 4X4 Labs for the $500 raffle prize, I almost shot whisky out my nose when my number was called. The generosity and hospitality of all involved will get us over until next year. -Three Cheers for Chris and Stan!View attachment 1302051 View attachment 1302052 View attachment 1302053 View attachment 1302054

Forgive my fumbling thumbs and lack of spell checking.

 

[artisticsob]

Two of my favorites.

 

[xlcaferacer]

There was this too, but it wasnt a 100 so it doesn't count

View attachment 1301560

That is a picture of a rag and duck tape plugging a hole in a rear axle housing of an '89 Toy pickup (my truck) after a bolt decided to part ways with the ring gear. Once I tore it apart it was actually 6 of the 10 bolts that held the ring gear on that decided to part ways. Made it down Black Bear and over Ophir passes on 4 ring gear bolts and 2 extra quarts of oil.
To everyone involved: I had a blast leading you guys over Black Bear. Thanks for having me as your trail guide. Pretty sure the view of the rigs in my rear view mirror was much more impressive than the view of my truck from behind. Hope I didn't worry you too much with my truck's temporary wound and gradual "blood loss". I fixed the rear differential today and all was good. Ring and pinion were just fine.
HIH was a ton of fun. Stan & Chris, thanks for allowing this "Hooligan" to hang out with your crew and allowing me to take a group of really rad people over Black Bear. Thanks everyone else for just being fun people to hang out with on the trail or around camp.
This is a super fun event and should be on the short list of vacation options for all 100 series owners. Cool area, awesome trails, and above all else: really friendly people. It's only going to get better next year. My hat is off to Stan & Chris for building the event that they have. Thanks again for letting me be a part of it. Hope () to lend a hand again next year.

 

[IHScoutII75]

That is a picture of a rag and duck tape plugging a hole in a rear axle housing of an '89 Toy pickup (my truck) after a bolt decided to part ways with the ring gear. Once I tore it apart it was actually 6 of the 10 bolts that held the ring gear on that decided to part ways. Made it down Black Bear and over Ophir passes on 4 ring gear bolts and 2 extra quarts of oil.
To everyone involved: I had a blast leading you guys over Black Bear. Thanks for having me as your trail guide. Pretty sure the view of the rigs in my rear view mirror was much more impressive than the view of my truck from behind. Hope I didn't worry you too much with my truck's temporary wound and gradual "blood loss". I fixed the rear differential today and all was good. Ring and pinion were just fine.
HIH was a ton of fun. Stan & Chris, thanks for allowing this "Hooligan" to hang out with your crew and allowing me to take a group of really rad people over Black Bear. Thanks everyone else for just being fun people to hang out with on the trail or around camp.
This is a super fun event and should be on the short list of vacation options for all 100 series owners. Cool area, awesome trails, and above all else: really friendly people. It's only going to get better next year. My hat is off to Stan & Chris for building the event that they have. Thanks again for letting me be a part of it. Hope () to lend a hand again next year.

Josh it was great having you as our guide! It was a blast...Thank You

 

[aaronrules]

100s in the Hills is a registered non-profit 501(c)(7) in the State of Colorado. That allows us to carry insurance and host annual events as a club. Your registration fee each year is considered club dues, even though we keep the cost low enough to just cover event expenses. This year was slightly different because the location cost was way more than we anticipated. We felt it was an investment into the future of the event.

Chris and I will never make a living off of this event, and we never expected to. We would like to cover our own expenses going forward. We try to stay very transparent in what we do. We never take a raffle ticket for ourselves (although we'd sure like a shot at some of those fantastic raffle prizes!) and we try to keep the costs low so folks can afford to buy an extra shirt. We were able to cover our expenses this year by selling the extra shirts and stickers. We didn't have a large amount of extra shirts because we were that close on margins. We literally couldn't afford to order so many extras for fear of having a bunch of leftovers.

Most other events are charging $300 for registration and selling shirts for $25+. We will always offer more, for less. We already have an idea of what we need to charge going forward. It will be more than this year, but still way less than any other similar event. Having volunteers will help take some of the burden off of Chris and I. The number of hours involved in getting permits, insurance, locations, stickers, shirts, lanyards, nametags, trail assignments, trail leaders, raffle prizes, bags, registration, logistics and just generally answering questions is overwhelming. Once we have all of that, we need to build the bags, sort out the shirts, sort the stickers, create the nametags, etc. We literally had our kids helping with the work this year. Chris' daughter, Lauren, a fantastic driver in her own right will handle registration next year. She has 3 years of experience helping us with registration and will take over those duties along with my wife and a few other volunteers. That will allow Chris and I to help folks get situated as they arrive.

