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Photos from the fall color trail event over Kenosha Pass have been uploaded. Thanks to Ralph Bradt, Jim Hall and Ruti Jonathan for the photos.

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When Alex & Marina Schubow from Illinois wanted to take their 1998 Discovery four wheeling as part of their second honeymoon they rang Keith Kreutzer of Rovertracks to ask for some help. At this point I should digress and state what all men are now thinking, Alex, any woman who encourages you to take her off road during a second Honeymoon is a keeper. Keith happily arranged for a number of Land Rovers from the local club to meet up with Alex and Marina to show them a small part of the Rockies .

Since Alex has a well set up Discovery with body lift, raised suspension, 35 inch tires etc he wanted a Challenge. With this in mind the first choice of trail was a little run aptly called “ Carnage Canyon ”. Now if you are a reader of such Books as Charles A. Wells and the Back Country Adventure Series you will not find this trail mentioned anywhere. Charles A Wells Colorado Book Volume 2 trail 16 gets you to the area only. Carnage Canyon is located approximately 20 minutes drive west out of Longmont Colorado on the eastern edge of Roosevelt National Forest . Roosevelt National Forest covers some 810,892 acres with great camping, hunting and fishing facilities. To get to the Trailhead you take the turn for Left Hand Canyon west off highway 36 until you see the first sign for Roosevelt National Forest . The trail starts on the northern side of the road right next to the Forest sign. It could not be any easier. The information board at the trailhead is very useful is showing off the various trails in the area and their relative difficulty.

The start of the trail is designated as Forest Service Road 286 before you take the offshoot 286A. The trial starts off with an easy run up the canyon for about a quarter mile before the first obstacle presents itself. Guardian Rock! As with most of the hard options on this trail, this obstacle does not have to be attempted unless you need the rush. It is basically two rocks 3 odd feet high sitting side by side with a large gap in the center that can be climbed over. Within our group a Defender 90, Range Rover and Discovery attempted it and got over with relative ease. The rest of the trail is just one obstacle after another for the next mile to mile and a half.

Since I was not driving I got out and walked from challenge to challenge. There has obviously been a lot of gold mining and prospecting in the area as most of the many off shoot trails were originally for prospecting. Also there is an abundance of Iron Pyrite to be found on the ground if you take the time to look. Whilst we would be essentially taking a loop up Carnage then Upper Carnage it is easy to get confused with the number of trails around this confined area.

One of the more puzzling obstacles to present itself early on the trail is “Tree Obstacle”. The trail goes straight however there is a challenge on the right hand side requiring vehicles to drive up a small rock and dirt slope which pushes your vehicle back towards a tree. Now as you all know, Land Rovers mostly have very vulnerable roof lines so why would anyone want to tackle this? Well our club president in his Range Rover is such a man. After many failed attempts he chose discretion and backed out of the obstacle to take the more normal path. So as not to be beaten he bought out a very large remote control four wheel drive car and then attempted to tackle the obstacle. After the RC car also failed to beat the obstacle we all had a good laugh and carried on.

The next optional obstacle is the Rock/Tree Squeeze. Basically you can drive up and over a rock which pushes you toward a tree on your left. If timed correctly a defender 90 can drive up onto the rock, get caught on it’s chassis with all 4 wheels spinning and the driver side of the roll cage leaning against a tree. Yousef, our trip leader, managed to execute this demonstration perfectly [although not on purpose]. With an easy winch backwards he was good to go via the main trail.

The most daunting obstacle on Carnage must be the Waterfall. There are basically 3 routes past this section. The center which is a 5 foot high climb over a steep solid rock section with the twist of a large “V” shaped gap in the center. The right hand side which is a squeeze between rocks just a little too small for a Land Rover to fit easily and the Left hand approach which is basically the bypass for more standard vehicles.

Several in our group tried the center line without success. Yousef’s Defender 90 was able to easily tackle the right hand line after many failed attempts on the center line. All others opted to take the bypass around the left hand route. Even the bypass needs careful spotting as it entail’s a tight turn with a high rock ledge jutting out waiting to bite the side panels of any errant line. Our group got through relatively unscathed except for the rear bumper of Karen Kreutzer’s yellow Discovery getting slightly bruised. The engineer working for Land Rover who thought that putting a plastic end cap on the rear bumper, that hangs out like a target, needs to seriously rethink their design processes. I do not know of anyone who has not had trouble with these end caps.

