cewtwo
New member
Redcone, Radical Hill & Wise Mountain
Molly in her doghouse.
The Mighty YJ headed out again this weekend. Finally, we were able to ride one of the most fabulous trail systems in the state of Colorado. We drove the Redcone Pass, Radical Hill and then over to the summit of Wise Mountain.
The trail we took as seen on Google Earth.
We were not sure of the weather, but it ended up being an OK day! Morning cloud cover interspersed with bouts of sunshine!
We are nearing the summit of Redcone Pass in this picture.
What can you say about Redcone (and the day in general) except it was a lot of fun. It was challenging and fun. Little had changed since last season. Redcone Pass is like an old friend. The fun part of the trail are some very steep down hills! We crested the top of a terrifying steep when Tom yelled out, “Stop here!†My heart was racing as I brought the Mighty YJ to a stop. My heart was pounding (about to come out of my chest) as I turned to him and asked what was the matter. He looked at me and said he wanted a picture of the inclinometer. An inclinometer is a gauge that shows the pitch and yaw of the jeep on the trail. It was an exciting start to resume the downhill progress to Webster Pass.
Webster Pass as seen from Radical Hill.
Some of the rocks on the treacherous side of Radical Hill have migrated into the trail, making it more of a challenge. This is already a trail just wide enough for one vehicle. The rock migration makes it just a little more interesting.
A group of Jeeps making the final climb to the sharp curve near the top of Radical Hill.
We tried a new area once we got to the top of Radical Hill. We ended up at the summit of Wise Mountain near a heritage cabin. The view from here was fantastic! You could view the Colorado Rocky Mountains in a fantastic 360-degree view.
Molly and I by the Mighty YJ!
As we turned around, the clouds were going lower and lower. We decided to go back the way that we had come. We reached the summit of Radical Hill again and saw a herd of Mountain Goats. They are always so cool to see. The forest service signs generally have mountain goat fur on the outside edges so we knew they were up there.
There were two families at the summit of Radical Hill this time. Our dogs got to know each other and we swapped lies and truths regarding the fun of 4 Wheeling. They decided to head toward Breckenridge via the middle fork of the Swan trail. We were going to go down Radical Hill again.
We headed down the steep side of Radical hill to light rain falling. By the time we reached Webster Pass it was raining steadily. The following video was taken near a mine on the Upper Handcart Trail.
Splashing about in the rain.
We were on the access road to the trailhead when we started to get passed by emergency vehicles. First were 2 local yokels, then an ambulance, then a search & rescue ambulance, and finally a search & rescue utility truck. We were wondering where they were going. We just figured it was a campground incident. It wasn't until the next morning that we heard about the fatality on a Radical Hill trail. We might have talked to the people that were involved.
By the time we reached US 285, the rain had stopped. It was a great day and full of fun, but definitely time to head for home.
Always be carful in the high country. Accidents can and do happen. I am hoping that this tragic accident did not involve anyone that we met and talked to during our day on the trails. Especially, those two families at the top of Radical Hill. If they headed out when we did, they could have been at the right place at the wrong time.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_6491052
Molly in her doghouse.
The Mighty YJ headed out again this weekend. Finally, we were able to ride one of the most fabulous trail systems in the state of Colorado. We drove the Redcone Pass, Radical Hill and then over to the summit of Wise Mountain.
The trail we took as seen on Google Earth.
We were not sure of the weather, but it ended up being an OK day! Morning cloud cover interspersed with bouts of sunshine!
We are nearing the summit of Redcone Pass in this picture.
What can you say about Redcone (and the day in general) except it was a lot of fun. It was challenging and fun. Little had changed since last season. Redcone Pass is like an old friend. The fun part of the trail are some very steep down hills! We crested the top of a terrifying steep when Tom yelled out, “Stop here!†My heart was racing as I brought the Mighty YJ to a stop. My heart was pounding (about to come out of my chest) as I turned to him and asked what was the matter. He looked at me and said he wanted a picture of the inclinometer. An inclinometer is a gauge that shows the pitch and yaw of the jeep on the trail. It was an exciting start to resume the downhill progress to Webster Pass.
Webster Pass as seen from Radical Hill.
Some of the rocks on the treacherous side of Radical Hill have migrated into the trail, making it more of a challenge. This is already a trail just wide enough for one vehicle. The rock migration makes it just a little more interesting.
A group of Jeeps making the final climb to the sharp curve near the top of Radical Hill.
We tried a new area once we got to the top of Radical Hill. We ended up at the summit of Wise Mountain near a heritage cabin. The view from here was fantastic! You could view the Colorado Rocky Mountains in a fantastic 360-degree view.
Molly and I by the Mighty YJ!
As we turned around, the clouds were going lower and lower. We decided to go back the way that we had come. We reached the summit of Radical Hill again and saw a herd of Mountain Goats. They are always so cool to see. The forest service signs generally have mountain goat fur on the outside edges so we knew they were up there.
There were two families at the summit of Radical Hill this time. Our dogs got to know each other and we swapped lies and truths regarding the fun of 4 Wheeling. They decided to head toward Breckenridge via the middle fork of the Swan trail. We were going to go down Radical Hill again.
We headed down the steep side of Radical hill to light rain falling. By the time we reached Webster Pass it was raining steadily. The following video was taken near a mine on the Upper Handcart Trail.
Splashing about in the rain.
We were on the access road to the trailhead when we started to get passed by emergency vehicles. First were 2 local yokels, then an ambulance, then a search & rescue ambulance, and finally a search & rescue utility truck. We were wondering where they were going. We just figured it was a campground incident. It wasn't until the next morning that we heard about the fatality on a Radical Hill trail. We might have talked to the people that were involved.
By the time we reached US 285, the rain had stopped. It was a great day and full of fun, but definitely time to head for home.
Always be carful in the high country. Accidents can and do happen. I am hoping that this tragic accident did not involve anyone that we met and talked to during our day on the trails. Especially, those two families at the top of Radical Hill. If they headed out when we did, they could have been at the right place at the wrong time.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_6491052
