Presidents Notes – August 2000

The month of July was vacation month for my family. My wife and I go camping for 10 days or so every July and "rough it" in the travel trailer. This year we chose a different area of Colorado to explore, and headed to the south central and south western parts of our beautiful state. We enjoy walking the old mining towns and exploring the back road areas. I try to imagine just what it was like way back in the winter of ’92 – that’s 1892 – when the snow was so deep that (you fill in the blank). Most of these areas are accessible by "jeep roads". I bought a map titled "Jeep Roads of the San Juans". I’ll bet in WWII, when the "General Purpose" vehicle was created, little did they know this term, "GP", would become the general term "jeep", which would be a descriptive word for virtually all unimproved back country roads. (As well as a specific vehicle) I love jeep roads, especially when we are out with the ¾ ton F250 "Jolly Green Giant". The F250 does quite well on jeep roads. We had a very good time exploring these roads in the San Juans, an area of Colorado which really started my love for 4WD. We drove the "Alpine Loop", starting from Lake City, and going over Cinnamon Pass, to Animas Forks, then up over Engineer Pass and returning to Lake City. My first time on these roads was in 1965, in a 1951 Willis, CJ3. I was on military leave, and went with my parents. The colors in the pictures I took then are just as vivid as those we took this time. The road has greatly improved – after all it is a "jeep road". We did pass a "road improver" along the way. A D8 Cat. Really makes jeep roads wider. In any of 3 towns close to this area, Lake City, Silverton or Ouray, jeeps are rented for $95 a day plus gas and insurance. This is great, as it allows people a chance to get out and enjoy these areas of Colorado. And the more people that are aware of the beauty of these back road areas, the more people will be available to help keep these areas open.

As I read this last Sunday’s paper, I was intrigued by a story about 2 brothers from a large state south of us and their plight on the side of a mountain up California Gulch, which starts at Animas Forks, in the San Juans. Seems the 2 brothers, one in a Wrangler and the other in a Dodge Ram had decided to illegally cross an area of tundra and follow a road. This left them perched perilously on the side of Houghton Mt., on a 70% slope, half a mile from safety. ( A 100% slope is a 45 degree angle) The BLM wrote tickets, $600 worth and said the options were to remove the vehicles themselves or the BLM would and then send them the bill. Area tow truck operators wouldn’t touch it as the BLM had to approve the method in order not to incur more damage to the tundra. A humvee group out of Durango finally was able to help them, and allow for a good ending. Area locals were gleeful that 2 brothers from a large state south of Colorado, thought they could defy gravity, and instead more than met their match in the mountains of Colorado. Thanks to Pete Van Vareen for sending me the 2 URL’s on earlier parts of this story.

Meet/Depart 7:30/8am, Safeway on S. Nevada. Trails are rated 3 and 4.