Hi everyone
I just returned from a trip to the San Juan Mountains of Colorado with my family. It was great and we love our LR4 even more for taking us to areas that would otherwise be inaccessible to us.
I think most LR4 owners are aware of this but Silverton/Ouray/Telluride area of Colorado is an off-roader's dream. Every 3rd vehicle is a Jeep and this area must have the highest number of Jeeps and other off-road capable vehicles any where that I know of. Numerous books are available that describe the trails and their various aspects difficulty, scenic or historic significance etc. I got 3 such books and relied on them to decide where to go. I have a young family and did not want to extend the limits of my kids and wife's risk tolerance. Also - I normally do not part take in any activity that I think is beyond my abilities.
So with a lot of research we did Yankee Boy Basin (Day 1), Corkscrew Gulch, Hurricane Pass, California Pass and California Gulch (Day 2) and finally the Clear Lake Trail (Day 3). I wanted to do the Alpine Loop i.e. Engineer Pass and Cinnamon Pass but storms were in the forecast and I didi not want to be on a bad part of a trail when the storm hit.
I selected the above mentioned trails for their moderate difficulty level and for their scenic ratings (because we primarily enjoy sight seeing and scenic driving). These trails are no cake walk. They will over-stretch the abilities of a beginner and will definitely turn a beginner into an intermediate off-roader. There are steep grades, very rocky stretches and sharp/tight switch backs on these trails. About 90% of the trail might be straight forward but the remaining 10% will get you attention and some. My wife decided to walk a few spots as it was too much for her tolerance levels as shelf roads got very narrow with huge drop offs and in some places tire placement and vehicle articulation was paramount to not going over. Also - the ability to allow any on coming traffic to pass, or to pass-by someone else with inches to spare requires experience and nerves. Persons fearful of height should not drive these trails - regardless of trail's difficulty rating.
LR4 performed seamlessly and as usual made me look like (and feel like) a better driver than I actually am. The wizardry in this machine is just remarkable and I am now in love with this vehicle.
I got Cooper Zeon LTZ tires (and a full sized spare) for this trip. I think that was a wise choice as some of the trails are very rocky and the rocks are very sharp. These tires provided much needed traction on very steep ascents/descents and their rugged tread handled the sharp rocks quite well.
I've added photos/videos to share the experience.
Videos:
(I will add more videos in the next few days)
http://jawad.zenfolio.com/p267549748/h2b9bfff7#h2b9bfff7
http://jawad.zenfolio.com/p267549748/h1cdeccaf#h1cdeccaf
Pictures:
http://jawad.zenfolio.com/p428800108
Needless to say that I highly recommend this area to all Land Rover owners.
Cheers!
I just returned from a trip to the San Juan Mountains of Colorado with my family. It was great and we love our LR4 even more for taking us to areas that would otherwise be inaccessible to us.
I think most LR4 owners are aware of this but Silverton/Ouray/Telluride area of Colorado is an off-roader's dream. Every 3rd vehicle is a Jeep and this area must have the highest number of Jeeps and other off-road capable vehicles any where that I know of. Numerous books are available that describe the trails and their various aspects difficulty, scenic or historic significance etc. I got 3 such books and relied on them to decide where to go. I have a young family and did not want to extend the limits of my kids and wife's risk tolerance. Also - I normally do not part take in any activity that I think is beyond my abilities.
So with a lot of research we did Yankee Boy Basin (Day 1), Corkscrew Gulch, Hurricane Pass, California Pass and California Gulch (Day 2) and finally the Clear Lake Trail (Day 3). I wanted to do the Alpine Loop i.e. Engineer Pass and Cinnamon Pass but storms were in the forecast and I didi not want to be on a bad part of a trail when the storm hit.
I selected the above mentioned trails for their moderate difficulty level and for their scenic ratings (because we primarily enjoy sight seeing and scenic driving). These trails are no cake walk. They will over-stretch the abilities of a beginner and will definitely turn a beginner into an intermediate off-roader. There are steep grades, very rocky stretches and sharp/tight switch backs on these trails. About 90% of the trail might be straight forward but the remaining 10% will get you attention and some. My wife decided to walk a few spots as it was too much for her tolerance levels as shelf roads got very narrow with huge drop offs and in some places tire placement and vehicle articulation was paramount to not going over. Also - the ability to allow any on coming traffic to pass, or to pass-by someone else with inches to spare requires experience and nerves. Persons fearful of height should not drive these trails - regardless of trail's difficulty rating.
LR4 performed seamlessly and as usual made me look like (and feel like) a better driver than I actually am. The wizardry in this machine is just remarkable and I am now in love with this vehicle.
I got Cooper Zeon LTZ tires (and a full sized spare) for this trip. I think that was a wise choice as some of the trails are very rocky and the rocks are very sharp. These tires provided much needed traction on very steep ascents/descents and their rugged tread handled the sharp rocks quite well.
I've added photos/videos to share the experience.
Videos:
(I will add more videos in the next few days)
http://jawad.zenfolio.com/p267549748/h2b9bfff7#h2b9bfff7
http://jawad.zenfolio.com/p267549748/h1cdeccaf#h1cdeccaf
Pictures:
http://jawad.zenfolio.com/p428800108
Needless to say that I highly recommend this area to all Land Rover owners.
Cheers!
Last edited:
