TR: It's Good to be Back in Colorado for Some Wheeling and Some Camping

[Kya]

Every June once school is out, we spend a few weeks in Hawaii with my wife's mom and family. This year we spent four weeks on Oahu: going to the beach (Red Sand Beach, Maui)...


hiking through the rain forest...


and helping my mother-in-law around the yard. It's so easy to settle into the HiLife and leaving that place gets harder every year.


Luckily we get to come home to Colorado and settling into the Rocky Mountain high is just as soothing. We were anxious to get into the backcountry and bounce around on some mountain passes. We left Eagle on Sunday afternoon and headed for Shrine Pass off the south side of Vail Pass. We found a nice spot up Lime Creek for the night. Then it dumped a lot of rain.




At about noon the next day, we packed up and made our way to the beginning of Ptarmigan Pass. The first few miles up Wearyman Road are rocky, and tight with brush. Just the kind of excitement we were looking for.









Sliders took their first hit.


Fun and beautiful trail all the way to the summit.






A perfect spot to have lunch below the summit of Ptarmigan Peak.


The south side of Ptarmigan Pass is much easier. Right at the base of Resolution Mountain seemed like a sweet spot to spend the night.



Then it rained hard again. A little too wet for a campfire.


That's more like it!

[Kya]

The next morning was beautiful and we passed the time with some ladder golf in a beautiful setting.


It was cool to be in this area during the summer months. In the winter we snowmobile and backountry ski all over Ptarmigan and Resolution. Love this place. We cruised down to Camp Hale and had to take the pavement over to Leadville. After a quick lunch we headed over to Turquoise Reservoir and scouted out the camping options. Lots of campsites and people all squished together didn't sound too appealing, so we headed up Hagerman Pass instead.

Ahhhh, that's more like it. With a light steady rain, and low clouds, the wheeling was very enjoyable.





We didn't get spectacular views from summit, but misty fog added an extra sense of adventure....especially dropping down the north side of the pass.





We had planned on camping at Ivanhoe Lake. The scenery was nice, but at just about 11,000 feet and a steady wind, we decided it was too cold.



A couple of miles down the road we found our favorite campsite of the trip. Lots of space, no people. Maybe my favorite part was sharing the site with this snotel station. We use these all winter to track snowstrom totals and sniff out the best powder stashes.





Some ladder golf surrounded by beautiful mountains? Oh yeah!


The next morning we had to head home to Eagle. After a few miles of pavement on Frying Pan Road, we turned off the pavement to begin our final pass of the trip, Crooked Top Pass. I love this area since it is located in Eagle's backyard.




Scouting some ski zones for the winter.


An awesome couple of days and the best way to get back into the Colorado lifestyle.

[FiveLarge]

Good stuff, Mark.

[MakersTeleMark]

Noice. Our backyard doesn't suck, does it?

[TeleThor]

I have one major problem with this TR...

It's called Testicle Toss!

[QUOTE=Kya;4024546]The next morning was beautiful and we passed the time with some ladder golf in a beautiful setting.

[Danno]

sweet stuff

[Kya]

The balls jokes were definitely "solid." For a while we were calling it the Hanging Balls game. Since we had my daughter's friend with us, I had to maintain some level of maturity. But middle schoolers aren't afraid of balls jokes.

[IridePow]

Now that's a proper family outing!

[montanaskier]

best TR of the summer!

[Pow4Brains]

D00d!!! That camper fits $$$$.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using TGR Forums

[MakersTeleMark]

Noticed the new rig as well. What happened to the old one?

[The SnowShow]

Awesome tr

[Kya]

Thanks Andrew. We need to do a Tundra get together before school starts up again.

Noticed the new rig as well. What happened to the old one?

Hey man. The Dodge is great still. Been fun driving around a fast little pick up with no weight in the back. It was just too unsafe and uncomfortable for the family in the tiny extracab space. The four door Tundra feels like a limo with the huge backseat. Check your Pms, I have a question about installing a fridge. Our 3-way crapped out.

[PowTrout]

What kind of pop-topper is that? Looks like it would be perfect for my truck (Tacoma access cab w/ 6 foot bed). How much are those things? Do well in the winter?

[DaHeel]

Great summer stoke!