Less than a vehicle length from the waterfall (yes that close) is another optional line on the left hand side. Only our intrepid leader Yousef in his highly modified Defender attempted this line. He got less than the length of his D90 before he became stuck. Have you ever seen a Land Rover hung up exactly in the middle of both its front bumper and rear bumper? All four wheels lacked traction and the vehicle could be easily rocked to the left and right. In the enthusiasm to extract the Defender, the driver’s side CV joint decided to break leaving a winch recovery. Winching backwards proved impossible as the Defender was so tightly wedged between the rocks all that happened was the recovery vehicle was dragged forward. We extracted the Defender using a snatch block to a tree off to the side and dragging the defender back and to the right towards the bypass that the rest of the more sensible drivers took (sorry Yousef).

I have seen many CV’s break before: at the bottom of the shaft; the internal race but never before at the beginning of the splines as this CV had broken. After a quick removal job the Defender was back to 3 Wheel drive and we were on our way again.

The last interesting obstacle on this section is a small off camber section. The trail to the left goes slightly up hill whereas the right hand path continues up the creek bed. On the left trail there is a small section that is highly off camber just as you need to cross over some rocks. If taken incorrectly the vehicle could easily roll down about 15 feet into the creek bed as there are no trees at this point. Our group had no trouble with this although most elected to take the rougher but easier creek bed line.

At the end of Carnage is a nice open area that is perfect for lunch and debrief on the adventure just experienced. It had taken us approximately 3 hours to cover the previous 1 – 1 ½ miles.

Upper Carnage Trail is designated as Forest Service Road 286E and is about 3 Miles from start to where it loops back to the main road. Unlike lower Carnage it is a relatively easy loop that first climbs up following the canyon and creek bed before turning west onto the ridge line. There is only one section that needed care by our group. On the downward run the trail becomes a little off camber and if taken too far to the left the roof line of Discoveries and Range Rovers is nudged towards a jutting out tree. If you take this trail you cannot miss the offending tree due to the many scrapes along its trunk. With careful spotting the roof gutter will just brush the tree with no damage to vehicles.

There are also many trail restoration works in this area. To counter some of the irresponsible activities of people many wire fences have been installed by four wheel drive clubs combined with land re-vegetation and restoration work. In a few years this should return the area to its former appearance and state making the area far more aesthetically pleasing.

If you are coming out to the Rockies and want to run this trail but are not confident about your navigation and driving skills, contact the Solihull Society on their website Forum and ask for someone to join you. Chances are someone will pop up and go along as a guide. That’s one of the great things about Land Rover Clubs. They are all over the place and most are more than willing to help out other enthusiasts.

The club had decided to explore two of the more well know high mountain passes in the Rockies . Our trip was to take us over Red Cone, then up Radical Hill, down and along Deer Creek Trail then back east over Webster Pass. Basically a large figure 8 route! I have lived in Colorado for 3 ½ years now and have always wanted to do Red Cone but so far always been busy when the opportunity arose. The mere fact that I had no rear drive shaft was not going to stop me, so I put out a call to other club members who may be going for anyone who had a spare seat. The great thing about belonging to a club is that this type of request is possible and even encouraged. Luckily a resounding yes came back and I had my free seat.

Red Cone Peak

The Trail to Red Cone is located approximately 1 ½ hours drive to the South West from Denver along Highway 285 to County Road 60. Several of the Guide books classify Red Cone as a difficult trail, primarily due to the descent from the peak which is very steep and covered in loose rock. This is really a conservative rating and for most Four Wheel Drivers I would classify it as of medium difficulty. The trial across to where it rejoins Webster pass is only a little over 6 miles long and can be undertaken in a fairly short time period. Once off the highway our route starts in the Pike National Forest just to the west of the Mount Evans Wilderness area. For the first few miles we drove along hard packed dirt parallel to the North Fork South Platte River.

After airing down tires we met up with one of the local Back Country Rangers with the local Forestry Service. He had wanted to inspect some trails and run Red Cone. The Forestry Service had provided him with a new Jeep Rubicon and not being a Four Wheeler had asked to tag a long with us for the trip. I have to admit that this request may seem initially surprising. The request was not be that surprising given the good level of co-operation that has been building over past years due to the “Adopt-A-Trail” program working here in Colorado . We then all started a slow climb over a mainly dirt trail covered in loose rock. The trail winds its way through groves of White Aspen and some Anglemen Spruce and Lodge Pole Pine. It helps having experts along who can name all the native flora and fauna. There had been a lot of rain in the area so dust was non existent for this trip. Before traveling too far we had our first problem, Jim Hall’s 1987 Range Rover was over heating. A quick check found that a relay had blown for his electric fans and hence the Rangie was getting no cooling whatsoever. This was quickly bypassed and we were on the road again. The trail in this area becomes quite tight with various switch backs although the drive itself was not overly difficult.

