Need guide local to Telluride in 2025

[taintedsaint]

My son and I are taking a long trip west from VA next August. Going to run Rubicon then work our way back through CO for the passes and on to Holy Cross.
We ran all the 8s and 9s in Moab in '23 so not new to this.
Part of trip will be with our club but as they go on to Fordyce and others, we will go solo for a week.
So I'd like to hook up with an individual or two that are familiar with Imogene, Ophir, Engineer passes and could make the ride with us for safety and guidance.
If anyone is up to it, please let me know. You can mail direct to sinfulsaint99 at yahoo dot com

Thanks in advance.
-Joe

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[kb5zcr]

Be sure and drive Black Bear pass while in that area. Not technical but very very scary and worth your time.

 

[Gabby53E]

My son and I are taking a long trip west from VA next August. Going to run Rubicon then work our way back through CO for the passes and on to Holy Cross.
We ran all the 8s and 9s in Moab in '23 so not new to this.
Part of trip will be with our club but as they go on to Fordyce and others, we will go solo for a week.
So I'd like to hook up with an individual or two that are familiar with Imogene, Ophir, Engineer passes and could make the ride with us for safety and guidance.
If anyone is up to it, please let me know. You can mail direct to sinfulsaint99 at yahoo dot com

Thanks in advance.
-Joe

Joe, We live in Durango, CO. Honestly if you are comfortable running the Rubicon and 8/9 rated trails in Moab then you have nothing to worry about with Imogene, Ophir and Engineer Passes. The trails in this area are scenic not technical. The shelf roads may or may not bother you, but other than being narrow are not technical. The issue is opposite traffic so you may need to negotiate who is going to back up (uphill traffic has the right of way, but common sense may lead to the uphill traffic having a shorter back up to a pull out). Mineral Creek to Poughkeepsie Gultch are the most technical trails in the area, but still no where near the level of the trails you have already done.
I recommend looking up the Creeper Jeeper (local club) website before your trip and see if they are doing any of those trails while you are in the area. There is typically a link there with trail conditions/closures to help with your planning as well. All these trails are clearly mapped out on OnX and Trails Offroad so there are great guides out there to help.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
James

 

[Zachanadandy]

None of the trails are remotely challenging (like barely need 4wd, never needed the lockers) or difficult to navigate. The wife and I ran every one of them solo and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Good luck with your search, but I wouldn't let it hold you back from experiencing the trails.

 

[Rebel.Matt]

If you're doing the Rubicon the San Juan trails will be a breeze. I've done Mineral Creek, Ophir, Engineer, Imogene in my stock truck. Youtube and the forums will give you all the information you need. Agreed with previous posts - these are scenic drives, not rock crawling routes.

 

[GI Grandpa]

I agree with what everyone has said about the trails in the San Juans. I wouldn't run Holy Cross solo however, especially in a Gladiator. Let me know when you plan to run Holy Cross, and if I am not available, I can probably fine someone to run it with you.

 

[Rebel.Matt]

I agree with what everyone has said about the trails in the San Juans. I wouldn't run Holy Cross solo however, especially in a Gladiator. Let me know when you plan to run Holy Cross, and if I am not available, I can probably fine someone to run it with you.

I've never done Holy Cross myself - wouldn't want to do it solo, but I would totally go with a group. This might warrant a group outing and/or meetup.

 

[GI Grandpa]

Those CO trails could be closed due to snow. Check ahead.
Have you considered Dusy Ershim? It’s east of Fresno.
Plenty of tough trails to tackle in southern AZ if u wanna go south.

With the exception of maybe Black Bear and barring any mud slides or maintenace closures, most of the trails in Colorado are open and free of snow in August.

 

[Free2roam]

Those CO trails could be closed due to snow. Check ahead.
Have you considered Dusy Ershim? It’s east of Fresno.
Plenty of tough trails to tackle in southern AZ if u wanna go south.

The Dusy is a doozy! I was a passenger 20+ years ago. If you're out in Tahoe it's my backyard hit me up. Not set up for rock crawling. More of a camping build.

