Hidden Valley this weekend

[The StRanger]

So. The wife has to work on Sat morm and I might have the little one
Im kinda thinkin on getin out.
Poss Daken road / Hidden Valley..
Any snow reports..

[Stu]

Daken and the north end of Rampart Range road are closed for the winter. But the southern end of Rampart Range near Mt. Herman road at Monument is still open.

[The StRanger]

Bummer. Was wanted some close and easy.

[The StRanger]

I could also be up for Slaughterhouse, But dont wana run it alone..
Or if anybody has other idea's

[Rick]

I could also be up for Slaughterhouse, But dont wana run it alone..
Or if anybody has other idea'sI wouldnt go down the back side,that hill is snow and ice,maybe go drive around Duck Creek off Guenella Pass(just an idea since you have the kiddo with ya)

[The StRanger]

Gota be back in town by noonish, Hopin for closer
Ever run Mt Herman.

[sunk]

Ever run Mt Herman

Thats were I grew up. Mt Herman Rd is a graded road the intersects with Rampart. There are no gates but the snow is usually deep enough during the winter to give you problems before you get to Rampart.

You could run Cascade creek but I would recommend chains and at least one other rig

[ExplorerTom]

I ran some of this area last March:
http://goo.gl/maps/KkeT2

And some of this area last Feb:
http://goo.gl/maps/fRO2P

All easy trails in the dry and just enough fun with some snow to make it worth while yet not bad enough to get into trouble.

Like Adam said, Mt Herman road is nothing too special. I used it to get back to I-25 after the March trip. It was warm enough that day that all the snow on the trail was slush. A decent amount of traffic on the road too- Subarus and other street type cars. The afternoon I was coming down, the slush was deep (it would actually leave "ruts" in the slush) and I was thinking that once the slush froze, it would totally change this road.

[Stu]

I went up Mt. Herman last weekend and there was a fairly hard coating of snow and ice about an inch thick on the roads. So it was slick in places but was in pretty good shape, there were even a few sedan cars on Mt Herman road and Rampart Range road. The forest roads branching off of Mt. Herman were a bit more of a challenge. I went down FR 315 and there was one spot in particular on the shelf section that was making me a bit nervous. I almost slid off the shelf and into a ravine. Once you go up Mt. Herman road all the way to Rampart Range road there are some more forest roads that are still open and they would probably be a lot of fun. FR 300U is about a half mile from where Mt. Herman and Rampart Range intersect and that is a pretty neat one. Rampart Range road is gated off seasonally a few miles north of where Mt. Herman meets it.

[Stu]

Also - It may have snowed more up there over this last week after I was there, so it could be worse.

[Shooff96]

Myself and a few others are meeting at the conoco in monument tomorrow morning at 930 to run some trails off rampart range if anyone else wants to go.

[The StRanger]

Well folks, I know I started this but I gota bail
Mentioned a quick run While the wife was at work and before the Rodeo.
I got " THE LOOK ' She seems to know my quick runs are never quick !

[Goofy]

I would go but the Nissan is overheating again and I don't know why

[glacierpaul]

T-stat , Radiator Blockage, Fan Spinning? Coolant Level Or Mixture?

[Goofy]

I know the coolant is fresh and the fan clutch is new due to other one failing on me but I was going to start with the t-stat first then I was going to go to a power washer and wash the front and back of the radiator to see if I can clean out some dirt out of it

[The StRanger]

Water pump.?

[Goofy]

I hope not but maybe

[The StRanger]

I may be wrong, But
Is it a timing belt or a chain engine ??
Have you ever changed the pump yet ??

[Goofy]

timing belt engine and not yet

[The StRanger]

Most water pumps are belt driven.
If its an 87, Its time.

[Stu]

This was about the wost of it up there on saturday. I put some chains on for the hills and there were some slick shelf road sections. I slid off of one shelf but the dropoff was only a few feet and the trees saved me from flopping onto my side. And i played tow truck to another cherokee in a ravine that had no 4wd. It was a pretty solid day of wheeling. It sounded like world war three up there, with all the people shooting.

[ExplorerTom]

How was the snow? Was it "sugar snow" or could you actually form it into a snowball?

[Stu]

mostly pretty dry sugar snow

[Stu]

Also - Tom if you are still toying with the idea of running any of the gulches soon, that is a run I would love to go on.

[ExplorerTom]

I was up near Rollinsville this weekend and we ran into the same snow. That stuff is wild. It behaves almost like water- your tires sink in and then push a "wake" in front of them while it fills in behind the tires. You can't pack it down and float over it at all.

Still tossing around the idea of a run down there.

[Stu]

Yeah and when the sugar snow is on top of hard packed snow and ice it can be quite a challenge. I was loving my chains this past weekend. The cherokee that i pulled out was down in the bottom of a ravine in that snow and without 4wd (hooray for being prepared)

Well depending on the date, I will be a yes for a gulche(s) run.

[JAB]

anybody gonna try run Hidden Valley this weekend? I could do it first thing Saturday morning.

[The StRanger]

Bummer. Im workin Sat !!