The downside of all of this growth is that we lose the laid-back, loose feel a little bit. But, without a structured process, we simply cannot host 300+ people. Trail assignments will be in your registration packet and switching trails at the last minute may be a little more difficult. There will be designated staging areas for each trail and Chris and I will not be able to be at each one to make changes. From the second that we arrive, we are inundated with questions and requests. We're also trying to meet new friends and reacquaint with old ones. We do our best to accommodate everyone, but that can get overwhelming very quickly. We will have additional help next year to alleviate some of that. Guys like @B-RAD, @DanInDenver and @ENGINE er have over 3 years of experience with us and will have more prominent roles going forward. They have been dedicated and loyal to HIH since year 3 and can answer questions, lead and describe trails and conditions or take on other HIH roles as needed.

This is still the HIH6 trip report, but talking about HIH7 is part of the process. We learned a lot this year. Chris and I already spoke this morning about securing shower facilities for next year. That cost is incredibly expensive. More than double what we paid to have the land this year. HIH7 will be much more of a destination than an event. We will have many other activities other than, and along with, driving your 100. More of an adventure lifestyle event. Hiking, climbing, rafting, mountain biking, fishing, mine tours, kids activities, family day, wine tasting, beer tasting, catered meal, etc. It will also run an extra day to allow folks more time to enjoy all that we can offer. Wednesday through Sunday will be jam packed with trails and activities. Seriously..... get ready for a life-changing event.

Ive been trying to get the wife to move to Colorado forever...maybe this will be the reason she finally says yes!? I hope I can help in any way.

 

[Rigger]

Was fun to read this! Nice going, everyone!

 

[Ramathorn15]

I has a feeling it was a ring bolt! I think I asked if that's what you thought it was in the parking lot.

Excellent job guiding us down Black Bear Josh!

 

[TomEf]

Pretty sure the view of the rigs in my rear view mirror was much more impressive than the view of my truck from behind.

Hard to ruin the kind of scenery we had.

 

[maxse01]

Cleaning commenced 3 hours ago....

 

[maxse01]

I did suffer some battle damage on Engineer.

 

[cboyd]

Yes I did

Did anyone in the Sunday Imogene group get a picture of the 80 with the large American flag flying off the back (near the top of the pass)? That was quite a sight!

Here's one closer up. Dude was cool...

 

[maxse01]

5 hours well spent

 

[cboyd]

I just did the first round of cleaning. 4800 miles of bugs and dirt. It needs another wash and then the interior can begin! Amazing how much dust came through into the cabin. Probably going to do the cabin filters soon too.

Just took a trip down to the dealer and got a new basic key to rock with the new @yotamd HIH6 key fob. Picked up some filters and oil. Time to give the girl some new lifeblood.

For those asking about vapor issues, I did have a gurgling tank a couple of times on the passes even with staying under 3/4. We had one rig in our group that wouldn't start on a break on Imogene, but we let it sit, got it level and the. It started right up. I think there might be something to fuel pump overheat too, as @Scotch had a code and I think had his fail to start once. Certainly no no need to be more the 3/4 and I'm thinking above 1/2 is good enough for all of the runs, especially if you have a jerry on board. I did the alpine run at just over a 1/2 and came back with plenty in the tank.

 

[maxse01]

I just did the first round of cleaning. 4800 miles of bugs and dirt. It needs another wash and then the interior can begin! Amazing how much dust came through into the cabin. Probably going to do the cabin filters soon too.

Just took a trip down to the dealer and got a new basic key to rock with the new @yotamd HIH6 key fob. Picked up some filters and oil. Time to give the girl some new lifeblood.

For those asking about vapor issues, I did have a gurgling tank a couple of times on the passes even with staying under 3/4. We had one rig in our group that wouldn't start on a break on Imogene, but we let it sit, got it level and the. It started right up. I think there might be something to fuel pump overheat too, as @Scotch had a code and I think had his fail to start once. Certainly no no need to be more the 3/4 and I'm thinking above 1/2 is good enough for all of the runs, especially if you have a jerry on board. I did the alpine run at just over a 1/2 and came back with plenty in the tank.

I had mine detailed before I left, the bugs just wiped right off.

 

[Bloomer]

Thanks to Chris @bluecruiser and Stan @paflytyer for organizing a great event and the other volunteers and trail leads that helped make it all happen (Sam and Steve for the two runs we were on). Was also great catching up with friends we've met during previous trips to Colorado and making new friends this year.

Didn't take many pics, but have a few from Imogene and visit to Animas Forks.

 

[bluecruiser]

@Bloomer Thanks again for making HIH part of your summer travels. Great to see you again and hope you can make it out to many more. Always fun to have some Texas folks involved.

 

[bluecruiser]

Shipped some stuff out to those of you who couldn't make it. Also to supporting vendors and attendees picking up some extra HIH swag!! Thank you for the support!!