Crystal Mountain, Moody, and Kelly Flats

[Haku]

Hey all,

After some great wheeling all month with Jenny Creek, OCG, Twin Cone, Wheeler Lake and the Ellis Jeep Trail, Crystal Mountain, Moody Hill and Kelly Flats will be a great way to end the month and get us ready for October:thunb:.

I think the current plan is to wheel on Saturday the 27th on Moody Hill and Crystal, then find a camping site up there. Then a quick drive over to Poudre Canyon for Kelly Flats or something in that area. Crystal and Moody have a ton of awesome camping sites, and tends to be very secluded, so you can have a lot of fun. Scoutman, his former roomy, a friend and I all spent a night up there in December last year, and had a great time with a big fire and many shenanigans. All of these trails are great for all skill and build levels, and offer fun for all, with some fun playgrounds and obstacles for the bigger balled and rigged. You are also welcome to join us for either day if you don't want to camp, or can't make both.

ok..............discuss!!!

JH

[Brody]

Highly recommended trails for most any rig. All of the obstacles are pretty much optional, and what I saw on the Crystal Mountain Trail looked fun, too. LaDawn and I didn't do the whole Crystal Mountain run when we were there as we wanted to get back down to Denver, but from what Josh has said, there was a lot we missed.

x2 on the playgrounds! Something for everyone!

[Aaron]

Sounds like a good time. We may be in on this one.

I ran this run with my mild Jeep and had no problem. I won't do the quarry but its fun to watch others do it :)

By the way, I think the Saturday is the 26th and Sunday is the 27th.

Aaron

[Brody]

I won't do the quarry in my heap, either. It looks way too easy to roll it at the start and even easier to roll it at the top, where you would be essentially be taking your rig out in pieces if you screwed up. Personally, I don't like doing stuff that would destroy my rig if I screwed up or the rig crapped out at the wrong time.

Don't have $2-3k spare change to get it off the trail or to fix it right now, so tend to avoid obstacles of this kind for this reason.

[porkchop]

so ive have a plan to purpose to all interested in this run. i was thinkin we could do bald mountain/green ridge instead of kelly flats and camp at green ridge as those two trails will be alot longer then crystal/moody although i have looked in a trail book i have and it doesnt show camp spots at green ridge but its hard to immagine a trail that long with no camp spots if there is none we may consider seven mile creek its very close and will take us in the direction of crystal/moody. trail info= http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php?id=274
http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php?id=273
http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php?id=92

[Haku]

so ive have a plan to purpose to all interested in this run. i was thinkin we could do bald mountain/green ridge instead of kelly flats and camp at green ridge as those two trails will be alot longer then crystal/moody although i have looked in a trail book i have and it doesnt show camp spots at green ridge but its hard to immagine a trail that long with no camp spots if there is none we may consider seven mile creek its very close and will take us in the direction of crystal/moody. trail info= http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php?id=274
http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php?id=273
http://www.traildamage.com/trails/index.php?id=92

I'm still a bit partial to camping up on Crystal or Moody since its a bit more remote, but would be receptive to another area too. How "well traveled" is the Green Ridge area?

This is the "Mud Loop" that I spoke of. Sounds like the Green Ridge trail has some seriously fun mud pits, so it should be a lot of fun.

JH

[porkchop]

green ridge is not opened till later in the year cause of water levels so id imagine its not traveled alot it should be discrete cause its way out by walden and its supposed to be a deep woods kind of trail i would like to camp at crystal mountain but im just worried about having enough time to run both green ridge and bald mountain because they are both 13+ mile trails if we head out early im sure we could do them though. if we camp at crystal i will definatly be doing some hiking cause i found a hiking trail out there last time i went solo it was just passed the rock garden if you go straight instead of going up crystal and go about a mile or so it dead ends at a hiking/horseback/dirt bike/bycicle trail that looks promising so my ocd wont permit me not to wonder that trail

[Tee Hee]

I'm planning on making it for the day on Saturday at least, not sure if I can pull off the camping part yet.

[Haku]

It will be cool to have ya along for sure, camping or no. Anyone else?