Once we climbed above the tree line (at about 11,900 feet) the views started to spread out before us. Whilst still a little rocky, and contrary to the description in some 4WD guide books, we found this section of the trail to be quite pleasant and enjoyable. The final climb up to Red Cone Peak is a little loose and rocky but even a stock Land Rover can easily make the climb. Near the top we passed over a small saddle area. Off to the left [looking South West] the trail drops away probably 2000 plus feet. Drive over the edge here and you can kiss goodbye to your Land Rover (and your life too I suppose). The right hand side of the saddle is not quite as steep but is still not somewhere you want to take you truck. There is limited parking space at the top of Red Cone and only about 7 Landies can fit, we luckily had only 6. The view from the top was nothing short of Spectacular. To the North and North East we could see up into Arapahoe National Forest ; Mount Evans Wilderness area and the many peaks along the Continental Divide. These peaks included: Landslide Peak 13,228 ft; Sanata Fe peak 13,180 ft; Square Top Mountain; Guanella Pass 11,669 ft; Mount Bierstaft 14,060 ft; Epaulet Mountain 13,523; Mount Evans 14,264 ft and many, many more.

The final part of Red Cone comprises one long descent that can be broken down into 3 sections. These mini descents are deceptively steep. Over time the trail has been worn down so that some build up of rocks has occurred on either side of the trail. As a result it is now highly unlikely that you will drive over the edge [remember that 2000 foot drop mentioned before] but care still needs to be taken to drive down slowly and in control. The lower parts of the 1st and 3rd descents are probably the steepest parts. Once we were down it was time to look a round and check out our next sector for the day, Radical Hill trail, which was easily viewed off to the West.

Radical Hill

The trails name exaggerates its difficulty. Again it is probably only of medium difficulty. It is a lot easier than it looks.

After driving down into the Snake River Canyon from where Red Cone meets with Webster pass trial along several tight switchbacks, Radical Hill starts off with a small easy climb up towards Teller Mountain from the valley. This valley is designated as a back country Cross Country Ski Area in winter. It was at the lower part of the trail that our club was to undertake some of it’s ”Adopt-A-Trail” track maintenance activities which was part of the purpose for the days trip. It was at this time we came across a 2000 burnt orange Discovery II driven by Larry & Carrie Grubbs coming down Radical Hill. Larry is our club president and was supposed to be part of our group but had not made it in time (we suspect too much canoodling in the morning but they denied, denied, denied).

The first obstacle, if it can be called that, is a small rock ledge extending part way across the trail. The standard Discovery II in our group had no trouble overcoming it but required a good approach angle and guidance around the high spots. Interestingly enough, the Forestry Ranger with us in his brand new Jeep Rubicon got stuck on this obstacle because he had not taken the appropriate line. With front & rear lockers engaged he managed to back up then try again on a better line easily getting through this time.

After this first obstacle it is a climb up a mild but loose and rocky ascent. About 2/3rds of the way up there are several tight switchbacks though even the LWB vehicles in our group had little difficulty maneuvering around. As we drove up, the drop off was to the south of the trail looking back into what was obviously an old mining area. We only saw one old mining building, however Mohawk Mine is in the area.

Once we got to the top our group could look to the South towards Handcart Peak 12,518 ft; Red Cone at 12,801 ft; and Webster pass. We had crossed the Continental Divide and were now firmly in Arapahoe National Forest, not far from Keystone Ski Area. Several other vehicles were already at the top of Radical Hill having come in from Montezuma along the Deer Creek Trail. We then took off down the Deer Creek Trail to loop around and come back up the Snake River Canyon back to the base of Webster Pass. This section was fairly uneventful and only has one small river crossing to help clean the tires.

Webster Pass

We joined Webster Pass Trail where if intersects with the end of Red Cone Trail. This is actually Webster Pass itself as the trial drops down from here back into the Hall Valley . The drive down is extremely narrow in places and large dual wheeled vehicles would struggle to get down. Due to the narrowness of the trail it is a good idea to check as far as possible for oncoming vehicles as there are very few places to pass. This pass is often closed late into the season due to snow however we were lucky as almost all signs of the lovely white stuff had gone.

