blueJack's FINAL 2012 FJ Summit, full trip thread!!! (WARNING: 5 million pics!)

I wanted to provide a full trip report for all those out there who have ever thought about going to the FJ Summit. And if you know me, you know I don't post "short" threads - add to that the fact this was a 16 DAY trip, and this is what you get.

We took a lot of time to plan this trip out. We all went: me, wife, and two kids (6 and . That's right, all couped up in the FJ for two weeks! But I'll get to that. My point is, this was going to be an awesome family vacation so we didn't do JUST the Summit; we packed in a lot of other activity since we probably wouldn't be out that way again for a while. If you want to see the FJ Summit description only, jump to the posts below this one (I'll fill in later).

First off, I need to put our trip into perspective. This will help explain the scale of time and cost. On a side note, I had dreaded the long days of driving, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. The wife brought a box of dollar toys for the kids and threw a few in the back seat every few hours, plus we borrowed a portable DVD player from the grandparents, so the kids stayed entertained (mostly). And the FJ was a lot more comfortable for long driving than I expected! Sure, there were times when I wish I wasn't in the rig with the three of them, but I'd do it all over again!

Details:
2 days - drove from NC to Denver. (1st night was 2 hours past St Louis, 2nd night was in Denver). The first day was tough because we were up packing late into the night and only got a few hours of sleep; plus it rained for 4 hours of driving which slowed us down. We also stopped in St Louis for a few hours to see the Arch and have a sit down dinner. Second day was Kansas. Lots and lots and lots of straight, flat driving across Kansas, lol! Landed in Denver and went to bed. Oh, and tested my 4WD as we crossed the state line just to find out it had went out again.

3rd day, we circled around Mt Elbert and Independence Pass, Aspen, and over to Glennwood Springs, CO. Stayed 2 nights at a hotel with an "indoor waterpark" so the kids could get out of the car for a couple of days! Rode the cable car up the side. Also, had the front diff actuator replaced at the smallest Toyota dealership I had ever seen! $600 later and the 4WD was operational.

5th day, we took backroads down to Ouray! Went through Somerset, an active coal mining "town" since 1896. Just a wide spot in the road (literally, only a few houses on the side of the road)!

6th day, our first full day in Ouray, we just drove around, mainly on the "million dollar highway" - Molas Pass, McClure Summit, lots of really nice views. And a few off-road excursions.

7th, 8th, 9th, trail days! I'll reserve some space below for trail description and pictures!

10th day, we hit up some rock slide areas, a short way up one of the trails (to collect souveniers) then left Ouray. Drove over to MOAB!!! Got there in time to see Arches National Park at sunset (just barely).

11th day, did Fins and Things in Moab. Saw Arches at sunset again!

12th day, headed to Grand Canyon. Drove through Canyonlands National Park, Newspaper Rock, across some random mountain with free range cows, and past Monument Valley on our way.

13th day, Grand Canyon (south rim) time. Just drove to all the southern overlooks, did some hiking around there. Hung my feet off the edge.

14th, 15th, 16th was driving home. Of course, the first day of driving we did Petrified Forest/Painted Desert National Park, as well as Meteor Crater (private tourist trap that was well worth it). Funny, when we went through the gate at Petrified Forest, they said "It's a federal offense to take any rocks out. Do you have any rocks to declare?" Me: "Uhhhhh, I have a bag with about 45lbs of rocks from Colorado in it!" Should have seen how big the gatekeeper's eyes got!

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, what everyone really wants to know: cost! I had estimated $3000+. That estimate included fuel, hotels, and food for the whole trip. I broke down each hotel stay and mileage from one spot to another in a spreadsheet to plan. We came in closer to $3500. However, you could do it for less if you tried hard to save. Some of the extra cost was because I assumed we'd be eating sandwiches while on the trail. However, we signed up for fairly early trail runs so usually the whole group would eat lunch together in Telluride or Silverton. Also, there were all those park admissions. And by the way: EVERYTHING ON THE SOUTH RIM OF THE GRAND CANYON was ridiculously expensive!!! For example: 4 egg and cheese biscuits at McD's was $18!!! Four sandwiches at a gas station deli, about like you'd make in your kitchen with loaf bread, was $30!!! So buy your food before you hit that town if you go to GC.

