First 4x4 Trip: Alpine Loop and Tin Cup Pass (Colorado)

The wife and my first off roading adventure, both in the new Tundra and really ever.

I did not ignore warnings from @joonbug, @Pale_Horse, @zcarpenter92, @Eclipsed & Floating, and others, about the sliders -- I considered their comments, weighed the risks and went on with our plans anyway. For those who enjoy a good smirk and laugh at others expense with the condescending air of "I told you so", you should keep reading.

planning: hastily done by wife, with moderate encouragement from me, out of excitement for the new Tundra (I passed on the Folsom Field Dead & Co shows). I think we decided on this trip Sunday 08 July, and really started detail planning on Wednesday 11 July for a Friday the 13th departure. She was really itching to get the Tundra into the San Juans and has been wanting to do the Alpine Loop since we turned around in our Subaru a few years ago, so this trip had some momentum behind it once we signed the papers on the truck. For those who read my noob intro thread, giving the wife access to more natural beauty was a primary reason for getting the Tundra.

we referenced the Wells and Peterson Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails

participants: just me and Mrs H. Our daughter was initially in, but she adopted an anchor puppy a few months ago and didn't have enough confidence in the dog's training to bring him in our new truck, or risk the pet deposit at the rental cabin.

itinerary (one weekend, 13-15 July 2018): leave work in Boulder area Friday afternoon, drive West (285 South to 112 W). stay at a cabin rental in South Fork, spend Saturday on the Alpine Loop (Cinnamon Pass & Engineer Pass), drive home Sunday, passing through Tin Cup Pass on the way. back to the matrix on Monday.

music: using our free trial of XM satellite radio in the Tundra. Usually it was on the Deep Tracks channel, but twice the wife changed it to the Bridge. I retaliated with Jam On and then we compromised on Classic Vinyl.

 

part 1: the road trip West

Our first long distance trip in the Tundra.

snacks packed (black licorice, pistachios, chips, apples). cooler packed. The Tundra provided a nice, really nice, smooth ride on the interstate. Our intent is for the Subaru Outback to remain our primary car but we could get used to this.

Stopped for dinner in Buena Vista at House Rock Kitchen. I travel through BV several times a year and will definitely come back here. Made it to South Fork and checked into our cabin, planning for a 7AM breakfast before our 4x4 adventure.

awesome double rainbow spotted on the way. apologies for ugly ass truck in the picture.

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part 2: the Alpine Loop

woke Saturday morning and had breakfast at Feelin' Good Coffee House and Cafe. good breakfast, great service, great coffee. Would've gone back Sunday but they're closed for the Sabbath.

now, I had been warned by members here that the Tundra would be too big and wide for the Alpine Loop. I'd be "that guy" at switchbacks holding everyone up. I was also warned that I needed sliders for this: "don't do any blue routes without sliders and a full skid plate setup". I had the skids but not the sliders. my research at other sites, conversations with friends who drove the Alpine Loop and my experience turning around on Cinnamon Pass in my Subie, all convinced me that i knew better (foreshadowing here for the less-than-astute reader).

deflating the tires as we started on the trip made me feel like a real 4-wheeler guy.

We started on Cinnamon Pass in Lake City. no issues at all on the Green portion of the road. we took the side road to the ghost town of Carson, which was notably rougher, but no trouble for our stock Tundra. The rest of the trip E to W on Cinnamon Pass was rated blue as well, but posed no difficulty. we scraped bottom twice, which probably could be avoided with a different line. either way, the sound of rocks pinging off my skid plates is starting to sound like music to my ears.

Entry to Cinnamon Pass


Alpine view


Beautiful truck from the top of Cinnamon Pass
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The trip back W to E is on the other half of the Alpine Loop called Engineer Pass. this section is known to be rougher than Cinnamon Pass, but also posed no issues. never even scraped bottom on the Tundra, clearly the wife and I becoming better drivers. Saw two other Tundras on the way, spent too much time looking at the ass-end of a 150. NO issues with size of the Tundra on this trail -- never needed to reverse in order to make a turn. we were moving slower than most, but that was mostly due to inexperience (and we were probably pulling over to let traffic pass us more than was required).

Whitmore Falls

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Canyon exiting east end of Engineer Pass


Lake Sand Cristobal Overlook


I'd like to hear the realtor: "a minor fixer-upper: coat of paint and some carpet and this baby's good as new!"