Recently a vehicle pulled over to the outside to allow another 4WD to pass and got into trouble. It appears the vehicle started to slip off the side due to the very loose shale trail surface. The other vehicle tied on a tow rope to help get it back on to the trail but unfortunately it started to slip further and eventually went straight over the side and down several hundred feet. Luckily the tow rope attached to the second car snapped otherwise 2 trucks would have been lost. No one was in the vehicle that went over the edge which was a relief to all at the time.

Webster pass used to be highly used by Native Americans prior to European occupation when it became a freight route for taking items into the Snake River Mining District.

Driving down the switchbacks there are a couple of off camber sections but these are relatively mild and nothing to worry about. There has been a lot of work done by the Forestry Service and other 4WD clubs on the sides of this trail to stop the sides falling away further on the narrow sections thus keep this trail open. It was due to the work of local 4WD clubs that we now have access to this trail following their work that started back in 1971.

Once down past the switchbacks the trail becomes completely different as it winds back along the top parts of the North Fork South Platte River and through more White Aspens on each side of the trail. At this point the river is a very deep burnt orange color due to the color of the surrounding ground and its run off. Whilst basically from here on it is an easy drive it was interesting to look around and contrast the abundant trees to the barren peaks just a bit higher.

This figure 8 loop can be easily handled in a day by a medium sized group. The Delorme Colorado Atlas & Gazetteer will easily get you to the trial head and the Arapaho National Forest map will give you a good guide along the trails. The area is well sign posted so even if you have not been into the area before it is very hard to get lost.

In many places around the world some form of “Adopt-A-Trail” program is in place. This program links Four Wheel Drive clubs with government bodies such as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forestry Service to get work done on trails in order to keep them open.

In Colorado , the Colorado Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs Inc has set up a formal process by which affiliated clubs can “adopt” a trail and work with local authorities to keep the trail open and well maintained. They have even formalized an “Adopt-A-Road Agreement” and an “Adopt-A-Road Labor and Volunteer Record”. This program has been successfully running for over 20 years and has the momentum to continue far into the future. By entering into formal volunteer agreements club members working on adopted 4WD roads are covered under Title 16, Section 558 of the United States Codes as a federal employee.

Basically clubs that have a willing membership choose a “free” trail in their area of interest to adopt. Once agreed upon the Club liaises with the appropriate local government body be it BLM, Forestry Service or Department of Natural Resources to determine how they would like the club to conduct work on the trail and to arrange strategies for ongoing maintenance. Usually clubs will undertake working days on the trail once or twice a year with the consultation of the governing body. It is important to understand that this is purely a volunteer program which sees Four Wheel Drive enthusiasts, including many Land Rover owners, putting in many hours of hard labor to keep trails open.

My Club, The Solihull Society, has adopted Radical Hill as its project trail. Our club has been officially looking after this trail for 6 years now and unofficially for longer. During this time we have built up a good working relationship with the local Forestry Rangers to the point that they recognize us as responsible users of the area. Significant goodwill is generated through the relationship to the point that they do not just dismiss us when we want to discuss land use issues. We recently undertook our yearly work day on the trail under the supervision of Tyler Kirkpatrick the Back Country Ranger responsible for the area. The work we completed on the day was fairly basic, i.e. building some barriers to stop vehicles taking inappropriate bypasses, moving rocks and repositioning fences that were no longer required. The Ranger appeared genuinely grateful for our work and assistance.

Talking with Forest Rangers about Four Wheel Driving and Land Use I was somewhat surprised to hear that they are not all anti Four Wheelers, but that they actually want to encourage multiuse of the land. Unfortunately with limited resources and finances they are sometimes pushed to prioritize and hence closures are sometimes forced by matters outside of their control. Interestingly they viewed the “Adopt-A-Trail” program as a benefit for them as they know that work needs to be done on trails to maintain them and keep them open. With Four Wheel Drive Clubs chipping in by providing labor and enthusiasm they can get more work done. In fact they told me that without the Four Wheel Drive movement and this program most of the work would just not get done. Feedback from the association confirms that many of the trails now adopted would have been closed or would be under threat now if not for the “Adopt-A-Trail” program.

This type of activity needs to be encouraged by the Four Wheel Drive movement and also needs more publicity to show that we are putting back into the environment and are actively trying to make our passion for the outdoors sustainable. Over the past 18 years since statistics have been collected, clubs have averaged 4,471 hours per year of volunteer work on trails. In 2003 a mammoth 10,338 hours of volunteer work by Four Wheel drivers was contributed to keeping trails open so all of us can have continued access.

In Colorado alone there are 78 trails that have been adopted by 27 different Four Wheel Drive Clubs. There are also still another 20 plus trails waiting to be adopted. We are giving back and need to ensure people know this when radical well funded environmental groups start attacking our pass time. My thanks go to Doug Russell of CoA4WDCi for providing the statistics quoted in this article.

