Thank you! Yeah we wanted to mix it up and try something a little different. Still trying to find the right mix of talking vs focusing on the scenery and what not. Thanks for watching and for the feedback really appreciate it! ✌️
I've been searching for a scenic mountain trail that has minimal shelf roads. Revere Overland recommended Cinnamon Pass. So I've watched several videos on it and yours is by far the best, most scenic, and seems to capture the most of it. Well done. Thank you for your video. I might just have found a trail my wife and daughters can handle going on. My goal is to get them on one great trail and get them hooked. If you have any others to recommend I'm all ears. Keep it up and I hope you have great TH-cam success!
Hey thank you so much that nicest comment we have received so far i think! Glad you enjoyed the video and found it helpful, we were hoping to provide a more scenic focused video on the trails we run and hit on some of the major points for people to consider. Yeah Cinnamon Pass was our favorite trail out in the San Juan mountains that we have done so far, so I don't think you can go wrong it's a great trail for what it sounds like your trying to do; I also highly recommend as my wife and well myself as well arent big fans of shelf roads, but she fell in love with Cinnamon Pass, it was quite the adventure. Some of the other notable trails on the alpine loop / San Juan area can be a lot more challenging and if your trying to avoid shelf roads which I totally understand in your situation then yeah I'd prob avoid those. Just fyi, cinnamon pass has a few shelf road situations but it's honestly nothing substantial and overall I'd say it's very easy going for the majority of the trail; the views are stunning! In terms of other trail ideas you may be interested in doing too in that area of Colorado, the first half of Engineer Pass is stunning as well as in from Lake City entrance to the engineer Pass sign on top of a mountain overview. Up to that point it's actually pretty easy to do and is beautiful, with only a couple of shelf road sections but not too bad; going past the sign though is definitely another situation that sounds like the rest of your family may not enjoy so I'd recommend turning around back to Lake City in that case, honestly up to that point in my opinion is the best part of the trail anyway as the scenery is amazing and the second half can get a bit tedious with more technical exercises and lots of shelf roads. Thing is this may end up making you need to do some back tracking so something to consider. Other alternatives in the area that are more relaxed that you could look into is some or all of Stoney Pass (longer but moderate trail), Cunningham Gultch, Last Dollar Road. I highly recommend checking out Trails Offroad app for whatever area you are trying to plan around to get an idea for the trails available, when they are open and what sort of difficulty they may or may not be, it's over favorite app to use when planning our trips. If you have any other questions/ if we can help with anything else feel free to reach out! Thanks again for the kind words and encouragement!! I hope you and your family have an amazing time exploring offroad, and if you haven't already definitely check out the town of Ouray there and it's awesome hotsprings and hiking if that's of interest!
I'll check out Trails Offroad. I've just been able to get away with using Gaia and Google for local trails here in Missouri and Arkansas. But if we get to make a trip this summer I want to make the most of it. I for sure want to hit up a hot spring. Thats not something we have around here. Thanks for the help! Looking forward to your next video. @@departureoutdoors
Totoally! Thanks, yeah I have a couple more videos from that area that I need to upload here, some more of the Iconic Colorado trails, hopefully pretty soon. Happy Trails! ✌️
Thank you! That's awesome and yeah the trail should still be in a good condition when you get there then. Last year we did get some freakish snow storms that seemed out of no where so just be sure to check the weather as you approach your trip. Hopefully you have nothing but amazing weather, enjoy your trip! ✌️
Your video helps a lot for our coming trip plan in Aug. I have a stock Subaru Outback Wilderness. Do you think it will be able to handle this trail? Thanks
Thank you! Really happy about how much this video has seemed to help a lot of people plan their trips to see this amazing place. Yes absolutely, Subaru's are very capable vehicles especially the wilderness trim even stock you should have all the capability and clearance you need for Cinnamon Pass as it's really not too bad, there's like one big incline in the beginning if your coming from Silverton to Lake City direction and really just be sure to keep a constant pace up, probably set it to rock or x-mode and you should be fine. Other than that just be careful on some of the tighter shelf road sections as the insane views can be distracting (just be sure to pull over from time to time to soak it all in) and there are maybe a handful of rockyish sections or pot hole like sections but pretty much all of that should be avoidable and/or doable just take it slow and plan your best route but yeah I've seen a lot of subarus of all trims on the trail and even on the much harder Engineer Pass, Cinnamon Pass is very doable and very worth doing. Hope you and your family have an amazing and safe time on the trail and I'm hoping you have the best weather conditions as well! Thanks for watching and if there is anything else I can help with just let me know ✌️
@colorado happy trails Hey who's rack system do you have on your rig for the gas can and water can? I am just oddly curious. I got a TrailRac system myself but that looks like it might be a little more customizable to put tools on etc as well. I use to live in Colorado and been on these trails before and was missing them since I have moved to Oregon. Keep the videos coming of your wheeling adventures.
