January 28 - Annual Meeting & Potluck
trail: Calvary Church
near: Broomfield
rating: very easy
meet: Fellowship Hall at 6:00 p.m.
Join us for a look back at 2011 and a look forward to 2012. We will have our usual silly awards, a lot of good food and a great time of fellowship. I am hoping to have 2012 brochures ready to hand out at the meeting.
[Party Pics][Bill's Remarks][Awards]
February 18 - Snow 'Wheeling
trail: Dry St. Vrain
near: Lyons
rating: moderate
meet: Diamond Shamrock in Lyons at 10:00 a.m.
We found out about this easy trail west of Lyons last year. Snow should increase its difficulty to moderate but it should make a great winter 'wheeling trail. Join us for a day of playing in the snow. Chains are recommended.
[Trip Pics]
March 24 – Snow ‘Wheeling
trail: Russel Gulch
near: Idaho Springs
rating: moderate
meet: Ranger Station in Idaho Springs 9:00 a.m.
This normally-easy trail between Idaho Springs and Central City parallels Virginia Canyon (the Oh-My-God Road). It is full of old mining history and beautiful scenery. Going in the snow will make it a little more difficult, depending on how much snow is still there. This is late enough in the year the snow may already be gone or the trail could be impassable due to a spring blizzard. It might be good to bring your chains just in case.
[Trip Pics][Trip Report]
April 21 - Spring Warm-Up
trail: Rule Ridge
near: Deckers
rating: moderate to challenging
meet: Conoco in Sedalia 9:00 a.m.
This is a new trail for us. It parallels highway 67 south of Deckers. The main trail is listed as easy to moderate with an optional loop in the middle that is more challenging. It is not very high in elevation so, this late in April, it shouldn’t be major snow bashing but we may find a little snow left over here and there (and there is always the possibility of a late spring blizzard, bring your chains just in case).
[Trip Pics][Trip Report]
May 19 – Easy Trip for Beginners
trail: Pingree Park
near: Ft. Collins
rating: Easy
meet: Wagon Road Park-N-Ride 8:00 a.m.
Pingree Park Road itself is graded gravel and not 4x4 but it is a beautiful area between the Poudre Canyon and Buckhorn Canyon, west of Ft. Collins. We will include Monument Gulch and possibly West White Pine Mountain (depending on time) to make sure we actually use 4wd. This will be a great trip for newbies and stock vehicles. Of course, old timers in built rigs are welcome as well.
June 5-8 – Crawl 4 Christ
trail: various
near: Moab, UT
rating: moderate-extreme
meet: as per C4C schedule
The United Christian Off-Road Alliance (UCORA) will be holding its annual Crawl 4 Christ in Moab, UT, this year. In lieu of our usual spring break trip to Moab we will be joining them. Registration and information can be found at http://www.crawl4christ.com/ Registration cost will increase on March 1 and will increase again on May 1. Register early to get the best price.
June 16 - Ghost Town Hunting
trail: Moon Gulch/DakotaHill/Oregon Hill
near: Rollinsville
rating: easy-moderate
meet: McDonalds in Boulder, 9:00 a.m.
We have visited this area a few times over the past couple years but still have a few trails we haven’t done yet. This trip will try to rectify that as we explore this historical mining area.
July 8 – Sunday Drive
trail: Switzerland Trail, part 3
near: Boulder
rating: moderate
meet: McDonalds in Boulder 1:00 p.m.
When you finish the Switzerland Trail on the Gold Hill side there is actually more trail just across CR 52. We will take a Sunday afternoon to see where that trail leads and explore the area between Gold Hill and Left Hand Canyon.
July 20-22 – Short Weekend Getaway
trail: TBA
near: Red Feather Lakes
We’ll plan to go up Friday evening and set up camp, ‘wheel Saturday and possibly a short trip Sunday then break camp and come home Sunday afternoon/evening. More details to follow. Even if you can’t make it for the weekend, if you leave early Saturday morning you could join us for the day.
August 5-9 - Summer Excursion
trails: TBA
near: Salida
rating: moderate-difficult
meet: TBA
This trip will concentrate on the St. Elmo/Tin Cup area. The plan is to drive up Sunday, ‘wheel Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and come home Thursday. Everyone is on your own for accommodations. We can try to coordinate camping if you want to camp with the group, just let Bill know if you are interested. We will plan a variety of trails including easy/moderate for those who want it and challenging/difficult for those who want that. Some possible trails include: Tin Cup Pass, Pomeroy Lakes, Iron Chest and Grizzly Lake.
Late August/early September – Calvary Church Campout
trail: TBA
near: TBA
rating: TBA
meet: TBA
Calvary Church usually plans the Family Camp out around this time. When we find out when and where it will be, we will plan a trail run to go with it.
September 22 - Aspen Viewing #1
trail: Jones Pass & Bard Creek
near: Empire
rating: easy-moderate
meet: Burger King in Downieville at 9:00 a.m.
This is the aspen viewing trip for those that want an easy day of beautiful fall colors. Stock vehicles should have no problem. Jones Pass offers panoramic views from the high pass and Bard Creek includes a lot of mining remnants.
September 29 - Aspen Viewing #2
trail: Saran Wrap & Eagle Rock
near: Colorado Springs
rating: challenging
meet: Southgate Center, Lake Avenue & Southgate, Colorado Springs 9:30 a.m.
These challenging trails between Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek should offer a fun challenge and beautiful color. The area around Cripple Creek is noted for its large aspen groves and spectacular fall scenery. We will meet on the east side of the parking lot in Southgate Center just south of Red Robin.
October 20 – Fall Fiesta
trail: Hacket Gulch & Longwater Gulch
near: Deckers
rating: challenging
meet: Conoco in Sedalia 9:00 a.m.
Although we’ve done these trails before, it has been quite a while. This area was closed for several years after the Hayman Fire. The Gulches have reopened in the past few years; however, they can no longer be done as a loop crossing the Platte River. They are each open to the county line only and must be done as down and back routes. The challenging obstacles, Hacket Rock and Longwater Rock are part of the open route.
November 3 - End of the Season
trail: Mosquito Creek & Miners Gulch
near: Central City
rating: challenging
meet: By the porta-potty in Rollinville 9:30 a.m.
These would be the last of the major trails in the Yankee Hill area that we haven’t done yet. Miners Gulch is reported to be quite challenging. We’ll come into the area from Apex Road at Tolland, go down Mosquito Creek to Miners Gulch then up Miners Gulch to Yankee Hill. If there is a major snow storm, we may opt just to snow wheel on Apex Road and Mammoth Gulch instead. In that case, bring your chains.
November 23 or 24 - Turkey ‘Wheeling
trail: TBA
December & January 2012 - Snow ‘wheeling
dates & trails: TBA
Bonus Trips
In addition to the regularly scheduled trips, there
will be some last-minute, unofficial, bonus trips. Bill will email
those on the list to set these up. Destinations and difficulty will vary. They
probably won’t get announced at church. Email Bill
Andrews if you want to be added to
the list.