 

[taintedsaint]

Joe, We live in Durango, CO. Honestly if you are comfortable running the Rubicon and 8/9 rated trails in Moab then you have nothing to worry about with Imogene, Ophir and Engineer Passes. The trails in this area are scenic not technical. The shelf roads may or may not bother you, but other than being narrow are not technical. The issue is opposite traffic so you may need to negotiate who is going to back up (uphill traffic has the right of way, but common sense may lead to the uphill traffic having a shorter back up to a pull out). Mineral Creek to Poughkeepsie Gultch are the most technical trails in the area, but still no where near the level of the trails you have already done.
I recommend looking up the Creeper Jeeper (local club) website before your trip and see if they are doing any of those trails while you are in the area. There is typically a link there with trail conditions/closures to help with your planning as well. All these trails are clearly mapped out on OnX and Trails Offroad so there are great guides out there to help.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
James

Thank you so very much. Etiquette was one of my concerns as far as direction, also trying to figure out most efficient order of trails. I was told to run Imogene then hop over to Ophir and could finish both in a day. Not sure about Black Bear but definitely the other two.

 

[taintedsaint]

Thanks to everyone for the input. I was pretty sure the passes wouldn't be too difficult but mainly wanted to be familiar with the most common direction for each and making sure I can maximize my time by running one then another.

Clarification on Holy Cross, we will be linked back up with my club friends for that as they'll be doing Fordyce and Dusy while I run the passes with my son.
Looking forward to it all.

 

[Gabby53E]

Thank you so very much. Etiquette was one of my concerns as far as direction, also trying to figure out most efficient order of trails. I was told to run Imogene then hop over to Ophir and could finish both in a day. Not sure about Black Bear but definitely the other two.

If I were going to do Ophir, Imogene and Engineer I would probably go to Silverton to start Ophir from there. Eat lunch in Telluride then pick up Imogene. From there you would end up in Ouray. Not sure if you are camping or hotel, but you have both options in the area. The next day hit Mineral Creek up to Engineer (recommend hitting Poughkeepsie Gultch as well). Engineer takes you to Lake City which is a small mountain town with a few lunch spots. From there you can pick up Hwy 149 to head north toward Gunnison or south toward South Fork and go from there. Or you can pick up Cinnamon Pass just south of Lake City and head back toward Silverton. Lots of routing options since all these trails are two way traffic.

The only one way traffic trail is Black Bear. Not sure if that will be open next year or not. The Sheriff on the Telluride side would prefer it be closed permanently. On that note, Imogene suffered some serious trail damage due to landslide (I think) and was closed early this year. Once the snow melts (May-Jun) then they will start repairs so depending on how long the repair takes you may not get to do Imogene all the way through.

 

[taintedsaint]

If I were going to do Ophir, Imogene and Engineer I would probably go to Silverton to start Ophir from there. Eat lunch in Telluride then pick up Imogene. From there you would end up in Ouray. Not sure if you are camping or hotel, but you have both options in the area. The next day hit Mineral Creek up to Engineer (recommend hitting Poughkeepsie Gultch as well). Engineer takes you to Lake City which is a small mountain town with a few lunch spots. From there you can pick up Hwy 149 to head north toward Gunnison or south toward South Fork and go from there. Or you can pick up Cinnamon Pass just south of Lake City and head back toward Silverton. Lots of routing options since all these trails are two way traffic.

The only one way traffic trail is Black Bear. Not sure if that will be open next year or not. The Sheriff on the Telluride side would prefer it be closed permanently. On that note, Imogene suffered some serious trail damage due to landslide (I think) and was closed early this year. Once the snow melts (May-Jun) then they will start repairs so depending on how long the repair takes you may not get to do Imogene all the way through.

That's exactly what I needed!! Sounds like the plan for sure.

 

[HAMP]

The Dusy is a doozy! I was a passenger 20+ years ago. If you're out in Tahoe it's my backyard hit me up. Not set up for rock crawling. More of a camping build.

I will be up there for Hot August Nights this year, I could possibly use a guide for the Rubicon if your going to be around.

 

[Free2roam]

I will be up there for Hot August Nights this year, I could possibly use a guide for the Rubicon if your going to be around.

My rig is definitely not set up for the Rubicon. More of a camping rig. But I'd gladly spot.

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