Thank you!! Oregon is definitely beautiful in its own right, but yeah these trails are amazing here in Colorado. So the molle panels we have on our Jeep, I actually got it off Amazon, its called Furyengraver rear window storage molle panel (there's a driver and passenger side version). They definitely work pretty well, it is chinese made so the build quality could be a little bitter in terms of setting it up initially but now it's easy on and off if desired and was a big help on our trip and yeah I could see these used for lots of different equipment. Thanks for the comment, appreciate it.
Hey thanks! It's the AEV 2.5 inch lift with the bilstein 5100 shocks. They sell two versions of the aev lift one with bilstein 8100 shocks and then the 5100s which we have. Both of those can be either a 2.5 or 3 inch lift. But yeah we are very happy with the 2.5 inch aev lift, it's pretty exactly 2.5 inches from the stock rubicon height. It's been working out fantastic on the trails for us, feels solid and no complaints thus far!
Hey thanks a lot, really appreciate that and thank you for watching!! So in terms of ground clearance using the lowest point being the differentials we are now at about 12.5 inches of clearance if you don't count the axels it's amost about 13 inches until touching the lower control arms in the front which looks like the next lowest point. There aren't a ton of options for the 4xe that I'm familiar with for lift kits, I know Mopar has one but for the money I wanted a bit more than a 2 inch lift and some of the others out there require a new driveshaft (believe if it's greater than 3inch lift), so ended up going with the newer AEV 2.5 inch lift kit for the 4xe. It's been an excellent experience so far and it cost less than the Mopar option. We haven't rubbed or scraped since getting the lift and 35 in tires and we did a lot of the famous Colorado trails recently. Really happy with the lift kit so far, rides great as well. Hope that helps!
@@departureoutdoors Thanks for taking the time to give such a great detailed description I just got the 20th anniversary 4xe and dearly love it. I will continue to watch your content stay safe and happy trails for sure!
THIS IS AN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING VIDEO! Me and my family are taking a trip to Colorado in 3 weeks. Is this something I can do in a Stock Jeep Wrangler or 4 Runner all the way from Silverton to Cinnamon pass to Lake City and then all the way back? Just looking for guidance because I don't want to get on anything too crazy and get me or my family hurt. I have lots of trail riding experience but I know videos never do it justice. Your reply would be extremely appreciated, thank you so much!!