Beautiful truck


Bears!


More bears!!

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at this point, never having the slightest bit of trouble, I'm starting to question the credibility of Tundras.com posters regarding rock sliders and other aspects (more foreshadowing).

A bit of Colorado history on the way back
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Dinner at in Lake City at Poker Alice Pizza. meh, won't be back.

 

Subbed for rest of the story. Oh, the suspense!

 

Absolutely loved Tin Cup pass when we went over it on four wheelers a long time ago, would love to drive that trail in the Tundra someday. But I’ll definitely have sliders and skids when I do it (I’m kind of a pansy in regards to the ride). Didn’t know we had grizzlies/brown bears in CO either!

 

part 3: the road trip home via Tin Cup Pass

breakfast Sunday in Del Norte at the Mystic Biscuit. also very good -- I'd stop back.

drove North to Tin Cup for our next adventure, quite confident from our success the day before. It wasn't very far up the pass before we discovered this was MUCH rougher and harder driving than we experienced on the Alpine Loop the day before. this is despite the book rating both routes as Blue in our guide book, both with the comment of "in good weather, this can be driven by a stock SUV" -- I'm not so sure of this (final foreshadowing).

we never got stuck, but spent a lot more time out of the truck scouting ahead. once we bottomed out and had to backup and try a different tact.

we ended up trashing the runner boards. inspection looks like no damage to the frame, but I'm now painfully aware of just how badly I need sliders (see post here) before doing any more of these trails.

I assume I'm not the first idiot to do this, and am grateful I didn't do real damage to the Tundra. I hope at least one poster is getting a good laugh at my expense.

conclusion: loved this trip. my next trip back here will coordinate time for me and the kids to make an attempt at a few of the mountain summits in that area. need 4x4 partners to do these trips with (ideally partners who like to hike and climb).

Start of trail in Tin Cup


Hail storm at the pass summitt


Mirror Lake


Beauty and the beasts


home in the mountains


moose
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it's dark. i'll get some pix of the trashed runner boards tomorrow.

 

I don't believe we do. 99% sure those were black bears.

 

They sure look brown, but what the hell do I know haha. Too bad it wasn’t bear season and you didn’t have a tag!

 

@hokiehead hell yeah man! That's what wheeling is all about. Destroy some stuff, be honest and learn from it, keep wheeling!! Always makes me happy to see newbies out there that are honest with themselves to learn from it.

If it makes you feel better, last year on a wheeling trip I almost rolled my crawler on its roof on effectively a large pebble. This was 20min into our 3 day trail ride.... learnt from it and kept wheeling.

 

link

 

Only black bears in CO. Black bears can be black, dark brown, brown, cinnamon and even blonde.

Same here in CA.

 

Well that’d sure ruin someone’s day if they were hunting one and didn’t know that.

 

That's why you have to know your bears. Tracks look different in the claw/toes as well if tracking.

 

Awesome read!

 

So cool. Thank you for sharing.

 

lol don’t worry. Tearing up your steps or popping dents into your rocker panels is kind of like a rite of passage, you got the lesser of 2 evils tho bud. Just it let’s you know that it is definitely time for sliders and that big ticket mod will be worth every penny...

This was an excellent trip report. I hope you keep posting them. And I hope all you guys out west truly appreciate what you guys have out your back door.

 

Great report. Thanks for sharing.

This^^^^

 

Great pics and fun story

 

Glad you had so much fun. Great pics. You're not the first to destroy OEM steps by a long shot. I'd say it's a toss up whether I see more bumper parts or steps littering the sides of trails.

 

Nice Hokie!

Was the Tin Cup pass portion between Tincup and St. Elmo? I have been wanting to do that for a while.

 

yep, that's the one. I'll join you after I get my sliders

 

I guess it varies from year to year, but never would have thought I needed sliders.

 

“I told you so” is never something I would say...

...until I know you well enough

Really though, damage is part of wheeling so be thankful you’ve already gotten some so it doesn’t feel as bad next time! Sorry there’s damage, but HELL YEAH!!!!! Looks like you had a great trip. Envy doesn’t suit me very well but I’m full of it right now

 

definitely. I grew up in the Midwest and then lived on the East coast for 30'ish years before moving to Colorado. never leaving.

 

Part 4. The Aftermath

Passenger's side


Passenger's side close

Driver's side