Resources
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CoA4WDDCI Adopt-A-Road Process

This year’s event came back to Colorado and was held in Leadville. It came back with a vengeance. For the first time in the history of the event registrations were closed off prior to the event due to the overwhelming number of registrations that were received. Officially there were 288 attendees in 142 vehicles. There was actually more Land Rovers at the rally than officially registered because there were at least 3 Defender 130’s yet only one was officially registered. I also saw at least 3 LR3’s during the event yet only 1 was registered. People came from 28 of the 50 USA states with attendees from Canada and the UK also being present. A break down of Land Rovers registered includes:

1 – 109
5 – ‘88’s
6 – Defender 110’s
1 – Defender 130
46 – Defender 90’s
49 – Discoveries
30 – Range Rovers [1 just several weeks old]
1 – LR3

If attending but unregistered vehicles were added in the total number of vehicles would have been in excess of 160 land Rovers. A number of people from around Colorado came up to talk with me who had come up to Leadville just to look at the Land Rovers, driving their Land Rovers of course. No wonder we did not see many Jeeps driving around Leadville during the event, our large numbers must have intimidated them.

Besides the Venturers in their Defender 130, I spoke with one group of three who flew I from the UK , rented a car to get themselves to Leadville then rode with other participants in spare seats each day. They had a great time. What a way to have a holiday from their wives!

Leadville is an old Silver, Gold and Lead mining town located approximately 2 1/2 hours drive west from Denver right in the middle of the Rocky Mountains . It was incorporated in 1878 and is the county seat. Most of the buildings in the 70-square block Leadville National Historic Landmark District were built between 1880 and 1905 which ensures that it has a rustic and charming atmosphere. Some of the famous visitors to Leadville included Buffalo Bill, Doc Holiday and Texas Jack.

From a Four Wheeling perspective Leadville provided a unique base to call home for an event such as this. Being the highest incorporated Town in the United States at 10,340 feet above sea level (1.96 miles just to put things in perspective) is like being in a Four Wheeling candy store. Leadville is surrounded by: White River National Forest; Holy Cross Wilderness; San Isabel National Forest; Collegiate Peaks Wilderness; Mount Massive Wilderness; Arkansas River Valley; Arapaho National Forest; Pike National Forest; Buffalo Peaks Wilderness and the list just goes on. There are also at least 6 Mountain passes over 11,000 feet that area easily assessable, including the highest Mountain pass in the USA , Mosquito Pass. If all this does not have your mouth watering yet then have you ever heard of trails such as: Red Cone; Holy Cross; Iron Chest Mine; Iron Mike Mine; Hagerman Pass; Weston Pass; Mosquito Pass; McAlister Gulch; Chinaman’s Gulch and Tincup Pass, to name but a few.

Each morning starting from 7.30am Rally participants gathered at the “We Love Leadville” sign to join in the groups venturing out on trails. Over the course of the event there were 17 Trail leaders although on average only 14 went out each day with a group. Groups were on average less than 10 vehicles although on some of the more popular runs there were occasionally up to 14 vehicles. To ensure that all participants were able to take their trucks out and wheel, the trail difficulties ranged from the very easy such as Weston Pass to the Difficult such as Holy Cross.

To supplement the daily trails, events were scheduled for each evening. By having fully inclusive events each night participants were encouraged to get together away from their trucks, talk about the days events and get to know other enthusiasts from around the country. The Solihull Society does not use the event as a club fund raiser and puts back all monies raised into activities that benefit participants. As a result each registered participant received an event T Shirt, track access permits, drinks and food at a cocktail function, a catered Vendor event with Pizza and soft drinks and a sit down banquet on the last night as part of their up front registration fee. Great value for all!

The Cocktail party on Thursday night was held from 6 pm to 8 pm at the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum. All participants had full and private access to the Museum along with food and beverages. As this was the first night get together people got to know each other in a relaxed and educational environment filled with the history of Colorado . Captain “Tiffy” Pearce-Smith MBE VSC with his two charges attended in their full Venturers Search & Rescue uniforms, becoming the center of attention. They had bought their Defender 130 Dual Cab over by boat from the UK to see the USA and join in this years Rally. A long way from home and their usual haunt, namely the coastal regions of Britain .

