Off-Roading Lite Duty

If you watch True Grit, you'll notice Chimney Rock above Owl Creek Pass behind John Wayne when he "takes the reins in his teeth and fills his hands with iron." You'll also see Chimney Rock in John Wayne's Cow Boys.

My wife, Barbara hates waiting hours for off-road adventurers to winch through a mud bog, get the group up a challenging hill, or rebuild a broken rig. She also hates long commutes in a noisy, uncomfortable, hard-to-climb-into 4x4.
Fortunately, she loves touring beautiful backcountry trails. Especially in the San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado when there is a comfortable motel and restaurant meal at the end of the trail. For our honeymoon and each fall in our early years together, we towed a VW dune buggy to Colorado to tour the back roads and photograph the high country. During those years we began to envy off-road adventurers who had 4x4s with low-range; they could go even more places than the VW did, furthermore they could slow-crawl up the mountain roads allowing more time to enjoy the scenery. With low-range, they could even stop on the steepest uphill grades, and their brakes didn't overheat on the downgrades.

There are grand views of the San Juans from the car roads, but the views are far more spectacular when your off-road adventure takes you thousands of feet above the blacktop.

In '86, we bought a new 4-Runner and enjoyed exploring the backcountry even more. I continually upgraded the Toyota with taller tires, gears, lift, lockers, and a winch. I started 'wheeling more challenging trails and camping with clubs.

Unfortunately, Barbara enjoyed my off-road adventures and backcountry camping less, and she vacationed with me less often. However, after we built a home on the family farm, she needed an SUV to commute over our Ozark country roads. So this year for vacation we compromised and drove her comfortable, fuel efficient 2004 Kia Sorento to a condo in Ouray, Colorado. Crossing Oklahoma, we cruised in luxury getting 22 mpg. On Monarch Pass (US 50) and The Million Dollar Highway (US 550), the Kia's responsive V6, 4-wheel disk brakes, and sporty steering were much superior to my Ol' Toyota.

Owl Creek Pass between Cimarron and Ridgeway is a beautiful but rough car road. Be sure to explore its scenic 4x4 side roads.

I've always agreed with what C. W. McCall, who immortalized the mountains in his Wolf Creek Pass and Black Bear Road songs said in his San Juan Odyssey, "The San Juan Mountains are the roughest, toughest, steepest mountains in the West. You can hike 'em if you've got the legs, you can ride 'em if you've got a horse, or you can jeep 'em, if you've got the nerve, but one thing is for sure; you can't see this country any other way, you've got to climb it." So we had to climb the mountains even though it was in an unmodified KIA.
When we reached Cimarron between Gunnison and Montrose on US 50, we aired-down our 16" BFG Rugged Trail tires to 22-psi and headed up one of our favorite scenic washboard roads past Silver Jack

Except for going up Poughkeepsie Gulch, the alpine Loop trails between Ouray, Lake City, and Silverton are great trails for stock SUVs.

Reservoir and over Owl Creek Pass to Ridgway. With the tires at 22 psi, the ride was more comfortable off-pavement; yet steering control remained manageable on-pavement at reduced highway speeds. If we had brought an air compressor or a Powertank, I would have aired-down farther for an even softer off-road ride and reinflated the tires for the highway drives between trails.

Knowing that we were going on limited off-road adventures, we carried some basic tools and a tow strap but never needed them.

 

Several Jeep rental agencies and off-road tour companies operate in the San Juans.

And since the Kia lacks adequate skid-plates, I studied its underside, memorizing where the gas tank, muffler, and other exposed parts were located so I could steer them away from taller rocks on the trails, and we avoided rock ledges like those in Poughkeepsie Gulch.
An early snow closed the highest off-road passes, but we still had plenty of scenic trails to explore. The Sorento easily handled the trails in Yankee Boy Basin. The rougher sections of Engineer and Imogene Passes required careful tire placement, but we could have gone on to Lake City and Telluride if it weren't for the snow. We went everywhere the rental Jeeps and 4x4 tours were going. On Last Dollar Road and the side-trails off Owl Creek Pass, Barbara enjoyed driving her KIA; a milestone since she had always refused to drive my 4-Runner off-road.

Last Dollar Road is the most beautiful trail you may ever drive. It is an easy drive when its dry and almost impassible when its muddy.

Our off-road adventure in Barbara's stock SUV proved to be satisfying for her, and for me it was an opportunity to practice the driving skills that I haven't needed since the Ol' Toyota was new. We want to experience more of these easy-riding off-road adventures in the future; perhaps we'll also explore some of Moab's picturesque trails which are only two or three hours west of Ridgway by back-road blacktops. Barbara has never experienced the beauty of Moab's trails like Fins and Things or Hell's Revenge; and if the Jeep Safari isn't going on, we may even be able to get into motels and restaurants. However, before we do it again, I'd like to add some adjustable shock absorbers and auxiliary lights to illuminate the deer before they leap into the road.

Contacts:
www.ridgwaycolorado.com
www.ouraycolorado.com/Visitor+Guide
www.4x4now.com/mu4wd.htm