JH

[porkchop]

so any one whos even interested at all but has no idea if they can make it please give some input on weather you would rather do kelly flats or bald mountain/green ridge as we are trying to make this more of a group disision thanx :)

[AboveNBeyond]

I might be game too, but did Kelly flats this summer already so something else instead would be fine by me... either way I likely in.

[Haku]

Yeah, I should change this to reflect that we would be doing the Mud Loop instead of Kelly Flats. I've done it twice this year, so like AboveNBeyond I'm game for something new. Mud is always fun too.

JH

[Andrew]

Well I was interested in doing Kelly Flats.

Been on Sevenmile several times. It's pretty mild and doubt much mud at the moment. Haven't done the other two, but I am not big into finding mud pits. Rather find rocks.

[Haku]

Its Green Ridge and Bald mountain that have the mud pits, and yes, Sevenmile is super mellow from what I hear. The others probably are too, except for the mudding parts. Its fun to get out and do something other then rocks, and its relatively rare to see mud pits in Colorado, so I'm up for that. I go along with whatever everyone else wants to do though. Chime in on what you want to happen.

Kelly Flats is pretty tame too, except for Heart Attack and the Chutes. Heart Attack isn't even that hard, just has some bad consequences if you majorly screw it up. The Chutes is pretty hard and prone to body damage, but its really short (like 100 feet or less) and completely optional. The rest of Kelly is largely dirt track with large run off ruts, and a few steep rock obstacles and steep hill of dirt to deal with. I've done it twice this year, so I don't need to go out again. I'm fine with going, but would prefer something new.



JH

[Andrew]

I just haven't done Kelly before so I'd do it. I'd do Heart Attack Hill if it's dry, but not the Chutes.

[AboveNBeyond]

I'd do Heart Attack Hill if it's dry, but not the Chutes.

Heart attack just isn't if you are going around to the left. Then it is just a steep dirt road :o.

But if you are going to go straight up :eek: well then thats where the title comes from. And yes, you get in roll over trouble it could be a few minutes before you stop... rolling!

Otherwise Kelly flats is just a not so pretty, not so hard, trail. I did it in June :thunb:

[porkchop]

Well I was interested in doing Kelly Flats.

Been on Sevenmile several times. It's pretty mild and doubt much mud at the moment. Haven't done the other two, but I am not big into finding mud pits. Rather find rocks.
im more into rocks too but these mud trails are only rated at 4-5 and the muddiest trail is green ridge its only rated as a 4 bald mountain is a 5 high end because theres a steep rocky hill to climb with muddy tires check the links i posted if you want to do kelly flats do know that it stays open till mid december usually but i know green ridge at least is closed for most of the year due to water levels i dont think its too bad but apparently people like to make bypasses on that trail alot so they wait untill its not that deep to open the trail also i live in fort collins so you can bet that ill be doing a kelly flats run before the end of the season

[Brody]

The Chutes is pretty hard and prone to body damage, but its really short (like 100 feet or less) and completely optional. JH

Actually, the hard part of The Chutes is a little more than a vehicle length long...roughly 12'. It is a hard 12' though, and you can expect body damage to your rig without some decent protection.

It took awhile for me to run this section of the trail simply because I didn't feel like airing down for 12' of hard wheeling. I finally did it just to get it out of the way. No big deal and I'll probably never do it again because it is so short.

It is the equivalent of doing a 600' rock climb that is very easy except for a 12' section...not really worth the effort or drive to do the one obstacle. The rest of Kelly isn't hard, but is fun. Probably never do Heart Attack Hill simply because I don't like the looks of it. Don't fancy my rig crapping out 1/2 way up and trying to back down, etc...

[Haku]

Actually, the hard part of The Chutes is a little more than a vehicle length long...roughly 12'. It is a hard 12' though, and you can expect body damage to your rig without some decent protection.

It took awhile for me to run this section of the trail simply because I didn't feel like airing down for 12' of hard wheeling. I finally did it just to get it out of the way. No big deal and I'll probably never do it again because it is so short.

