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Shadow of the Rockies Trail

Padre

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So we did the Colorado section of the Shadow of the Rockies trail, which the southern portion to Buena Vista is also the Trans America Trail. We started in Branson, CO, which is mainly rural gravel roads until you cross under I-25 and get to Viana Canyon. We didn’t start until around 2 PM so we only had a couple of hours before we had to start looking for a place to camp. A lot of the land around this section is private so it was difficult to find something. But we finally found some on public land. No one had camped there before so we made our own fire ring. I have the coordinates so if you are in this section and would like them, message me. It would make a great camp site. It was up a ridge away from the road but you will definitely need 4 wheel drive to get up there. This campsite was off Bear Creek Road before you get to Le Veta

The next day, we continued on through Le Veta. At State road 69, the SotR trail joins the Enchanted Rockies trail. At one point, they separate and come back together. We took the ER trail as it looked more technical and it took us up to 11,000 feet. We took a side trip to look at Bishop Castle. There is a great story behind that. Apparently this man has been building this castle all by himself all his life. We saw him out there, wheelbarrow in hand, hauling rocks up continuing his work.

After that, the ER trail breaks off at Johnson gulch and heads for the Garden of the Gods. We kept on, having lunch in Westcliff and then on through Cotopaxi. We ended up camping about 10 miles north of Cotopaxi around Stoney Face Mountain. Our 1st night above 10,000 feet. It got down to 28 degrees that night but it was nothing that our Mr. Buddy couldn’t handle.

The next day, we traveled through Salida and had breakfast and then stopped at the Next Eddy Fly shop to get some waders for my buddy and some flies. We hadn’t fished up to this point because we wanted to make sure we could get Tin Cup Pass in. So we headed up to Tin Cup. There was snow on the trail and we could only make out one other set of tracks. So it seems only one other vehicle had gone before us. It was awesome. It was my 1st pass like this. I had it in 4 low the whole way, mainly in 2nd gear but sometimes in 1stto crawl over some rocks. My Mojave is a standard transmission but allows me to crawl in 1st and even 2nd so I don’t have to use the clutch. At the top, we celebrated with a shot of Tin Cup Bourbon. There was much more snow on the backside. So much that you couldn’t even see the trail on Old Tin Cup, so we didn’t take that.

We made our way down and ended up camping in Wheelbarrow Gulch off Rocky Brook Road right along the Rocky Brook. It got down to 24 degrees that night. After breakfast, we broke down as we needed to head up to the Encampment River in Wyoming. But after we broke done and started driving, we saw a spot in the brook that looked like it should hold fish. And we were right. We rigged up our fly rods and for 2 hours, caught our fill of little brook rainbows and browns.

We finished fishing around noon and headed for Crested Butte and over Keebler Pass. We stayed with the Shadow of the Rockies to the point where it breaks off SR 133 and starts to head through Hayrack Park and up to Rifle. We had to head up 133 toward Steamboat and into Wyoming.

All in all, we camped 3 nights and averaged 100 miles a day for 4 days. If you are
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail IMG_5362
interested in any of my camp sites, I would be happy to send you the coordinat
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail IMG_5416
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail IMG_5391
es. Happy Overlanding.
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Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail IMG_5436
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail IMG_5431
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail IMG_5421
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail IMG_5347
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail IMG_5396
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MDV Hank

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My canopy arrived 4 days before my Christmas 4300 mile trip with a few days of camping while traveling from the Florida Keys to Green bay WI, PA, VA and SC. I didn't put the RTT on for this trip i wanted to do a shake down trip but the canopy is great, other than frozen locks which I was prepared for however my key fob battery didn't do so well in 19 degree weather. I'm glad I reviewed the owners manual two years ago.
 
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Padre

Padre

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My canopy arrived 4 days before my Christmas 4300 mile trip with a few days of camping while traveling from the Florida Keys to Green bay WI, PA, VA and SC. I didn't put the RTT on for this trip i wanted to do a shake down trip but the canopy is great, other than frozen locks which I was prepared for however my key fob battery didn't do so well in 19 degree weather. I'm glad I reviewed the owners manual two years ago.
It looks great. I love mine. Have fun with it.
 