Friday night was Vendor night. This year we had 15 vendors including our own stand for selling Rally items. Companies from Specialist Land Rover Repair shops to official Land Rover Dealerships; from Aftermarket product manufacturers to Exotic Safari Companies; From Four Wheel drive accessories resellers to Land Rover Magazines were represented. The event was held in the Mining Museum Convention Center starting at 5 pm until 8 pm. Refreshments and Pizza were supplied as part of the registration fee. The Mining Museum provided access to a 75 seat theatre where attendees were also able to view the 2004 Land Rover National Rally DVD showing off all the fun we had in Moab last year.

The Rally culminated on Saturday evening with a fully catered banquet at the Local Leadville Elks Lodge. Apparently they made over $5,300 from the event and advised that the Rally was the biggest event they had ever catered. The evening started around 5.30pm although a lot of us who were still out on trails slowly filtered in until about 9.30pm . Yes a Defender, owned by a Land Rover master tech, had broken down and caused some to miss their Steak Dinners. The evening started with everyone having a meal before the Local Volunteer Search and Rescue team provided us with an informative run down on what they did in the area. They were very quick to point out that in all their history they have never had to rescue a Land Rover or it’s participants but regularly went to the aid of Jeep drivers. Does this provide and deep and meaningful insight into the capabilities of Jeeps versus Land Rovers and the psyche of their owners? I guess we will never know. After the presentation the annual Rally Raffle was held. This year $2,698 was raised from the Raffle and donated to the Volunteer Search and Rescue Squad. Raffle prizes ranged from Caps and T Shirts up to a 9000 pound Superwinch donated by Bill Burke.

Finally to Trails: The following are some trails I ran. Unfortunately I could not be on 14 different trails each day all at once. Bugger I wish I could!

Thursday 28th July 2005 – Chinaman’s Gulch

Chinaman’s Gulch Trail is approximately 37 miles south of Leadville just outside the small town of Buena Vista . To get to the trail head we even had to drive through the local Prison Farm, signs, warnings and all. The trial is on the edge of the San Isabel National Forest west of Highway 285. Although surrounded by large peaks, we were happy to have drop down to a relatively low 7,000 odd feet above sea level. There were 12 Land Rovers in our group including 6 D 90’s, 4 Discoveries, 1 range Rover and a 1967 Series 109. Our group were form Missouri , Kansas , Arizona , Minnesota and of course Colorado .

After airing our tires down, our first ascent on the trail was relatively easy, albeit that it was continuous rocks and loose soil along a narrow pathway with close in trees. This bought us to our first obstacle, a very narrow gap called the “Squeeze” through some 5-foot high boulders, which required gentle use of the throttle, good wheel placement and a spotter outside to ensure that nobody scraped any panels. Fortunately we all passed through with little difficulty. We then proceeded along to a dry river bed with our capable leader, Chris Davis in his 1994 Defender 90 taking us to the right and up an old riverbed.

Not long after entering the dry river bed we came to an obstacle know as the “Rock Garden”. This obstacle is basically a series of very large boulders over a 30-yard piece of track that challenges vehicle control, wheel placement, undercarriage clearance and ones will power. Even with large tires, twin diff locks and additional clearance it is very easy to get hung up on the rocks and incur panel damage. Luckily for the more sensible amongst us there is a bi-pass of this challenge. Those who tried the obstacle were able to get through with relatively little difficulty although the spotting and instructions coming from outside the vehicle were invaluable in ensuring a clear passage. Lots of undercarriage bumping and metal scraping did however occur. One Discovery needed a winch assist and unfortunately my Rear Drive shaft decided to fail but other than that everyone had fun.

At this time we stopped for lunch under a very nice shady tree right next to the ‘Rock Garden”. This was great relief given that temperatures were quite high. Up till that point we had noticed lots of large quartz chucks all along our route. I was unable to find out why the area was called Chinaman’s Gulch, however given that Quartz is usually an indicator of gold, that there were mines in the area and the prevalence of Chinese miners in Gold Mining areas, it is a good bet that the area would have been named after Chinese Gold miners probably from last century.

The next obstacle to be overcome was “The Waterfall”. This is a large rock area, which forms a waterfall when the river is running. There are three ways of approaching it. The left for mad keen lunatics (yes like me) the middle being the challenging route and the right being the easy route. Unfortunately our groups luck again run out at this point with our faithful leader breaking a rear axle on this obstacle and another D 90 (names with held to protect their reputations in Minnesota) breaking a front axle.

The trail then loops around without any major obstacles. Before part of the area became private land the trail used to loop down past a nice small lake and then provide a challenging drive up a riverbed through lots of trees and small rock ledges. Unfortunately this part of the trail has now been closed off by the property owner.