My budget:
Gas: $1328
Hotels: $1480
Food: $210

We drove a total of 5200 miles across 16 states. I'm going to reserve the next few posts so I can provide trail run pictures!
And to get you started, here's a link to my facebook album. Just a few pics posted so far, just a taste of it! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151233469342994.518325.580707993&type=1&l=6e09dac130

IN COLORADO, BEFORE THE SUMMIT
Here's pics from the first few days in Colorado, before we did any trail runs. Next post starts the trails.
Yes, it's true. We pulled over at the WELCOME sign, I tested out my 4WD, and it crapped out. Not to worry, $600 later and my front diff actuator was replaced.


After hitting the sack in Denver, we drove around Colorado a bit. This is Mt Elbert, the second highest peak in the contiguous 48 states! We drove around it's flanks and across Independence Pass.










We went through Aspen on our way as well. Here are a few views from Aspen.




Next, we stayed two nights in GLennwood Springs. This allowed the kids to have 2 days out of the car before we hit the Summit!





We took some backroads down to Ouray and had a full day there before the Summit (so we wouldn't be rushed). The extra day, we drove down the "Million Dollar Highway", over to Molas and McClure passes, and saw some gorgeous mountains.








There were SEVERAL peaks in the 10-12k range from this overlook.




This pic was just outside of Ouray. You saw this almost every day on the way back in from the trail runs. The Million Dollar Highway lives up to it's name!

And a few pictures of Ouray itself! This is about half of the town, lol! Gorgeous sunset and rainbow our first day there!

DAY 1, BLACK BEAR PASS AND OPHIR PASS
This was our first trail run! Black Bear! My wife was terrified of how the shelf roads would be, the steps, etc etc. After we ran it she looked at me and said, "Do you want to come back next year?!?!" She loved it. She actually asked if we should run it again the next day (but I had other awesome trails lined up!). It was not as terrifying as she thought it would be. But make no mistake. You have to pay attention. One wrong move and you'd be rolling 1000+ feet down the mountain. No joke. This was absolutely gorgeous and not terribly difficult. The steps are the most technical/challenging.






First (optional) obstacle.





Why yes, that's the trail ahead! That shelf road!




Here we are at the famous steps!




They have a spotter stationed on the steps all day long. This is the only place where someone is stationed to guide you.

You wouldn't want to slip here. It's a LONG way down!

That is Telluride below!

That's not a wide spot. That's not cool at all.


Can you say three...or five point turn?






More switchbacks.

Bridal Veil Falls, from above. I hear they rent out that house for weddings and such. Wonder how much $$$$$$$$$ that costs!

It hadn't rained much so the falls was a bit weak.

Lunch in Telluride!

Coming up to Ophir as a return route.


Yes, that's a truck...and another one about the middle of the trail.



Million Dollar Highway outside of Ouray. There was actually a washout before the Summit started. If you zoom in, you can see it's a one lane road...and the lane that is there is actually a steel plate over the washout area!

DAY 2, POUGHKEEPSIE GULCH AND CALIFORNIA PASS
So, I signed up for Poughkeepsie despite my wife's protest. It is the most difficult trail available at the FJ Summit. The main obstacle everyone talks about is "The WALL" which I have pictured below. It is extremely difficult when wet, but luckily was dry for us. However, the whole trail is a little rough. A mile long gravel/boulder spinfest, and a few slick or rocky obstacles. The lower trail was so beautiful though. It would be worth doing even if you skipped the wall, but everyone on our run did the wall and made it (one guy had to be winched).
Dropoffs near the start.



The lower trail was beautiful. An "alpin forest" as my wife called it.








HEHEHE YEAH!


Starting up the 'gravel run'. This was about a mile of LARGE loose rocks. Lots of ATRAC action!



