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September 12, 2008 - Friday
Day 4 was the first day of the 2008 Ouray Jeep Jamboree. The day started off at the Ouray Community Center
where a hot breakfast was served. Pre-ride instructions were provided and everyone left for their trail's staging area where they had an opportunity to meet the other people in their group, lower their tire pressure, set CB channels and meet their trail guides.
It rained most of the night and prior evening dumping a lot of snow in the mountains, so the terrain had a different look than it did the night before. The snow left doubts whether the higher mountain passes would be safe enough to take the Jamboree groups through. Unfortunately I had signed up for the Imogene Pass trail which is the second highest mountain pass in Colorado and our trail guides were not very optimistic about their passability.
To my surprise, the trails actually consisted of county roads that passed through public and private property. Now, as far as county roads go, these are the worst roads I've ever seen, and the most beautiful. Most of the roads actually appeared on the MyGig nav system and it made me wonder if the Chrysler Roadside Assistance would appriciate a call if I ran out of gas or needed my tire changed. The beginning of the trail consisted of a drive down a well maintained gravel road that ran along the side of a cliff, underneath rock overhangs and waterfalls (fueled by the snow). This wasn't anything challenging and could be accomplished in 2wd or 4wd hi-range.
Imogene Pass
Eventually we dropped into low-range and the roads got progressively rougher and steeper. Parts of the road consisted of rock outcroppings and as we got to higher elevations we started to encounter snow. I'm pretty sure this was the first time I had ever seen snow during the summer and it seemed a bit surreal. After more climbing we finally crested the tree line and that was when I started to realize how high we were, also as we got higher the snow also got progressively deeper. As we got closer to Imogene Pass the slope got significantly steeper and the trail had turned into a series of switchbacks. The switchbacks were steep, covered in snow and consisted of one turn around per switchback.
After traversing a group of these switchbacks we were getting very close to the pass; however, as the snow got deeper some of the Jeeps in the group started to lose traction. The Jeep in front of me, and behind our trail guide Larry, started throwing snow up into the air and began sliding back towards me. At that point Larry decided it wasn't safe for the group to continue over the pass and the decision was made to turn around. Since there was not enough room for the Jeeps to turn around they had to back down the switchbacks until they reached the turnaround for the switchback they were on. While the group was backing down behind us I got out of my Jeep and took some time to take in the environment and the view which was spectacular.
There wasn't a turnaround on our section of the trail so I needed to back down and around the corner before I was able to turn around. There were two boulders along the side of the trail behind my Jeep, but I only saw one. I'm going to blame this on altitude sickness because I have no idea how I only saw one of the two. Anyway, while backing up I backed right over top of this boulder and high centered my Jeep on the top of it. While backing over it the boulder dislodged and lifted the driver's side of my Jeep up like a jack, and before I knew it I found my two left tires hanging in the air while I was pitched down the slope of the mountain. I must say, it was rather unnerving and prank calling Chrysler Roadside Assistance never crossed my mind. Larry came over and it wasn't reassuring that he looked concerned with my predicament. I pointed out that I had front and rear lockers and he helped spot me and held on to the top of my Jeep (to help keep me from rolling and bouncing down the mountainside to my death). After engaging my lockers I was able to drive off the boulder (and mountain) without tumbling to my death or breaking my Jeep; although, it didn't escape completely unscathed as I found out later that I bent my rear lower control arm.
I was disappointed that we didn't make it through the pass, but I was happy to still be alive. We traveled back down to the tree line where we stopped for lunch by a stream.
Yankee Boy Basin
Since we didn't make it over the pass the ride had to be modified and the decision was made to drive up to the Yankee Boy Basin. This trail was more technical than the Imogene Pass trail and was much more colorful than the Imogene area. This was also a very steep drive up to the basin. There is a pair of waterfalls called Twin Falls along the trail that have been featured in Coors and Chevrolet advertisements. The further we advanced down the trail, the less vehicles we encountered, the more technical the terrain became and the more fun the ride became. Eventually we made it up to the basin where we took a break and enjoyed the view which included Mount Sneffels, a fourteener located off of the basin.
After spending time in the basin we turned around and headed back down the trail which was just as much fun going down as it was driving up. After we completed our trail ride I met a group from the ride that day in town (Alan, Jackie, Jimmy) and shared stories before dinner back at the community center. It was a long, eventful and exciting day and I couldn't wait for the next to start.
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Location: Ouray, Colorado - Imogene Pass, Yankee Boy Basin
Date: September 12, 2008
Vehicle: 2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon (JK) 4-door
Video: Ouray Jamboree
Location: Ouray, Colorado
Date: September 12, 2008
Vehicle: 2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon (JK) 4-door
Video: Fast Track '09: Jeep Jamboree in Colorado
I should also add, there was a film crew present during the Jamboree from King 5 NBC News in Seattle
that was with my group on the first day of the Jamboree. My Jeep and I both appear briefly in the video,
Fast Track '09: Jeep Jamboree in Colorado.
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