The wife and I just returned from out annual Ouray, CO trip. This was our 18th year making this annual trip and this was the first time in about the past 15 of those years that we have made this trip alone. We have hosted rallies and gatherings for our RV'ing/Jeeping friends about 6 or 8 of those years also, but this year it was just the wife and I. I missed having our friends or our kids join us but it sure was a great trip just having my wife all to myself.
I was surprised at just how many breakdowns we witnessed on the trail this year. We generally see one or maybe two throughout the entire week in the area but we were seeing a couple a day this year. Not sure what changed other than if I've said it once, I've said it fifty times that wheeling in SW Colorado is the torture test for your vehicle. The very long steep grades and elevations in particular will test each and every system of the vehicle and even if everything is in perfect order, **** can still go wrong. The suspension being tests is only the beginning, but the engine's cooling system, transmission, transfer case, brakes and axles as well as basic things like tires with all of the sharp rocks on the shelf roads.
We witnessed several transfer case issues, several flat tires, an axle u-joint creating a knuckle failure and several overheating issues on a wide range of vehicles. We ended up stopping to help multiple people and I was hearing a common theme amongst the people who were having issues, many stated they heard a weird noise or thought something wasn't quite right when they aired down at the trailhead but figured it was nothing. That **** may fly in a lot of places when off-roading, but NOT in the San Juan Mountains as it will find the weak link and exploit it by hammering away at it.
There must have been a Toyota Land Cruiser club or forum meeting in the area because we saw multiple groups of about 6-12 Land Cruisers from all eras throughout the week. I would say we saw a total of about 60+ different Land Cruisers the week we were there. One afternoon as we dropped into Animas Forks, there was about 30 or so all lined up for photographs which was kind of cool.
As we arrived at our campground Saturday, we noticed two trailers hauling old models unloading. One was a rather clean FJ-40 and the other was an immaculate FJ-45 pickup, I'm guessing late 60's to maybe early 70's models. The FJ-40 had a few minor scratches and dings but the FJ-45 truck looked like it just rolled off the assembly line. No mods or anything visible, just stock and impressive. That is until it hit the trails. The FJ-40 we saw limping along the next day having overheating issues and the FJ-45 the third day lost his front output from the transfer case while going over Imogene Pass and had to be towed up and over nearly every obstacle. They asked me to tow it up one of the 12k plus foot passes but I declined as I was running 230-degrees on my own and would have definitely ran warmer than I like towing another 5k plus pounds up a long steep grade.
One couple from Texas driving a Jeep JKUR that we stopped to check on had his transfer case fail just above Animas Forks on the third day. With the full skids under his Jeep there was nothing I could really do to investigate without a lot of work disassembling things. So, in that instant we ended up giving him and his wife a tow down into Silverton where he was able to call for a rollback.
We were blessed with some great weather and we saw a LOT of animals as well as enjoyed some great food as many of our favorite local eating establishments. The weather was pretty normal this year with only a couple of days in the low 80's, the rest of the days were mid to upper 70's with one day not getting out of the 60's. We had a couple of thunderstorms roll through the area between a couple of days and the last night it rained all night, very heavy at times. It stopped in the morning long enough for us to disconnect the coach, pull the slides in, pull the coach forward and hook up the Jeep, then about 20-miles down the road the skies opened back up again. The rain continued much of the 400+ miles home so it made a mess of the coach and Jeep in tow.
Enjoy the pictures.
Coach pulled out of the shop and getting ready to connect the Jeep for our departure Friday afternoon. We drove to Green River, UT for a stopover the first night.
The next day, Saturday, we arrived at our campground in Ouray and had a great site.
Arriving later in the day on Saturday we didn't hit a trail but just did some sightseeing and ran across a large herd of elk. My wife simply said "I hope this is a sign of what we'll see this week." She was right.
Not much in the form of snow from the 2023/2024 winter this year, but we did see a few smaller patches still remaining. Also, the waterfalls and streams were not flowing like normal. I guess they had a much lesser than normal year that we did up north here.
Going up Corkscrew Gulch and up and over Hurricane Pass.
As we passed Animas Forks heading south into Silverton we took a side trail called Maggie Gulch that I have wanted to take in the past but never did. It was a steep narrow canyon that went up and back as it dead ended about 12 miles up the mountain. Just after turning around and dropping back down into the tree line we spotted this moose just across the gulley from us, about 50', and he didn't seem to be too awfully bothered by us.
He even turned and gave me a side profile.
Then as we headed to dinner in Ridgeway we passed by a bunch of wild turkeys.
Dinner did not disappoint. Best pork green chili stew ever and we can't wait to go back and get some each year.
More pictures to come.....
I just kept going back to the AGA Tools lift table that came with the proper adapters and pedestals to engage with the factory points on the K-members or castings I felt like it was a much better choice. I even briefly thought about purchasing a similar table and making my own adapters and configure it similar to the AGA table, but I have so much work promised out that I didn't see myself taking a couple of months to build one.
. My big boy, it’s like it’s not even there.