We then drove back out the same way we had driven in and back to Leadville for Drinks at the mining museum.

Friday 29th July 2005 – The Mining District.

The Mining District loop is an easy loop trail starting just on the eastern outskirts of Leadville. The local Chamber of Commerce has free maps of the area to help you find your way. The loop travels primarily through private property, namely the mining leases and surrounds and is filled with heritage and history. There are dozens of historic buildings, both mining and non mining, present. This area is strictly a high range driving area so nothing to worry about.

On the way out of the Mining District we took a stop a the Matchless Mine. This mine was made famous firstly by the amount of Silver taken out of it in it’s hey days but secondly because of it’s most famous inhabitant, “Baby” Doe Taber. The mine was purchased by Horace Taber in 1879. At it’s peak it was producing up to $2,000 per day in Silver before the price dropped out of the Silver market. The Taber’s went from being worth millions to being penniless working for $3 per day in wages. “Baby” Doe lived the last 36 years of her life in the 1 room mining building next to the winch room of the mine. If you are in the area and get the chance it is well worth the small entrance fee. This was a short day so we could all get back in time for the Friday night vendor event.

Saturday 30th July 2005 – Weston, Breakneck, Browns and Mosquito Passes.

We had a small group for today which was great. Karen Kreutzer was our trail leader and this is the first year in which she has lead trails on behalf of the club. Knowing this we of course proceeded to give her a hard time, questioning every turn, every leadership decision and comment. Basically we just gave her a hard time. Despite our heckling she ploughed on through the day ignoring our taunts.

At 11,900 feet Weston Pass is the 9th highest pass in Colorado . Or is it 11,921 feet? I’m not sure as different sources state a different height. The trail starts just south of Leadville. We initially drove through the Mt Massive Lakes area which is a low lying valley area just on the edge of the San Isabel National Forest . As we drove along the valley toward the rise to Weston pass we many Beaver Dams as the trail shadows the Union Creek. After leaving “Beaver Central” we started our slow gradual climb to the pass. From the trail a number of old derelict mining buildings could be spotted along the way. This area was clear cut in the 19th century at which time it was covered by Douglas Fur Trees. The area is now covered by re-growth and the Ponderosa Fur Tree. The tree line ends at approximately 11,000 feet where the distinctive moonscape appearance emerged.

Our group stopped at the peak of Weston Pass to take photos and breathe in the atmosphere of driving over such a high pass. The drive down the eastern slop of the Mosquito Range into the Pike national Forest was easy and uneventful other than seeing a few Deer racing through the trees at the roads edge. After a short drive on hard packed dirt roads we again headed off road towards Breakneck Pass. This pass is not even high enough to make it onto the High Pass list but it is a very scenic and interesting drive. First of all we drove along a narrow trail surrounded by close in Trees that gave us the feel of driving in a tunnel with just a little sunlight coming from above. As we dropped down from Sheep Ridge and Breakneck Pass we entered into a high mountain meadow aptly called Sheep Meadow. The area was know for some major “bloody” range wars in the past between Cattle Ranchers and Sheep Herders. Obviously this high pasture was a favorite of the Sheep herders so that the name has stuck.

The climb out of this meadow was to take us to Browns Pass. Unfortunately our first problem occurring here. One of our Discoveries (from Connecticut if memory serves me) had had trouble all day getting the low range to engage. Now he was stuck high range with no center diff lock. Given the climb out of this area he struggled to gain traction until Ralph Brandt in his 1970 Series ’88 came to the rescue and towed him out. Ever seen a mouse tow a wheel barrow? No! Well this was close to that. The area around here, whilst not a difficult drive, has fantastic scenery and offered a medium level of difficulty for stock standard vehicles.

After stopping for lunch before us lay the piece de-resistance for the day, Mosquito Pass. This pass is know as the Highest drivable pass in Colorado at 13,185 feet above Sea level. We approached from the Fairplay or East side. When we first turned off the highway we traveled through what amounted to be an almost ghost town. This area was recently populated but has since been deserted by almost all residents. A few miles further on is a small town called Park City , don’t blink or you may miss it.