Thank you so much, really glad you enjoyed the video. So in terms of Cinnamon Pass and doing it in what I assume is a stock sport wrangler perhaps and a stock 4-runner I'd yes yeah absolutely, the trail really isn't too bad so long as you take it slow, shift to 4low for most of the trail and air down your tires if possible and of course respect the shelf road sections (not bad just again take it slow and don't take your eyes off the road it's plenty big up there but don't want to drift too close to an edge). Only thing really I'd worry about in your case is the timing, I'm not entirely sure but I don't think Cinnamon Pass is completely passable yet but I haven't checked in a bit. I did see a photo a few weeks ago with a lot of snow up on the trail but a good portion seemed of the trail seemed to be cleared out. I'd double check and make sure the route is clear all the way to Lake City so you don't have to turn around or anything like that. I can't speak too much to the conditions when there is snow around I'd imagine it could potentially be more challenging and perhaps even dangerous. I'd join the San Juan mountain trail group and the San Juan mountain adventures group on Facebook to ask the locals there what conditions are like as it gets closer to your trip but you can also see videos of people who went up recently! Worse case I know they have posted of other trials in the area that are open like Yankee Boy Basin, etc so could help you all find some alternatives. Hoping the weather collaborates and that you all have a wonderful safe and joyable trip! If you have any other questions or are still struggling with getting the answers you need feel free to message again and I can do some more digging for you ✌️
@@departureoutdoors this comment was extremely helpful thank you so much!! 😁 I will join these groups immediately!! Thanks again!! Be safe and can’t wait to see more of you alls adventures!!
Happy to help and oh yes I did look recently out of curiosity and it does seem Cinnamon Pass is fully opened so that's good news, but still a lot of snow around the area so I'd just advice to keep tabs as you get closer to your trip to see if anything changes and check the weather as well.
Oh boy don't say that lol, I've had my share of creepy ghost experiences, but I actually didn't notice that in person, I'm definitely going to have to rewatch that part of the video now!
Can I ask about your jeep? What size tires and how much lift? Are you running bead locks? I’m wanting to do this and have a jeep very similar to yours. Doesn’t appear you have any problems driving these trails. Any other modifications you recommend? Does it still drive down the highway good? Thanks in advance for your answers
Hey Bill, yeah no problem at all, happy to answer that! So we put an AEV 2.5 inch lift on our Jeep Wrangler 4xe, 35in BFG KO2 tires and we added the AEV rear bumper so we could add the spare securely to the back and maybe in future run the AEV extended fuel carrier that can mount to it but we don't have that for now. Also you don't need the rear bumper, the Mopar tailgate reinforcement will work for 35 in tires as well and there are alternatives to that as well. In terms of going offroad the lift and tires enable us to hit 95 percent of the trails we are interested in doing without any problems at all, we almost never hit anything underneath anymore as the clearance is really nice now. We don't have beadlocks even though that would be nice but honestly I haven't found that I need that, I usually air down to 20 psi all around and if really needed I can go to 15 psi with no problems maybe could go to 12 but I haven't found the need to and don't want to go to low without beadlocks. In terms of road performance, yeah we love it. There are a lot of lift kits out there that use a variety of shocks so you can pick and choose what you care the most about. I'd say for pure comfort fox shocks are amazing or even the teraflex shocks but they can be extra pricy. The ones we have are more stiff that those two and some others as we want to be able to load up our Jeep and not have any sag and what not, but i actually love the ride quality with the AEV kit, it has Bilstein shocks and to me it has a solid ride, but yeah if your mostly daily driving it and will be running it empty then maybe fox or something like that will better suit you. One thing I would recommend you get with your lift kit though is a front stabilizer shock. We have the AEV one on our gladiator and with 35s and a lift it actually tracks so much better than our wrangler with the stock Jeep stabilizer. It's fine but it has a lot more slop, so we are definitely going to change that up, and once again there are a lot of different front stabilizers to choose from but I like the AEV one is really good for the price compared to others I have seen. But yeah overall we are very happy with our setup, it's a quality build and it performs off and on the trails so you cant go wrong, I'd just stay away from thr cheaper brands if and where possible like rough country as I've read a lot of bad reviews and the 4xe is heaver as it is so definitely want quality products to support it. Any other questions let me know!
It always blows my mind when I look at old photos and read about the history of the San Juan area. They really must of been special people back in that time, I can only imagine the challenges they lived through.
