Bad Sams Tribune | Suzuki Enthusiasts . <img src="http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x270/badsams_photo/suzukisymbol.gif" border="0" alt="Bad Sams"></a>

Sunday July 8, 2007

Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park - written by Misty Doughty (Mrszuki)

I think that sometimes we forget why we got into 4wheeling to begin with...

Although this wasn't an off-road trip, it was a test for the vehicle anyway. We decided to head up to the "top of the world" (Rocky Mountain National Park) to see how our little zuk would handle very high altitude. We were happy with the result! No problems at all and we ran strong all the way to the top. For those not familiar with Colorado, that would be nearly 14,000 feet.

It's a beautiful drive to the top, lots of grand views and animals to see. It's not a trip for those that get altitude sickness or are afraid of heights as it is a narrow highway with steep drop offs all the way along. But take it if you can, it's an amazing trip. Every time we make that drive we are reminded of how lucky were are to live in such a beautiful part of the country.

This time of year there are thousands of tourists and we felt a little like celebrities at the top because there were several people from out of state that wanted pictures of our zuk. All in all a great trip to test out our vehicle in the high altitude and worth it every time we go.

Click HERE for pictures from this trip

Sunday June 24, 2007

Pole Hill Road - Written by Chase (Roll King)

The trail was a laid back easy going trail. It was a beautiful day with temperatures around mid 80s this trail is by far the easiest trail I have taken my jeep on. But it goes to show that even when you think everything is perfect tragedy can strike. During the ride my jeep developed a slight thump noise when hitting bumps. After a couple of hours on the trail I got a little to comfortable and attempted to stretch the jeep for a nice picture. I rolled up on what seemed to be a small rise on the side of the trail I soon found out it was a rather off camber mountain. With a combination of gravity and that little bump noise that turned out to be a spring coming off its perch the right rear spring let loose and forced weight to the lower passenger side of my jeep creating what I call an eternal moment. As the jeep balanced on 2 wheels for what seemed to be an eternity my previous roll over flashed thru my eyes. Before I realized it I was lying on the ground with my head against a rock laughing. It was all over but the crying and drinking. We used my winch to recover the jeep; we did forget to bring a recovery kit due to the fact of how easy the trail was. This created many challenges none of which were much fun. After many complications and some strained muscles we managed to get the jeep winched over. Other than the minor excitement the day turned out to be a lot of fun

Click HERE for video from this trip

Sunday June 10, 2007

Old Flowers Road and Salt Cabin Park - Written by Misty Doughty (Mrszuki)

Not living in an area that usually sustains hurricane force winds we had no idea what kind of changes wind like that kind make to a landscape. If you’ve never seen hundred year old trees ripped from the ground or aspens snapped in half by an invisible finger of wind, it will definitely take your breath away.

Our group met at the local Safeway before heading up buckhorn canyon to Monument Gulch Road #135 our usual short cut across to Salt Cabin and the other side of Old Flowers Road.

Monument Gulch is an easy trail and great for beginners, there are some beautiful areas of aspens and depending on the branch you take some breath taking vistas. Nothing to difficult, a very short climb at the beginning leading to a gate and opening to a meadow you have the choice at that point to take the left branch through the Aspen Groves or continue through the meadow on the main trail. We took the left branch as it provides a beautiful short jaunt through the trees. This area is very narrow and a full size vehicle might find it hard to maneuver through the pines and aspens towards the end of this section. You will come out onto another branch of the trail, if you turn left you will head up to a hiking trail. Turning right takes you around through some new pines and past a beautiful view of the valley and the mountains. After turning right we came back down to the main trail, at the main trail turn left again and this will take you through the rest of the trail. This is where the road crosses through another gate, and onto private land. There is an old cabin and then you head into Monument Gulch. After Continuing through the gulch you will come to more private land and the trail ends at Monument Gulch Drive. A right turn will take you to the main road passing the trail head to Old Flowers Road.

After cutting through Monument Gulch, we headed down the main road towards Browns Lake and Salt Cabin Park #259.

Salt Cabin Park is a small playground and camping area that provides a little fun. There are many steep rocky climbs that twist and turn back down to the main trail and a large dirt mound that is fun to crawl over but be careful there were some target shooters there that were nice enough to let us crawl the hill but I don’t know that they all would be that nice. After spending some time playing on the hill we headed up the main trail, it starts with a very steep and at times loose climb to a landing that has a great view of the park and the surrounding mountain peaks. That’s when we began to notice the trees that had been torn out by the winds. After the climb the trail is usually a very easy drive through some great camping spots and great views but this time is lent us some fun by giving us the challenge of crossing over some of the fallen trees. There was no need to actually move or cut any of them as we were able to cross them with no troubles. Following the trail right you will eventually come back down to the main road to Browns Lake. BTW left will take you to another hiking trail.

After playing in Salt Cabin Park we headed back to the Old Flowers Trail Head #152.

Old Flowers always provides a lot of fun and some challenge. Starting on the trail you will head up a steep rocky climb that can be a huge challenge when it’s wet or snowy. This climb is long but has some pull offs and switch backs making it a bit easier. There is only one branch on this trail that leads back to a nice camping area so staying on the main trail is very easy. Old Flowers has a few stream crossings, climbs and rocks that can be challenging when wet or snowy. After continuing through the trees for awhile you will head through a couple of small meadows with some great views, the wind has made a few natural bridges over the trail that may be difficult for a full sized lifted vehicle and then… the mud hole. The mud hole is easily passable when heading east on the trail but is a fun challenge when heading west. The forest service does ask that you stay the main trail but there is a bypass here if you can’t or don’t want to go through this area. In the winter this area also turns into an icefall and can be very challenging before the road is closed for the season. After the mud hole there is one more stream crossing and then you will begin to travel through private land and ranches. These ranches have gates but, as long as you close them behind you they let you pass with no problems. Old Flowers comes out on a paved road in Stove Prairie and which point you can go one of three ways. Straight through Rist Canyon although paved is very steep and has started more than one brake system on fire, left will take you to the Poudre Canyon and right will take you back to Masonville and then down into Loveland.

All in all we had a great time playing on the hill, in the mud and seeing all the changes in the landscape from the winds.

Click HERE for video from this trip or HERE for Trip Pics