It is the equivalent of doing a 600' rock climb that is very easy except for a 12' section...not really worth the effort or drive to do the one obstacle. The rest of Kelly isn't hard, but is fun. Probably never do Heart Attack Hill simply because I don't like the looks of it. Don't fancy my rig crapping out 1/2 way up and trying to back down, etc...

Honestly, Heart Attack looks worse then it is, especially from out on the trail as you crest the hill. There is one particularly steep part that I have always gone around, but otherwise its very straightforward and not hard. I suppose there is the potential for bad things happening, but there really isn't an "axle breaker" or "nose over" spot on the hill, its just a bit steep and long. Totally understandable if you don't wanna run it though. I hear there is some fun stuff on the bypass too, so I'm sure its just as enjoyable. Even though its not entirely correlatable, it seems like its very much the same as "Oh my God Road" near Idaho Springs. There isn't anything even remotely hard enough to make me say or think that, though that might have changed since it was named.

JH

[porkchop]

all i have to say is mud:D

[Brody]

Even though its not entirely correlatable, it seems like its very much the same as "Oh my God Road" near Idaho Springs. There isn't anything even remotely hard enough to make me say or think that, though that might have changed since it was named.

JH


Oh My God Road is graded the whole way and is two wheel drive. Where does this come into play?

Just curious

[Haku]

Oh My God Road is graded the whole way and is two wheel drive. Where does this come into play?

Just curious

I was just saying that names don't always mean everything. There is nothing on "Oh my God" road that makes me think or say that. Heart Attack Hill is the same. THere is one small section where its hard (and you can easily go around it), but otherwise its just a big, not excessively steep hill. A few places to make one nervous, but it looks way worse from out on the flats bellow it then it does on the hill itself. Guess my point was that you can name an obstacle "Killer Death Kitten Pit", but it doesn't necessarily mean anything.

JH

[gm4x4lover]

"Killer Death Kitten Pit"


I really want to name something that now.

[Haku]

A bunch of friends and I named one of the rapids in the Royal Gorge "Fluffy Bunnies on Crack". It never stuck with everyone else, but to this day its still what we call it.:D It was one of the small rapids in between the big ones, so it was funny to give it an extreme name.

JH

[Brody]

Whereas rock climbing names are usually something to take into consideration. Names like "Testes Freeze", "Crack of Death", "Tombstone Terror", "Cie La Morte", " No Mistake or Pancake", "Edging Skills or Hospital Bills", "Crack of Fear", "Crack of No Return", "Heavenly Journey", "Meltdown", are indicative of a rather serious climb...and one that you had better not make a mistake on. People who tend to ignore climbing names are usually read about in the obits....

Climbers rarely name hard or desperate routes by cute names...

[Haku]

yeah.....ya'll are a serious bunch for sure. Don't get me wrong, there are lots of rapids with very serious names that are quite serious. Paralyzer (Crystal River), Rigor Mortis (Clear Creek), Compactor, Upper and Lower Death Falls (Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon), Supermax (South Platte near Bailey) or my favorite, Difficult Run (in Virginia, where the last rapid pretty much is a gaurantee to stuff you in an underwater cave) are all examples, and have seriously messed some people up when they got it wrong. I do think there is a difference between names like that, and names with Death Kitty or Fluffer Bunny in them. Those are very rarely a serious rapid.

I do think crawling trail names can be fairly misleading soetimes. Of course, there are Helldorado and Metal Masher and Carnage Canyon and all that, all of which are fairly serious stuff. But I've also seen many things named far more seriously then they are. I think its mostly because 4x4 wheeling stuff tends to be more easily accessible to the average person. Most of the 5.10 and above climbs I have seen, usually require a good chunk of money going towards equipment to even attempt, and a lot of the time the first move stops anyone not able to get up the rest of the way. I know during my brief stint with climbing, when there was a 5.9 or 10 route nearby the 5.6/7 ones we were doing, that only the really good climbers could get up. Obviously there are the ones that are easy below and hard once you get up top, or have one move in the middle that will screw you, but its fairly obvious. The same goes with whitewater too. The average person (and yes, there are plenty of dumbasses who will try it in a Wal-mart raft or inner tube) isn't going to look at a class V rapid and want to run it.