This was an obstacle just before the wall. Hard to see, but look at how stuffed that tire is! Banged a bit getting over it because you had to get some speed.



This is the famous "WALL" at Poughkeepsie Gulch.
This guy had to be winched. Didn't know how to drive and got tilted a bit too far.


This is me. Took me 2:30 minutes, which was actually pretty good. A few tries. Ripped off a mudflap and got a small cut on a tire (not bad).




This guy (going up a different route) was climbing vertical at one point!






Lake almost at the top. Beautiful! But they told us not to let your dogs swim in it because there's some very strange bacteria they'd carry out of it! Yikes!




Top of California pass! This was our second day but highest yet pass. My wife got some altitude sickness in the form of a terrible headache. She begged to head down and quickly. She felt better after we did. But the next day we went higher (Imogene) and she did fine.




Near the end.



Here we are lined up in Animas Forks. Old mining town ruins.

DAY 3, IMOGENE
Imogene. We had signed up for a different run that included a lot of California pass, which we had ended up seeing already. Therefore, we showed up and begged to join Imogene. SO GLAD we did! This was the highest run and one of the best.



Just a little ways in, and we're in a very wet forest on the side of a mountain...quite a drop off here!






Interesting rock flow. The Sunday we left we came back up here for my wife to sort through rock. Picked up some beautiful crystals and other things she was interested in.






Old mine. Wasn't technically "supposed" to be in here. It was super cold inside it (didn't go very far).






Yes, my wife loved the flowers. However, someone mentioned that the lack of rain that year meant the fields of flowers we saw were nothing in comparison to what they ususally were!







I've seen Summit pictures where there was a wall of snow on both sides of the road. Unfortunately, they didn't get much snow the winter before.





TOP OF THE WORLD! At least as far up as I've every been.





No fisheye lens...it's just that round on top!



Coming down the other side, through old mining towns.



THIS IS BLACK BEAR! As seen from Imogene. Truly cool.


Back to Imogene. A little scary itself. Particularly the second pic. Probably one of the worst spots on any of the trails, considering the dropoff.

Reserved for MOAB!
I'll provide more description later, but I'll start with two videos. One highlight reel, the other the full version (with the boring parts sped up). Oh, and remember to select full quality!

Highlight reel:

Full version:

Reserved again!

I can't wait till I can make a trip out there. Hopefully during my transfer in 2014

I've got to get out there. I've already started saving so I can head out after I graduate.

I highly suggest anyone and everyone go. Seriously worth every penny. In fact, we plan to go again, possibly in 2014!

I've had a few people ask about mods. I would guess you can do most of the trails in a stock FJ.

If anything, I'd suggest better tires if you're still running on the stock Dunlops, but that's kind of a given. A set of Terra Grapplers would do you fine, even in stock size, for most everything. I would even venture that Firestone Destination ATs in an LT would be solid except for maybe Poughkeepsie. But I wouldn't let them stop me from doing Poughkeepsie! I opted for Duratracs in stock size (which are slightly larger than other tires in the same size) but have now switched back to the Firestones for daily use (better handling).

The FJ Summit site itself has pretty good descriptions and which trails you'd need to be more careful on or would want to consider a lift/armor, and I think they (or the links they provide) are being conservative.

Awesome thread....would love to make out there one day. Actually lived in fort collins for a few years but was more of a mountain biker than a 4x4 offroader.

Very nice. I really enjoyed the pictures and videos.

That looks like an amazing trip! Great photos!

Thanks guys! If anyone has questions about the Summit, the trip, how the family did, just post them up in here. I don't mind answering them. I wouldn't mind helping talk you or your family into going!
David Bronson went the year before (I believe it was), and it was just him and his brother. He loved it. And Joe Ramirez, another local, went last year with his family (and on the Moab stint too).
It took several hours to get through all the photos; when I find some more time, I'll update with pics from Arches and Moab. It's only 3 hours away so a good opportunity if you can fit it in as well. And I have video footage of the Summit runs just like the Moab run I posted, I just need to get them edited and put together too.