@@departureoutdoors yeah, It just sucks that the harsh winters make it that it's hard for the buildings to survive. I don't think my future grandkids will have much left to see.
Yeah I hear yeah, I love history and wish more of it could be preserved for future generations, but yeah so many of the old cabins and what not on the trails in the San Juan's are in terrible shape and doesn't seem like anything is planned to be done about it from what I can tell. I just hope the trails themselves don't ever get closed in the future outright!
@@departureoutdoors Black bear Pass hasn't been opened since 2022... but Bodie Ghost Town in California, is in the middle of the desert and actually is super well preserved with many buildings still up in good shape, since it's so dry and snow doesn't really fall. That place is still going to be up for a while.
I think I've seen that in a TrailRecon video but im not positive. Actually funny enough haha, Black Bear just opened up today which is awesome news and I'm really hoping we or myself can sneak a trip out there to give it a go! It's been on my bucket list for a while now
Hey, so at the time we didn't have a camping setup like we do now so we didn't end up doing any dispersed camping on this trip and ended up staying at a Airbnb in Lake City. I have looked it up though and I hear there is free dispersed camping options near Lake City at Upper Mill Creek, supposed to be kind of a open space area. There are also some Campgrounds within the town of Lake City in Mill Creek Campground and a RV park. Of course there are also spots near to lake city along Cinnamon Pass and engineer Pass that allow you to pull in and do dispersed camping so that could be a option as well, just depends on what your looking for. Some apps I'd recommend to help you guys find places to camp would be "ioverlander" and "The Dyrt". I believe apps like onx offroad may also give you some insight into areas you can camp but that's mostly specific to dispersed on trail locations only.
@@departureoutdoors OK awesome I appreciate the reply. probably gonna head out there beginning of next month and was wanting to do the trail. Just thought maybe since it probably takes about four hours. Might be a good idea to find a camp spot on the other side in Lake City so this helps out a lot thank you so much.! 😊
Oh course no problem and that's awesome I hope you have a safe trip and a fantastic time! It's an amazing trail and Lake City itself is a beautiful place.
Hello! It's sort of hard to say really, seems like the weather has been changing quite a bit year to year, it really just depends. Since these trails in the San Juan mountains are high in elevation it is pretty common starting in Sep or Oct for there to be snow accumulating on the trails and making them partially passable or completely impassable. I would say October is probably the latest to safely plan a trip out there without running the risk of bad conditions and closures. There are San Juan mountain Facebook groups and websites that you could checkout to see live or mostly up to date trail conditions though if you are interested in heading out there soon and seeing what is open. The weather changes pretty rapidly this time of year in the mountains so best to try and be as up to date as possible. Also depends on your vehicle and what your comfortable with though, some trails are still reporting trails open now but some are partially closed based on a quick search. CORE youttube channel is another good resource for trail updates in the Colorado mountains. ✌️
@@departureoutdoors awesome! Thank you very much for that info! I'm going to be passing by there on my way back from Las Vegas around 11/5, and am really hoping that the weather holds as I've been wanting to hit those trails for many years.
The video /production quality on this 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼💯💯💯💯
Thx! Plenty of room to improve though! 😅
Top notch 👍✅🚙🍿
Thank you kindly!
That engine roar is music to my ears!
Haha glad you enjoyed it!
I was there 2 weeks ago, this pass is spectacular, the scenery is absolutely beautiful. ❤
Isn't it! This was our first time out here and it blew us away, feels like fairytale or a hidden gem. Can't wait to go back!
Great video. Heading there in June. Can't wait!