With wheeling though, anyone with a Jeep can get to a place where they can get themselves in trouble rather quickly. People who aren't experienced will see this and name it something hard, when the more hardcore and experienced guys will look at it and laugh. I think Heart Attack is one of those kind of obstacles. If I just bought a Jeep and went out wheeling for my first time on Kelly Flats, that would look like a seriously knarly hill. It definitely looks like it from down bellow too. Once you are on it though, its really not that bad. Yes, getting to the top and loosing brakes or something would be bad, but thats true of anywhere that has a decent slope on a long hill. It is what it is though, and I'm not gonna get into making people feel bad for not wanting to run something. There are definitely things I won't run out of fear of the obstacle (whether it be because of fear of breaking things or bodily harm), so I'll stay away from that too.

JH

[porkchop]

:rant:i think we need to stop talking about kelly flats and start talking about some mud and how fun it is when you fling it around with your tires and get stuck in it:jiggy"

[Haku]

:rant:i think we need to stop talking about kelly flats and start talking about some mud and how fun it is when you fling it around with your tires and get stuck in it:jiggy"

Sold!!!

No more Kelly Flats talk from me. Definitely will be interested to see how my rig does in the mud. Not a whole lot of power with the little 4 banger in my rig, so probably no rooster tails for me, but I like being the dirtiest rig around so I'll do my best. Always good to have some mud on the truck to show its used right?

JH

[porkchop]

so does that mean you gonna change it moody crystal camping then bald mountain green ridge

[Haku]

Done. Forgot that I hadn't done or was waiting to see what others thought. Since Bill is only doing Crystal, and you and I are the only other people signed up, I went ahead and changed it. Should be fun.

JH

[Tee Hee]

I just rsvp'd, I'll be camping too. I think Icehouse is planing on going too. Is there a safe place to leave a trailer / tow rig near Moody?

[Haku]

There is a decent spot right at the trailhead for Moody. I've seen trailers there a few times, mostly for ATV's. Not sure about Green Ridge/Bald Mountain, but I know Kelly Flats has a very decent place to park a trailer that is close enough to the others to work. It'll be good to have you guys on the trip.

JH

[porkchop]

bald mountain is supposed to have plenty of parking butt i would use the one at kelly flats because we will end up going back down hiway 14

[Tee Hee]

There is a decent spot right at the trailhead for Moody. I've seen trailers there a few times, mostly for ATV's. Not sure about Green Ridge/Bald Mountain, but I know Kelly Flats has a very decent place to park a trailer that is close enough to the others to work. It'll be good to have you guys on the trip.

JH

Thanks guys, I think I know were your talking about its been a few years since I have been up to Moody.

[4Runner3Wheeler]

Ditto here! I haven't RSVP'd yet due to some unknowns.


I'm planning on making it for the day on Saturday at least, not sure if I can pull off the camping part yet.

[4Runner3Wheeler]

Graded, two wheel drive road covered in ice with no barriers may make you say "Oh my god!"



I was just saying that names don't always mean everything. There is nothing on "Oh my God" road that makes me think or say that. Heart Attack Hill is the same. THere is one small section where its hard (and you can easily go around it), but otherwise its just a big, not excessively steep hill. A few places to make one nervous, but it looks way worse from out on the flats bellow it then it does on the hill itself. Guess my point was that you can name an obstacle "Killer Death Kitten Pit", but it doesn't necessarily mean anything.

JH

[4Runner3Wheeler]

From what you're saying, the obstacle should be called Fluffer Bunny Heartattack Hill. Based on the photos, which can be misleading, this hill climb looks very straigt forward for a mildly built rig, or even a stock rig.

Then again, if it's anything like climbing, it always looks easier from the bottom. You only really know for sure when you're clinging desperately and wondering how it's harder than it looked...as usual.

The Chutes on the other hand look like body damage central. I want to begin my rear exo cage before hitting that obstacle. I'll bypass that one until I'm even more armored.


yeah.....ya'll are a serious bunch for sure. Don't get me wrong, there are lots of rapids with very serious names that are quite serious. Paralyzer (Crystal River), Rigor Mortis (Clear Creek), Compactor, Upper and Lower Death Falls (Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon), Supermax (South Platte near Bailey) or my favorite, Difficult Run (in Virginia, where the last rapid pretty much is a gaurantee to stuff you in an underwater cave) are all examples, and have seriously messed some people up when they got it wrong. I do think there is a difference between names like that, and names with Death Kitty or Fluffer Bunny in them. Those are very rarely a serious rapid.

