” Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt”
~ John Muir
I feel like everytime we are planning a long off-roading excursion, Mother Nature turns on the extra biatch and rains on our parade! We once did a 5 day camping/off-roading trip down to Telluride and Crested Butte. It rained so hard on this trail that we literally thought were going to slip off the sheetrock and plummet to our deaths down this canyon. But its adrenaline punching, right!!?? Haha. We made it obviously but holy morning coffee replacement! Our next long off-roading trip was part of our honeymoon. We would explore for 10 days, rain or shine. We had to expect some sort of weather since it was early October. Once again, Mother Nature cranked on her moodiness. Rain, snow, rain, snow, snow, snow, snow, snow. It didn’t matter though, we were on cloud nine! The Braaaaplyweds were heading out a long adventure with nothing but smiles on our faces.
Here was our route:
~Day One: Head to Buena Vista. Take Tin Cup Pass up to Mirror Lake. Set up camp right on the lake.
~Day Two: Head over Engineer Pass. Set up Camp at the Orvis Hot Springs. Skinny dip and be merry.
~Day Three: Drove the Million Dollar Highway. Explored South Mineral Creek Waterfall. Off-road to Clear Lake, hike Ice Lakes in Silverton.
~Day Four: Meet up with friends and start Rim Rocker Trail. Set up camp at Camp O Bones.
~Day Five: Continue on Rim Rocker Trail into Utah. Camped in aspen grove.
~Day Six: Enter Moab Utah, hike Mary Jane Slot Canyons. Camped in the canyons.
~Day Seven: Visited Arches National Park. Rocked Hurrah Pass. Camped on the Colorado River.
~Day Eight: Started Dolores Triangle. Visited the Colorado National Monument.
~Day Nine: Drove through Basalt and summited Hagerman Pass. Set up camp at Henderson Lake.
Day Ten: Headed home.
You never realize how difficult it is to prepare for a 10 day escape into the mountains. Did we prep the truck for all scenarios? Hopefully the bears aren’t hungry. What if we break down? Will this trail be reachable? Where will we camp? Did we bring enough food? Better yet, did we bring enough beer? Am I gonna be super smelly after 10 days? It takes a lot of planning and tons of spontaneity. But if you’re like either of us, the feeling you get from the disconnection is unexplainable. All your worries fade away. You feel complete nature serenity. The beautiful places we saw, the memories made, and love we shared together will stay with us forever.
ELEVATE YOUR HAPPINESS!!!
Additional Pictures from our trip:
THE AFTERMATH….