Thank you, that's awesome, hopefully the weather is nice when you get there!! Love the San Juan region ✌️
Having the young lady narrate the video was a welcomed change . Nicely done 👍🏻
Thank you! Yeah we wanted to mix it up and try something a little different. Still trying to find the right mix of talking vs focusing on the scenery and what not. Thanks for watching and for the feedback really appreciate it! ✌️
I've been searching for a scenic mountain trail that has minimal shelf roads. Revere Overland recommended Cinnamon Pass. So I've watched several videos on it and yours is by far the best, most scenic, and seems to capture the most of it. Well done. Thank you for your video. I might just have found a trail my wife and daughters can handle going on. My goal is to get them on one great trail and get them hooked. If you have any others to recommend I'm all ears. Keep it up and I hope you have great TH-cam success!
Hey thank you so much that nicest comment we have received so far i think! Glad you enjoyed the video and found it helpful, we were hoping to provide a more scenic focused video on the trails we run and hit on some of the major points for people to consider. Yeah Cinnamon Pass was our favorite trail out in the San Juan mountains that we have done so far, so I don't think you can go wrong it's a great trail for what it sounds like your trying to do; I also highly recommend as my wife and well myself as well arent big fans of shelf roads, but she fell in love with Cinnamon Pass, it was quite the adventure. Some of the other notable trails on the alpine loop / San Juan area can be a lot more challenging and if your trying to avoid shelf roads which I totally understand in your situation then yeah I'd prob avoid those. Just fyi, cinnamon pass has a few shelf road situations but it's honestly nothing substantial and overall I'd say it's very easy going for the majority of the trail; the views are stunning! In terms of other trail ideas you may be interested in doing too in that area of Colorado, the first half of Engineer Pass is stunning as well as in from Lake City entrance to the engineer Pass sign on top of a mountain overview. Up to that point it's actually pretty easy to do and is beautiful, with only a couple of shelf road sections but not too bad; going past the sign though is definitely another situation that sounds like the rest of your family may not enjoy so I'd recommend turning around back to Lake City in that case, honestly up to that point in my opinion is the best part of the trail anyway as the scenery is amazing and the second half can get a bit tedious with more technical exercises and lots of shelf roads. Thing is this may end up making you need to do some back tracking so something to consider. Other alternatives in the area that are more relaxed that you could look into is some or all of Stoney Pass (longer but moderate trail), Cunningham Gultch, Last Dollar Road. I highly recommend checking out Trails Offroad app for whatever area you are trying to plan around to get an idea for the trails available, when they are open and what sort of difficulty they may or may not be, it's over favorite app to use when planning our trips. If you have any other questions/ if we can help with anything else feel free to reach out! Thanks again for the kind words and encouragement!! I hope you and your family have an amazing time exploring offroad, and if you haven't already definitely check out the town of Ouray there and it's awesome hotsprings and hiking if that's of interest!
I'll check out Trails Offroad. I've just been able to get away with using Gaia and Google for local trails here in Missouri and Arkansas. But if we get to make a trip this summer I want to make the most of it. I for sure want to hit up a hot spring. Thats not something we have around here. Thanks for the help! Looking forward to your next video. @@departureoutdoors
Totoally! Thanks, yeah I have a couple more videos from that area that I need to upload here, some more of the Iconic Colorado trails, hopefully pretty soon. Happy Trails! ✌️
Nice video … I heading there the first week of September
Thank you! That's awesome and yeah the trail should still be in a good condition when you get there then. Last year we did get some freakish snow storms that seemed out of no where so just be sure to check the weather as you approach your trip. Hopefully you have nothing but amazing weather, enjoy your trip! ✌️
Amazing.
Thanks, it really was!!
The cabin you were looking at at 12:40 on your video is known as Rose’s cabin.
Hey thanks for the info, appreciate it!! I'll look it up, i tried to look for info on the trail about it but had no signal and forgot to look into it.