Mac Attack

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Will be buying Jeep Gladiator
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Whatever you want...I can supervise!
So we did the Colorado section of the Shadow of the Rockies trail, which the southern portion to Buena Vista is also the Trans America Trail. We started in Branson, CO, which is mainly rural gravel roads until you cross under I-25 and get to Viana Canyon. We didn’t start until around 2 PM so we only had a couple of hours before we had to start looking for a place to camp. A lot of the land around this section is private so it was difficult to find something. But we finally found some on public land. No one had camped there before so we made our own fire ring. I have the coordinates so if you are in this section and would like them, message me. It would make a great camp site. It was up a ridge away from the road but you will definitely need 4 wheel drive to get up there. This campsite was off Bear Creek Road before you get to Le Veta

The next day, we continued on through Le Veta. At State road 69, the SotR trail joins the Enchanted Rockies trail. At one point, they separate and come back together. We took the ER trail as it looked more technical and it took us up to 11,000 feet. We took a side trip to look at Bishop Castle. There is a great story behind that. Apparently this man has been building this castle all by himself all his life. We saw him out there, wheelbarrow in hand, hauling rocks up continuing his work.

After that, the ER trail breaks off at Johnson gulch and heads for the Garden of the Gods. We kept on, having lunch in Westcliff and then on through Cotopaxi. We ended up camping about 10 miles north of Cotopaxi around Stoney Face Mountain. Our 1st night above 10,000 feet. It got down to 28 degrees that night but it was nothing that our Mr. Buddy couldn’t handle.

The next day, we traveled through Salida and had breakfast and then stopped at the Next Eddy Fly shop to get some waders for my buddy and some flies. We hadn’t fished up to this point because we wanted to make sure we could get Tin Cup Pass in. So we headed up to Tin Cup. There was snow on the trail and we could only make out one other set of tracks. So it seems only one other vehicle had gone before us. It was awesome. It was my 1st pass like this. I had it in 4 low the whole way, mainly in 2nd gear but sometimes in 1stto crawl over some rocks. My Mojave is a standard transmission but allows me to crawl in 1st and even 2nd so I don’t have to use the clutch. At the top, we celebrated with a shot of Tin Cup Bourbon. There was much more snow on the backside. So much that you couldn’t even see the trail on Old Tin Cup, so we didn’t take that.

We made our way down and ended up camping in Wheelbarrow Gulch off Rocky Brook Road right along the Rocky Brook. It got down to 24 degrees that night. After breakfast, we broke down as we needed to head up to the Encampment River in Wyoming. But after we broke done and started driving, we saw a spot in the brook that looked like it should hold fish. And we were right. We rigged up our fly rods and for 2 hours, caught our fill of little brook rainbows and browns.

We finished fishing around noon and headed for Crested Butte and over Keebler Pass. We stayed with the Shadow of the Rockies to the point where it breaks off SR 133 and starts to head through Hayrack Park and up to Rifle. We had to head up 133 toward Steamboat and into Wyoming.

All in all, we camped 3 nights and averaged 100 miles a day for 4 days. If you are
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail tempImageCvnPnP
interested in any of my camp sites, I would be happy to send you the coordinat
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail tempImageCvnPnP
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail tempImageCvnPnP
es. Happy Overlanding.
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail tempImageCvnPnP
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail tempImageCvnPnP
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail tempImageCvnPnP
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail tempImageCvnPnP
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail tempImageCvnPnP
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail tempImageCvnPnP
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail tempImageCvnPnP
Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail tempImageCvnPnP



Jeep Gladiator Shadow of the Rockies Trail tempImageCvnPnP
Loven'it Bro...need to link up during our overlanding adventures to fly-fish! It's not about the destination, but about the journey!
 

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Padre

Padre

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Loven'it Bro...need to link up during our overlanding adventures to fly-fish! It's not about the destination, but about the journey!
That would be cool. When is your next trip? We are doing Utah the month of March.
 

Mac Attack

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Whatever you want...I can supervise!
That would be cool. When is your next trip? We are doing Utah the month of March.
Too soon for me...summer, at the earliest.
 

Byrnesy

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Magnificent photos of beautiful country.
I'm hoping my RHD JTR can see it with me in the next few years.
 
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Padre

Padre

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Magnificent photos of beautiful country.
I'm hoping my RHD JTR can see it with me in the next few years.
Yeah it was really fun. Defiantly got to do it. We saw hardly no one on the trail. I love winter camping because it is so cold, I am usually by myself.
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