Towards the end of the valley and before the climb to the pass starts we passed London Mountain . This area boasted 2 mines in it’s hey day, South London and North London mines. They provided so much ore that a rail line was pushed through to the base of London Mountain just to remove the ore. The remains of the mine buildings can be seen from the trail. Just after we passed the mine ruins we started to climb. This side of the Pass is rocky and narrow in places but easily handled by s tock vehicle. Clooney Lake is off to the North (or right) from this point. About half way up the trail became somewhat rockier and our High Range Only Discovery only needed assistance over one small section. The climb and views were spectacular view vistas out to the south looking to Mount Evans at 13,577 feet and Mount Sherman at 14,036 feet. Down and to the left (that’s south) we also enjoyed a great view of the South Mosquito Creek Valley . The last part of this climb is on BLM public lands having left the Pike National Forest about half way up the climb. The views to the West and Eat form the top of the Pass were nothing short of amazing. We had a clear view as far as we could see.

For those with acrophobia the descent down to the West will be a little unnerving, if not downright terrifying. The descent is quite steep along a very narrow and shaley trail. There are several very tight switch backs that caused us no concern but the trail was quite dry with no snow around. We had some fun with our passengers pretending to loose brakes and steering around the tight turns recovering just in time. Trouble here could see you tumble more than a 1000 feet over the edge. As our group was not set up for Hard Wheeling we did not take the option route up Birdseye Gulch and continued West past Mountain Lake, Diamond Lake and into the Mine District just outside of Leadville. Form here it was an easy drive into town with plenty of time to spare to shower and get ready for the final night Banquet.

Karen Kreutzer did a fantastic job as trip leader and nobody would have guessed that this was her first rally as a Trail Leader. In fact thanks should go to all 17 Trail Leaders on the event.

Photo Gallery

Participating Yuppies included:

Chris & Beth Muniz in their 2004 Discovery
Cormac McHugh in his 1997 Discovery with a new bumper he bought from Larry
Jim Hall in his Series 1966 Series IIa 88 Beaver winch; and friend Chris
Scott Launer with his wife Stacy and daughter in the Rover green ’97 D90 automatic
Larry Grubbs in Carrie’s Discovery
Matt Schulze and Hans in the red 1995 Defender 90 topless
Peter Hope Series IIa 1970 with a hot Hummer motor
Hans & Roseanne Schulze 1995 white Defender 90

After a late start, we navigated the street construction around the historic Broadmor Hotel. Once on Old Stage Road we needed to stop several times to let Peter’s Hummer motor cool down. After the third time, Peter decided to turn back.

It’s a leisure ride to the top of Mt. Baldy altitude approximately 11,800 ft, resulting in a nice, Colorado view. The gate was closed but hikers could walk another mile to the top. Delays haunted us again. At first Jim had problems keeping the Series running but it was a quick fix and then Scott had what we think was vapor lock which took longer to repair to the point of getting him off the mountain. Scott decided to call it a day when we returned to Mt. Baldy trailhead. Chris and Beth joined him in order to honor a dinner appointment.

That left Cormac, Larry, Jim, Matt and Hans to find the Eagle Rock trailhead. Again that word, delay. We traveled over 10 unnecessary miles trying to find the trailhead, but it was worth it. The trail was challenging, not to the point of needing lockers, but challenging. The first intro to the trail is a steep mogul hill consisting of loose dirt and rock. We all attempted several lines to get the necessary traction. After many attempts, Cormac hit the bypass, and then turned back to insure his prompt arrival at work.

The rest of us found Eagle Rock challenging in spots. It reminds me of a Boulder Carnage Canyon with a steep grade. Larry wanted to pinstripe the Carrie’s Disco, but we managed to spot him out of it.

Eagle Rock meets up with Mt. Baldy trail which we opted to ride out due to the lateness of the day. Next time we should try a round trip on Eagle Rock.

The rain attempted to douse the event, but the traffic was impressive all day. Free food will do that. Flatirons drove one new vehicle out of their show room in order to bring the vendors indoors. Vendors included:

RoverTracks
Keith Kreutzer
www.rovertracks.com

Rockware
Matt Peterson
www.rockware.net

Pikes Peak Rover
John Torres, Eric Holder
www.pikespeakrovers.com

Pangaea Expeditions
Nathan Hindman
www.pangaea-expeditions.com

Prestige Auto Glass
Bert Hibl
www.prestigeautoglassinc.com

Expedition Pictures
Joshua White
www.expeditionpictures.com

Approximately 20 participants showed off their vehicles. Graham and Connie Jackson won people’s choice award for their Defender 110 300tdi that was their transportation on their Africa trip. www.africaoverland.org

Ed Dobbs’ generostity didn’t stop there. He covered 1/2 of the membership fee for any signups for the Solihull Society. We had 15 families take advantage of the one time only opportunity.

Thank you again Ed Dobbs, Lindsay Mydans, and the entire Flatirons staff.

Resources
www.landroverflatirons.com

Resources
Photo Gallery