Your video helps a lot for our coming trip plan in Aug. I have a stock Subaru Outback Wilderness. Do you think it will be able to handle this trail? Thanks
Thank you! Really happy about how much this video has seemed to help a lot of people plan their trips to see this amazing place. Yes absolutely, Subaru's are very capable vehicles especially the wilderness trim even stock you should have all the capability and clearance you need for Cinnamon Pass as it's really not too bad, there's like one big incline in the beginning if your coming from Silverton to Lake City direction and really just be sure to keep a constant pace up, probably set it to rock or x-mode and you should be fine. Other than that just be careful on some of the tighter shelf road sections as the insane views can be distracting (just be sure to pull over from time to time to soak it all in) and there are maybe a handful of rockyish sections or pot hole like sections but pretty much all of that should be avoidable and/or doable just take it slow and plan your best route but yeah I've seen a lot of subarus of all trims on the trail and even on the much harder Engineer Pass, Cinnamon Pass is very doable and very worth doing. Hope you and your family have an amazing and safe time on the trail and I'm hoping you have the best weather conditions as well! Thanks for watching and if there is anything else I can help with just let me know ✌️
@colorado happy trails Hey who's rack system do you have on your rig for the gas can and water can? I am just oddly curious. I got a TrailRac system myself but that looks like it might be a little more customizable to put tools on etc as well. I use to live in Colorado and been on these trails before and was missing them since I have moved to Oregon. Keep the videos coming of your wheeling adventures.
Thank you!! Oregon is definitely beautiful in its own right, but yeah these trails are amazing here in Colorado. So the molle panels we have on our Jeep, I actually got it off Amazon, its called Furyengraver rear window storage molle panel (there's a driver and passenger side version). They definitely work pretty well, it is chinese made so the build quality could be a little bitter in terms of setting it up initially but now it's easy on and off if desired and was a big help on our trip and yeah I could see these used for lots of different equipment. Thanks for the comment, appreciate it.
What lift? How much lift did it provide? Looks great!
Hey thanks! It's the AEV 2.5 inch lift with the bilstein 5100 shocks. They sell two versions of the aev lift one with bilstein 8100 shocks and then the 5100s which we have. Both of those can be either a 2.5 or 3 inch lift. But yeah we are very happy with the 2.5 inch aev lift, it's pretty exactly 2.5 inches from the stock rubicon height. It's been working out fantastic on the trails for us, feels solid and no complaints thus far!
What lift did you guys go with and what is ur ground clearance now? Great content enjoy watching u guys.
Hey thanks a lot, really appreciate that and thank you for watching!! So in terms of ground clearance using the lowest point being the differentials we are now at about 12.5 inches of clearance if you don't count the axels it's amost about 13 inches until touching the lower control arms in the front which looks like the next lowest point. There aren't a ton of options for the 4xe that I'm familiar with for lift kits, I know Mopar has one but for the money I wanted a bit more than a 2 inch lift and some of the others out there require a new driveshaft (believe if it's greater than 3inch lift), so ended up going with the newer AEV 2.5 inch lift kit for the 4xe. It's been an excellent experience so far and it cost less than the Mopar option. We haven't rubbed or scraped since getting the lift and 35 in tires and we did a lot of the famous Colorado trails recently. Really happy with the lift kit so far, rides great as well. Hope that helps!
@@departureoutdoors Thanks for taking the time to give such a great detailed description I just got the 20th anniversary 4xe and dearly love it. I will continue to watch your content stay safe and happy trails for sure!
Awesome, love the 20th edition Jeeps! Happy Trails and thanks again! ✌️
THIS IS AN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING VIDEO! Me and my family are taking a trip to Colorado in 3 weeks. Is this something I can do in a Stock Jeep Wrangler or 4 Runner all the way from Silverton to Cinnamon pass to Lake City and then all the way back? Just looking for guidance because I don't want to get on anything too crazy and get me or my family hurt. I have lots of trail riding experience but I know videos never do it justice. Your reply would be extremely appreciated, thank you so much!!
