Cool deal SkyJump, hope you can! I posted this over on JF in the Colorado group and one guy doubts the KJ.......LOL!!! It's the only thing that irritates me about having this. So many think I'm the typical KJ owner and this is the 1st 4x4 I ever owned or drove offroad. Sure surprises them when I go in the same places they do, or they say "uh, you sure you wanna follow us?"

Yeh, I know!!! I was wheeling and building XJ's long before they became popular and respected as they are now. In a crowd of like 50, mostly CJ's, Wranglers, and a few Yota's and old Bronco's.........I would be the only XJ and would get laughed at for bringing the grocery getter. Shut everyone up quick (except the Toyota's trucks, as they already knew the advantage extra wheelbase allowed), when they seen the lines I could make look easy compared to their shorter wheel base rigs. So, now I feel like I'm back at that point again and revel in it cause I know my rig, confident in the mods I've done, what it's capable of, and have the experience needed to get it through.


By the way, I'm pretty set on Buena Vista as my base camp while out there. But with Leadville and Brekenridge/Frisco just up the road, I could meet anyone for a day trip or overnight trek who wants to do a trail up that way. Such as Wheeler Lake, Radical Hill, Red Cone, or Twin Cones. Let me know, cause I won't have any set trails to do on any set days while I'm there. Just gonna try and wing it as I go.

We're getting rain here in BV right now. It is snowing 300 feet above us.

Like i said Mopar if i am around me and Sky well take you down there bro. I need a place to test the CRD libby out after it's surgery. plus my rubi needs to stretch its legs a bit.

Hey, seeing how you live right there, can you recommend a good campground, or a place close where free dispersed camping on BLM or NF land is allowed?

There are many places. We go about 10 miles southwest of town, up past Cottonwood lake. We have also camped in the 4 mile area around Chinaman. Lots of pull offs. Also, on the north side of 285 just east of Johnson Village you can camp anywhere in there. Lots of trails too. From 285 about 6 miles east of Johnson Village, there is a road, dirt, (the same one you get to Chinaman on) that goes south for 30 miles down to Salida. It has trails off of it. I go elk hunting down there. Lots of camping spots. Cougar and bear in the area.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/psicc/recreation/reservations_rentals/historic_cabins.shtml


I stayed here one hunting season. Bassam Cabin. It is about 4 miles as the crow fly's from the camp sight I told you about.

http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?q ... &FORM=BYFD

Camp on road 185

The trail #185 headed south into Salida is rutted some as you get higher up. There are moderate rocks and it gets greasy right after a rain. Most trails out here are that way. They get slick but have a good bottom in them. You're not going to sink out of sight. TinCup Pass is mostly rock. Trails above timberline are like that. We get afternoon rain (Monsoon) most everyday in July. Not a great amount, but you can count of the brief T storm. You don't want to be afoot out in the open when they roll in. The lightning nails the unsuspecting tree hugger hiker out here every year. Lower trails are sandy in the bottoms. Many use dry stream beds. If you want to camp by water, I sugest the trail above Cottonwood lake. There is a nice sized stream with pull off camp sights all along it. There is a campground right above the lake it you want a bathroom. We just boondock camp and run down there to take a crap. Another area is the trails by St. Elmo. They're not too difficult, but have some old mining relics and ghost towns around them. It is near the east side of TinCup Pass. We have 2 hotsprings close by too. One is clothes optional after dark if you're into that.

You could head up Hwy 9 towards Guffey. Before you reach Hartsel, there are numerous dirt roads that head west towards Bassam Park and the camp sight. That is a real pretty drive. We sometimes take Hwy 9 when we are going to Canon City. You could go to the Colorado Division of Wildlife page, and there are maps and trails on there of all over the state. You can get maps and GPS coordinates of the area. Zoom in or out, even aerial pics. One book that I never leave home without is the Colorado Atlas and Gazetter. It has topo maps of the entire state including public lands and back roads. GPS too.

http://www.amazon.com/Colorado-Gazettee ... 0899332889