I do think crawling trail names can be fairly misleading soetimes. Of course, there are Helldorado and Metal Masher and Carnage Canyon and all that, all of which are fairly serious stuff. But I've also seen many things named far more seriously then they are. I think its mostly because 4x4 wheeling stuff tends to be more easily accessible to the average person. Most of the 5.10 and above climbs I have seen, usually require a good chunk of money going towards equipment to even attempt, and a lot of the time the first move stops anyone not able to get up the rest of the way. I know during my brief stint with climbing, when there was a 5.9 or 10 route nearby the 5.6/7 ones we were doing, that only the really good climbers could get up. Obviously there are the ones that are easy below and hard once you get up top, or have one move in the middle that will screw you, but its fairly obvious. The same goes with whitewater too. The average person (and yes, there are plenty of dumbasses who will try it in a Wal-mart raft or inner tube) isn't going to look at a class V rapid and want to run it.

With wheeling though, anyone with a Jeep can get to a place where they can get themselves in trouble rather quickly. People who aren't experienced will see this and name it something hard, when the more hardcore and experienced guys will look at it and laugh. I think Heart Attack is one of those kind of obstacles. If I just bought a Jeep and went out wheeling for my first time on Kelly Flats, that would look like a seriously knarly hill. It definitely looks like it from down bellow too. Once you are on it though, its really not that bad. Yes, getting to the top and loosing brakes or something would be bad, but thats true of anywhere that has a decent slope on a long hill. It is what it is though, and I'm not gonna get into making people feel bad for not wanting to run something. There are definitely things I won't run out of fear of the obstacle (whether it be because of fear of breaking things or bodily harm), so I'll stay away from that too.

JH

[porkchop]

From what you're saying, the obstacle should be called Fluffer Bunny Heartattack Hill. Based on the photos, which can be misleading, this hill climb looks very straigt forward for a mildly built rig, or even a stock rig.

Then again, if it's anything like climbing, it always looks easier from the bottom. You only really know for sure when you're clinging desperately and wondering how it's harder than it looked...as usual.

The Chutes on the other hand look like body damage central. I want to begin my rear exo cage before hitting that obstacle. I'll bypass that one until I'm even more armored.
good idea on waiting till you get a cage for the chutes and i know we talk about heart attack hill being not so bad but you can make it as hard as you want its a wide part of the trail the far left is nothing crazy the middle is very extreme the far right is inbetween if you ask me but lets not get that conversation going again

[Brody]

Hey

You guys didn't post a meeting time for the meeting at Kelly Flats trailhead. When are you guys going to meet there?

Black Rubi is going to be in the area and wants to do this run. He is also going to be camping in the area. I am trying to hook you guys up. I don't know if I am going to be able to make either run, but Sunday is looking more promising than Saturday and I would also like to know the Kelly Flats meeting time.

Might want to add it to the calendar...the only meeting time is for Masonville/Moody and Crystal..

[Haku]

Lets make it 10am for meeting at Kelly Flats pull off. That will give the people camping time to wake up, have breakfast, and make their way to the meeting place, and make it so the people driving up in the morning don't have to be up at the ass crack of dawn to be there. Does that work for everyone?

JH

[Brody]

Thanks Josh! Why don't you just say 10AM and stick it on the calendar that way? I would and wouldn't even ask, but I am not as polite as you are....

[Haku]

I did stick it on the calendar, and will change it if it doesn't work for someone.

JH

[Mr6dwg]

Here were some pictures I took. Sorry, I did not have any action shots. My wife had a fun day. Thanks alot Haku. I am sorry about the other person we were with. I thought I remember his "name" as Jammer. If that is not so, I am sorry. I am not too good with names.

[Brody]

I am sorry about the other person we were with. I thought I remember his "name" as Jammer.

What's with this?