Medano Pass, Colorado (part one)

[LoboGunLeather]

Northwest of Gardner and southwest of Westcliffe, Colorado there is a beautiful pass over the Sangre De Cristo mountains leading into the Great Sand Dunes National Monument. Unimproved road, definitely 4-wheel drive country, one of the nicest parts of San Isabel National Forest. I enjoy camping there, riding the ATV, and occasionally a bit of shooting.

Spent a couple of nights there recently, relaxing and eating things my wife frowns upon at home.

Very pleasant. Photos show my little camp, nice steak smothered in onions and mushrooms with fried potatoes on the side, breakfast of sausage, eggs, and buiscuts (slathered with butter, of course), and a little mid-day snack of fried spam sandwiches.

Be sure and see Part Two (the Thunderstick).

 

[Jst1mr]

I was about to come looking for you....... until that Spam part. Guess I could bring my own Braunschweiger, though....and I guess my own beer, too, from what I 'm seeing. Moved from Montrose, CO in '96 - really miss them mountains! Great pictures!

 

[M3Stuart]

Propane tank?!? Paper plates?!? Lawn chairs?!? My gosh man, you ARE roughing it AREN"T you!

Looks like fun to me!

 

[J. R. WEEMS]

Was through there last Summer-- Nice area.

 

[justintyme]

Very Nice Ray, good to see you take a break from the leather shop once in a while. Really liking that new J frame IWB holster I got from you last week!

 

[arjay]

That's a nice looking spot.
Almost makes me want to break out the camping gear

 

[Taurus627]

Spent many a summer weekend camping in the Colorado mountains growing up. That is about the only part of Colorado I miss!!

 

[feralmerril]

Your makeing it hard on me. I have been haveing to be handy for my wife as she is laid up in a cast. I hope to get out in a month or two but for now I am pretty much town bound.

 

[arjay]

It's rough when your mountain count is down.

 

[Sven]

Been way too long since we've spent time in the mountains. Hoping to take off for a couple weeks this summer. I have to decide between Montana and Colorado. If MT, I'll follow hwy 200 from it's beginning in MN all the way into Idaho. If CO, we'll spend some time in the Leadville/Holy Cross area.

I just checked -- All For Fun (The Mile High Jeep Club event) is during my "quick change" week. I'd have to take two weeks of vacation to get the one week off. MT, here I come.

Work keeps getting in the way of the important stuff. Time to retire!

 

[BearBio]

Northwest of Gardner and southwest of Westcliffe, Colorado there is a beautiful pass over the Sangre De Cristo mountains leading into the Great Sand Dunes National Monument. Unimproved road, definitely 4-wheel drive country, one of the nicest parts of San Isabel National Forest. I enjoy camping there, riding the ATV, and occasionally a bit of shooting.

Spent a couple of nights there recently, relaxing and eating things my wife frowns upon at home.

Very pleasant. Photos show my little camp, nice steak smothered in onions and mushrooms with fried potatoes on the side, breakfast of sausage, eggs, and buiscuts (slathered with butter, of course), and a little mid-day snack of fried spam sandwiches.

Be sure and see Part Two (the Thunderstick).

You had me until the Spam!

 

[galena]

Ray, That is my stompin' ground. I'm glad you had a good time. I saw the Medano Part II before I saw Part I. Nice little rifle in Part II. And, I'm with you on the Spam.........good stuff. The older I get the more stuff I have to pack along on a camping trip to be comfortabel.

 

[25elk]

Those pictures really make me homesick. I can almost smell that campfire and the Aspens, pines and fir trees. There is nowhere on this earth like the high country in the rockies. I spent 20 years living in the San Juans and the only thing I don't miss is the 40 to 50 below zero temps of mid-winter.

 

[shouldazagged]

Let's hear it for fried spam sandwiches!

 

[Cpo1944]

My son and I went to the San Juans 3 years ago in his Jeep Rubicon to do the "Black Bear Pass"
We had heard so much about it and how rough it was- well I was disappointed it wasn`t that bad at all. I believe I could do it in my MB E-500 4 matic wagon. It might cost me a rocker panel or two but what the hey? Well I guess maybe the gas tank might not be too happy afterward, so I recon the MB will stay on the paved road.
The scenery was absolutely breathtaking I want to go back.

 

[ACP230]

I thought I'd see some S&Ws nearby to protect those meals.

Haven't camped in a while as every rock in the area seems to migrate
to places underneath my bedroll along about three in the morning.
Your photos might make me forget that problem, for a while.

 

[Sven]

Black Bear Pass

Black Bear Pass is more intimidating rather than tough -- still a great trail, though. I could spend a month between Silverton and Ouray! Now the Holy Cross City jeep trail north of Leadville will give your rockers a goin' over. Wish I could join the Mile High Jeep Club this summer, but it's not in the cards.

Colorado sure has some great jeepin'!!! Thaks for the pics!

 

[rburg]

I just checked -- All For Fun (The Mile High Jeep Club event) is during my "quick change" week. I'd have to take two weeks of vacation to get the one week off.

The All-4-Fun is a different format. You can register for the 2nd half of the week if you want. We're gonna poach it instead. Go there at the same time but not participate except maybe to visit a bunch of friends who will attend.

My DIL has never had a mountain vacation, so we're staying in Chalk Creek Canyon. Just up stream from where K.38 here lives. I could spend a month in that canyon. Maybe I'll do that next year.

 

[vigil617]

A little further south in the Sangre de Christo -- "Blood of Christ" -- Mountains is the Boy Scouts' Philmont Scout Ranch, where I had the privilege of spending 10 days trekking back when I was 14, including the 12, 443' peak "Baldy Mountain." What a lovely range they are, as your pictures attest. Always hope to go back someday.

I think I was tougher at 14 though! Certainly leaner, that's for sure!

 

[kyf]

Grew up in the San Luis Valley. Did a lot of camping and backpacking in the San Juan's and Sangre De Cristos. Beautiful area to get away from it all. Nice menu btw. Everything tastes better coked in the mountains over a campfire.