JadeRunner
Rising Sun Member
I had one night and one day available by myself (no kids) to run the 4Runner Jamboree based out of Glenwood. I was able to leave Evergreen at 10am to make the 6pm raffle in Glenwood and see all the Runner guys again. So since I-70 traffic would be bad Sat., I decided to run Red Cone, Radical and Glacier Ridge on the way. The Glacier Ridge (Missouri Gulch) rock garden was quite fun. It was dry this time and I managed to get through it going up this year with just one rock stack. My new Tundra coils up front and new OME's everywhere else gave me more lift and turned out to be a sweet suspension setup. I was loving it. I saw Mark Cheney (Shorty) coming down the trail with his friends. I kept moving up to Georgia Pass, down to Breck., and made it to Glenwood by 5pm.
After the raffle I camped under the stars at Taylor Lake near Taylor Pass and the divide, fished and wheeled the Taylor divide area the next morning and met the group at the Pearl Pass trailhead. The runner group got a late start with various rig problems and then we had a 2 hour delay with a 2nd gen runner that lost a bolt on his steering mechanism. It always seems to be the modified 2nd gens that have problems on these events. Plus this event always has a lot of new comers getting "experienced" as they go. We finally made it up to Pearl Pass at 2:30pm. It was a spectacular and slow moving run down toward the Butte. Then, another 2nd gen guy wasn't paying and drove off the road and was dangerously close to rolling. We used my snatch block, and Ric winched him back on the road. A strap to his slider prevented him from rolling when winching him back up (been there-done that-never again). I said goodbye to the group and kept rolling to Italian Pass to meet up with my wife who was staying in Dillon that night. I made it there by midnight.
Italian Pass was the most exciting Pass I have ever done. This is a gem. Specifically the upper Reno Divide section and American Flag Mtn. side trip. I know the club is running this in a few weeks. This upper section is a very narrow tight road with VERY few passing sections and very limited visibility to oncoming traffic. Granted traffic is probably low on this section. But, meeting a group coming the other direction would be a disaster. The rock ledge itself was a bit of a rock garden on a shelf road. There were several large rocks that had to be driven over to stay away from the edge, which would get you tippy (35 degrees plus). Being lifted on 33's and going down it, I could pretty much just tip toe over the rocks. Going up would be more difficult. A stocker would have his hands full and it would freak out an inexperienced driver. Especially if they got hung up and had to be strapped. I haven't driven this section before, but based on all the pictures I have see, I think this section has gotten worse. I would advise sending any stockers on the low road if going up.
American Flag Mtn. on the Taylor side of Italian Rd. is spectacular. It's a fun little drive up to the top, that offers commanding views of the whole area. It was getting dark, but I tried to copy Darren and get a poser pic near the flag. But, my 4 year old 2 mega pixel camera needs to be replaced, everything is grainy now. So all my pictures are very poor quality. I aired up on Cottonwood Pass and was ready for some pavement.
You guys are going to have a blast on the tripple bypass.
Pics go like this -
Red Cone with Denver in the rain Sat. AM. - Taylor Lake early AM
Pearl Pass Meeting place - Pearl Pass
Pearl Pass guys coming up Pearl
After the raffle I camped under the stars at Taylor Lake near Taylor Pass and the divide, fished and wheeled the Taylor divide area the next morning and met the group at the Pearl Pass trailhead. The runner group got a late start with various rig problems and then we had a 2 hour delay with a 2nd gen runner that lost a bolt on his steering mechanism. It always seems to be the modified 2nd gens that have problems on these events. Plus this event always has a lot of new comers getting "experienced" as they go. We finally made it up to Pearl Pass at 2:30pm. It was a spectacular and slow moving run down toward the Butte. Then, another 2nd gen guy wasn't paying and drove off the road and was dangerously close to rolling. We used my snatch block, and Ric winched him back on the road. A strap to his slider prevented him from rolling when winching him back up (been there-done that-never again). I said goodbye to the group and kept rolling to Italian Pass to meet up with my wife who was staying in Dillon that night. I made it there by midnight.
Italian Pass was the most exciting Pass I have ever done. This is a gem. Specifically the upper Reno Divide section and American Flag Mtn. side trip. I know the club is running this in a few weeks. This upper section is a very narrow tight road with VERY few passing sections and very limited visibility to oncoming traffic. Granted traffic is probably low on this section. But, meeting a group coming the other direction would be a disaster. The rock ledge itself was a bit of a rock garden on a shelf road. There were several large rocks that had to be driven over to stay away from the edge, which would get you tippy (35 degrees plus). Being lifted on 33's and going down it, I could pretty much just tip toe over the rocks. Going up would be more difficult. A stocker would have his hands full and it would freak out an inexperienced driver. Especially if they got hung up and had to be strapped. I haven't driven this section before, but based on all the pictures I have see, I think this section has gotten worse. I would advise sending any stockers on the low road if going up.
American Flag Mtn. on the Taylor side of Italian Rd. is spectacular. It's a fun little drive up to the top, that offers commanding views of the whole area. It was getting dark, but I tried to copy Darren and get a poser pic near the flag. But, my 4 year old 2 mega pixel camera needs to be replaced, everything is grainy now. So all my pictures are very poor quality. I aired up on Cottonwood Pass and was ready for some pavement.
You guys are going to have a blast on the tripple bypass.
Pics go like this -
Red Cone with Denver in the rain Sat. AM. - Taylor Lake early AM
Pearl Pass Meeting place - Pearl Pass
Pearl Pass guys coming up Pearl
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