Buena Vista Camping & Exploring

[Dirt Claude]

We decided to beat the heat this weekend and go camping. We camped outside of Buena Vista off of Forest Service Road 433.2B. The campsite was a little drive from Buena Vista, about 40 minutes, but was worth it as we were very secluded and had it all to ourselves - thanks Funrover for the suggestion!

We started out in St. Elmo and pretty much just explored the area. We worked our way towards Hancock pass and made a detour to check out Mary Murphy Mine and Pomeroy lakes. Everyone had a great time exploring the abandoned mining buildings and equipment. After a little lunch, we reached the Hancock Pass/Alpine Tunnel trailhead. We opted not to walk the trail over to the tunnel as I heard it wasn't anything spectacular. Instead, we tried to find the entrance to Williams Pass and see if the forest gate had been opened yet. While we did manage to find one open gated road in the area, I'm not sure it led to Williams Pass? My directions and map weren't quite all jiving together. We took a shot anyways but were shortly stopped by several downed trees. As we headed back towards our camping spot, we made a stop at Agnes Vaille Falls and hiked up to check out the waterfall. We wrapped the trip up with a drive up Twin Cone on the way home. Fantastic weekend!

[Dirt Claude]

A few more pics.....

[Brad]

Looks like a great time Brad!
I was just reading up today on williams pass, we were thinking of trying to find it as well. Pretty good description of it in the funtreks book.

[Dirt Claude]

Yeah, Williams Pass sounds like a fun and challenging trail. It's only open in August and not traveled much. I'll be curious to see if you guys come across it.

[Chris]

We just got ho e ourselves, we got there Thursday and left this afternoon after a sucessful test of our popup. We intended on a night or 2 but had such a good time we stayed longer. We headed for the 285 & 309 Funrover mentioned and discovered he must have meant 304 where we setlled for the night. Setting up in the dark was interesting but successful even though nowhere near level. The popup was great, learned a few things and had a great time. We chose a nice open spot about 3 or 4 miles in with a view of Collegiate Peaks, nice to wake up in the morning to that!

We ran Tin Cup, Mt. Antero, Hancock Pass, Tomichi Pass and Old Monarch Pass spending time at numerous off-shoots and old mines.

Pics to come later...

[Dirt Claude]

I thought about you guys several times, but never had a strong enough signal to give you a call. Glad to hear the maiden trip went well!

[Chris]

Yeah, me too but my cell was virtually useless Brad. That might be one thing I like about BV though, no calls from the kids can get through while we're out there! :lmao:

[Dirt Claude]

Yep, solitude can be priceless sometimes!

[edog]

Looks beautiful! Let's see some more pics of those areas-I need some areas to explore in our popup.

[Funrover]

Glad to help, Looks like a great time and location. Great pics, Williams is pretty easy to find. I'd be down for a run over it.

[4Runninfun]

great pics. You'll know when you hit williams as there is a sign right there. It's a fun trail but I wouldn't exactly call it a challenge it's just a great scenic drive.

[Chris]

Speaking of scenery I've never seen flowers like this year, here are a few pics of Tomichi Pass, not a challenging trail but a stunning display!

[Java]

great pics, looks awesome!! I like the tall skinny tires on your 4runner too!

[Brody]

Thanks for the reports! The BV area is sweet! Glad to hear that the camper is working out well for you, Chris!

[Hypoid]

Nice! Was there much rain down there?

[Chris]

It rained Friday night just enough to keep the dust down Mike.

[Dirt Claude]

I like the tall skinny tires on your 4runner too!
Thanks.... I like the skinny tires too. They're a 255/85/16 which translates to a tall 33" tire.

[Funrover]

That is the perfect size, next set I am going that size

[4Runninfun]

That is the perfect size, next set I am going that size

oh? we've finally decided on this? Gotta say that size has done absolutely great on my 4Runner in all conditions!

[Funrover]

Quiet you.... LOL

[Rob]

That is the perfect size, next set I am going that size

I've been saying the same thing ever since I saw Brad's rig. That size might end up on both FJs, if I can ever wear out the current ones.

[RockyMtnHigh]

I've never seen flowers like this year

I noticed the flowers up high too, but I also noticed the friggin skeeters this year, little bastards won't leave you alone, had a cloud of them behind me trying to figure out what I missed spraying with DEET this weekend. :mad:

[Michael4rnr]

looked like a great run.