Thank you so much, really glad you enjoyed the video. So in terms of Cinnamon Pass and doing it in what I assume is a stock sport wrangler perhaps and a stock 4-runner I'd yes yeah absolutely, the trail really isn't too bad so long as you take it slow, shift to 4low for most of the trail and air down your tires if possible and of course respect the shelf road sections (not bad just again take it slow and don't take your eyes off the road it's plenty big up there but don't want to drift too close to an edge). Only thing really I'd worry about in your case is the timing, I'm not entirely sure but I don't think Cinnamon Pass is completely passable yet but I haven't checked in a bit. I did see a photo a few weeks ago with a lot of snow up on the trail but a good portion seemed of the trail seemed to be cleared out. I'd double check and make sure the route is clear all the way to Lake City so you don't have to turn around or anything like that. I can't speak too much to the conditions when there is snow around I'd imagine it could potentially be more challenging and perhaps even dangerous. I'd join the San Juan mountain trail group and the San Juan mountain adventures group on Facebook to ask the locals there what conditions are like as it gets closer to your trip but you can also see videos of people who went up recently! Worse case I know they have posted of other trials in the area that are open like Yankee Boy Basin, etc so could help you all find some alternatives. Hoping the weather collaborates and that you all have a wonderful safe and joyable trip! If you have any other questions or are still struggling with getting the answers you need feel free to message again and I can do some more digging for you ✌️
@@departureoutdoors this comment was extremely helpful thank you so much!! 😁 I will join these groups immediately!! Thanks again!! Be safe and can’t wait to see more of you alls adventures!!
Happy to help and oh yes I did look recently out of curiosity and it does seem Cinnamon Pass is fully opened so that's good news, but still a lot of snow around the area so I'd just advice to keep tabs as you get closer to your trip to see if anything changes and check the weather as well.
If there is snow I will just turn around, thank you so much!! 😂
In that old house, you went to the second floor, that was erie… I heard noises from the video. Wondering if anyone heard it.
Oh boy don't say that lol, I've had my share of creepy ghost experiences, but I actually didn't notice that in person, I'm definitely going to have to rewatch that part of the video now!
Can I ask about your jeep? What size tires and how much lift? Are you running bead locks? I’m wanting to do this and have a jeep very similar to yours. Doesn’t appear you have any problems driving these trails. Any other modifications you recommend? Does it still drive down the highway good?
Thanks in advance for your answers
Hey Bill, yeah no problem at all, happy to answer that! So we put an AEV 2.5 inch lift on our Jeep Wrangler 4xe, 35in BFG KO2 tires and we added the AEV rear bumper so we could add the spare securely to the back and maybe in future run the AEV extended fuel carrier that can mount to it but we don't have that for now. Also you don't need the rear bumper, the Mopar tailgate reinforcement will work for 35 in tires as well and there are alternatives to that as well. In terms of going offroad the lift and tires enable us to hit 95 percent of the trails we are interested in doing without any problems at all, we almost never hit anything underneath anymore as the clearance is really nice now. We don't have beadlocks even though that would be nice but honestly I haven't found that I need that, I usually air down to 20 psi all around and if really needed I can go to 15 psi with no problems maybe could go to 12 but I haven't found the need to and don't want to go to low without beadlocks. In terms of road performance, yeah we love it. There are a lot of lift kits out there that use a variety of shocks so you can pick and choose what you care the most about. I'd say for pure comfort fox shocks are amazing or even the teraflex shocks but they can be extra pricy. The ones we have are more stiff that those two and some others as we want to be able to load up our Jeep and not have any sag and what not, but i actually love the ride quality with the AEV kit, it has Bilstein shocks and to me it has a solid ride, but yeah if your mostly daily driving it and will be running it empty then maybe fox or something like that will better suit you. One thing I would recommend you get with your lift kit though is a front stabilizer shock. We have the AEV one on our gladiator and with 35s and a lift it actually tracks so much better than our wrangler with the stock Jeep stabilizer. It's fine but it has a lot more slop, so we are definitely going to change that up, and once again there are a lot of different front stabilizers to choose from but I like the AEV one is really good for the price compared to others I have seen. But yeah overall we are very happy with our setup, it's a quality build and it performs off and on the trails so you cant go wrong, I'd just stay away from thr cheaper brands if and where possible like rough country as I've read a lot of bad reviews and the 4xe is heaver as it is so definitely want quality products to support it. Any other questions let me know!
crazy that this was Colorado's main highways back in the 1940s.
It always blows my mind when I look at old photos and read about the history of the San Juan area. They really must of been special people back in that time, I can only imagine the challenges they lived through.
@@departureoutdoors yeah, It just sucks that the harsh winters make it that it's hard for the buildings to survive. I don't think my future grandkids will have much left to see.
Yeah I hear yeah, I love history and wish more of it could be preserved for future generations, but yeah so many of the old cabins and what not on the trails in the San Juan's are in terrible shape and doesn't seem like anything is planned to be done about it from what I can tell. I just hope the trails themselves don't ever get closed in the future outright!
@@departureoutdoors Black bear Pass hasn't been opened since 2022... but Bodie Ghost Town in California, is in the middle of the desert and actually is super well preserved with many buildings still up in good shape, since it's so dry and snow doesn't really fall. That place is still going to be up for a while.
I think I've seen that in a TrailRecon video but im not positive. Actually funny enough haha, Black Bear just opened up today which is awesome news and I'm really hoping we or myself can sneak a trip out there to give it a go! It's been on my bucket list for a while now
Did you guys camp somewhere near Lake City? If so, we’d end up camping on that side?
Hey, so at the time we didn't have a camping setup like we do now so we didn't end up doing any dispersed camping on this trip and ended up staying at a Airbnb in Lake City. I have looked it up though and I hear there is free dispersed camping options near Lake City at Upper Mill Creek, supposed to be kind of a open space area. There are also some Campgrounds within the town of Lake City in Mill Creek Campground and a RV park. Of course there are also spots near to lake city along Cinnamon Pass and engineer Pass that allow you to pull in and do dispersed camping so that could be a option as well, just depends on what your looking for. Some apps I'd recommend to help you guys find places to camp would be "ioverlander" and "The Dyrt". I believe apps like onx offroad may also give you some insight into areas you can camp but that's mostly specific to dispersed on trail locations only.
@@departureoutdoors OK awesome I appreciate the reply. probably gonna head out there beginning of next month and was wanting to do the trail. Just thought maybe since it probably takes about four hours. Might be a good idea to find a camp spot on the other side in Lake City so this helps out a lot thank you so much.! 😊
Oh course no problem and that's awesome I hope you have a safe trip and a fantastic time! It's an amazing trail and Lake City itself is a beautiful place.
How late in the year would you say is too late to run these trails?
Hello! It's sort of hard to say really, seems like the weather has been changing quite a bit year to year, it really just depends. Since these trails in the San Juan mountains are high in elevation it is pretty common starting in Sep or Oct for there to be snow accumulating on the trails and making them partially passable or completely impassable. I would say October is probably the latest to safely plan a trip out there without running the risk of bad conditions and closures. There are San Juan mountain Facebook groups and websites that you could checkout to see live or mostly up to date trail conditions though if you are interested in heading out there soon and seeing what is open. The weather changes pretty rapidly this time of year in the mountains so best to try and be as up to date as possible. Also depends on your vehicle and what your comfortable with though, some trails are still reporting trails open now but some are partially closed based on a quick search. CORE youttube channel is another good resource for trail updates in the Colorado mountains. ✌️
@@departureoutdoors awesome! Thank you very much for that info! I'm going to be passing by there on my way back from Las Vegas around 11/5, and am really hoping that the weather holds as I've been wanting to hit those trails for many years.
No problem! I hope it holds up too, the views there are stunning it really is quite the experience so I hope it works out for you. Best of luck!