TrailDamage.com

Photos, videos and information about 4x4 trails in Colorado and Utah

  • Trails
    • Colorado
    • Utah
  • Reports
    • Featured Photos
    • Featured Videos
    • Reports Calendar
  • Members
  • Search
  • Trail Damage Winners
  • FAQ
  • Community
  • Upcoming Events
  • Membership
  • Log In
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Middle St. Vrain 051105

November 5, 2005 by Monica

Middle St. Vrain

Trail Run on November 5, 2005
Report and photos by Monica I., Trail Leader
View trail information for Middle St. Vrain

Eric B.
Green 2000 Jeep Wrangler
Jed P.
Green 1998 Jeep Wrangler
Ladd G.
Green 2003 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
Dave B.
Black 2004 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
Bob S.
Green 1997 Jeep Wrangler
Carlos S.
Gray 1990 Jeep Cherokee
Perry S.
Purple 1994 Ford Explorer
Don W.
Silver 2005 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

This was the first winter run of the 2005 season and it was definitely not fall anymore in the mountains. It had been snowing all night and the trail was covered in snow that ranged from a couple inches to about a foot deep in places. It was also pretty windy and the temperature got down to as low as 23 degrees. Still, even with the weather we had a blast like we always do in the snow.

We met in Boulder and hung out for a bit at the warm Starbucks, then headed up to meet Perry at the trailhead. He was driving his son Patrick's Samurai for the first time on a trail run.

The snow wasn't very wet and it didn't really get too icy when everyone slid around on it, which was good. The ground underneath was pretty frozen and slick, though, so it made the trail pretty slippery. Everyone was slipping off of even the smallest rocks, making things a little unpredictable at times.

The water crossings weren't frozen, and there were even spots that we expected to be slick with ice but found them to still be running water.

We got to the rocky obstacle pretty quickly, and everyone found their own line through it. Ladd went first and tried to get up on the big rock, but it wasn't cooperating so he went around. Dave took the line through it on the left and managed to stay up on the high-centering rock so he breezed right through it.

Bob went next and tried to get up on the big rock but everything was just so slippery that he kept falling off. He went around and backed up onto it instead so he could get a snowy flex shot.

Perry came through in the Samurai and the open differentials meant he had to give it some gas in places to get through, but he still came through it pretty easily.

Eric tried to get up on the rock next, but he didn't have much more luck. It was too slippery so he went around it too.

Jed worked on the left line but his tires weren't being as cooperative as Dave's were. Open differentials make things a bit more challenging, especially in the snow. He took the usual "S" curved line through it instead and made it look pretty easy.

Carlos has a rear locker this time -- he didn't have one last year -- so he was determined to get up on the rock. He got closer than anyone had so far, but the rock face is pretty steep and the ground was a snowy, wet mess. He kept trying, though, and one time he came at it a little too far over and bent his tie rod. He even lost a little plastic from somewhere. It wasn't too bent, so he went around the rock and kept going.

Don was bringing up the rear and he came through last. He got to the big rock and worked on it for just a minute and then suddenly he was up on top of it. It looked great and it looked like he'd be the only one to go over it, but then he slid off the side and ended up going around. He was the only one to get up on it, though.

We kept going up the trail and even though it was slick we didn't really have any issues. Then Bob took a wide line through some rocks and his rear end slid around suddenly and he was sideways in the trail. It was really slick where he was and he couldn't get himself back in the right direction, so Dave gave him a little tug with a tow strap to get him back up on the rocks.

We were going to do Coney Flats, too, and we were thinking we might skip the far end of Middle St. Vrain and just go have lunch at the "lake." The trail had been pretty slick, though, so we were expecting the trip up the first hill on Coney Flats to take us awhile (and it did!). We went to the end of Middle St. Vrain to have lunch, instead.

The snow at the end of the trail was deepest of all, but it wasn't as deep under the trees. We had our lunch there, but then the wind suddenly picked up and blew all of the snow off of the trees down onto us instead. We were all completely covered in snow, including about 1/4" of snow on our sandwiches. It was cold but we were still laughing.

We didn't stop for very long, and then we were off to tackle Coney Flats.

airing_down
bob_in_the_rocks_part_1
bob_in_the_rocks_part_2
bob_in_the_rocks_part_3
bob_in_the_rocks_part_4
bob_in_the_rocks_part_5
bob_in_the_rocks_part_6
bob_in_the_rocks_part_7
bob_slide_part_1
bob_slide_part_2
bob_slide_part_3
carlos_in_the_rocks_part_1
carlos_in_the_rocks_part_2
carlos_in_the_rocks_part_3
carlos_in_the_rocks_part_4
carlos_in_the_rocks_part_5
carlos_in_the_rocks_part_6
carlos_in_the_rocks_part_7
dave_in_the_rocks_part_1
dave_in_the_rocks_part_2
dave_in_the_rocks_part_3
dave_in_the_rocks_part_4
deep_section
deep_snow_at_lunch
don_in_the_rocks_part_1
don_in_the_rocks_part_2
don_in_the_rocks_part_3
don_in_the_rocks_part_4
don_in_the_rocks_part_5
don_in_the_rocks_part_6
eric_in_the_rocks_part_1
eric_in_the_rocks_part_2
eric_in_the_rocks_part_3
eric_in_the_rocks_part_4
eric_in_the_rocks_part_5
eric_in_the_rocks_part_6
eric_in_the_rocks_part_7
jed_in_the_rocks_part_1
jed_in_the_rocks_part_2
jed_in_the_rocks_part_3
jed_in_the_rocks_part_4
jed_in_the_rocks_part_5
ladd_in_the_rocks_part_1
ladd_in_the_rocks_part_2
ladd_in_the_rocks_part_3
ladd_in_the_rocks_part_4
ladd_in_the_rocks_part_5
lunch
peanut_gallery
perry_in_the_rocks_part_1
perry_in_the_rocks_part_2
perry_in_the_rocks_part_3
perry_in_the_rocks_part_4
snowy_trail
start_of_the_trail
water_crossing
wintery

Reports from Other Days: 13

Use the arrows or dots to flip through the previews of the other reports for Middle St. Vrain. Click one of them to read more and see all of the photos from that day.

July 10, 2021

Led by Matt K.
Middle St. Vrain was the second trail of the day after we finished visiting the T-33A plane crash. On the way to the trailhead, we looked for Brian in the parking lot and camping areas but there was no sign of him. He was driving a couple girls home to…
»
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
Join Us!
If you aren’t a Member or Subscriber, you can’t see all of the content on this site. Get membership information to see why this site is best when you join and log in

Information for Subscribers

When you log in you’ll see more information here:

  • Recent Community Forum posts
  • Recent polls
  • Upcoming Events you can attend
  • Links to online users

© 2000-2023 · TrailDamage.com · Terms and Conditions · About · Contact
Trail information is only accurate on the date posted. Trails may have changed or closed since that date. Use this information for historical purposes only.
Contact the Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management for up-to-date trail information.

/* ----------------------------------------- */ /* View slug: reports-other-reports-for-same-trail-slider - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* place the prev/next controls on the sides */ .td-transition-controls .wpv-filter-next-link, .td-transition-controls .wpv-filter-previous-link { border: none; font-size: 300%; position: absolute; top: 70px; } .td-transition-controls .wpv-filter-previous-link { left: 0; } .td-transition-controls .wpv-filter-next-link { right: 0; } /* center the page selector horizonatally */ .td-transition-controls ul.wpv_pagination_dots { text-align: center; margin-top: 10px; } /* center the page selector horizonatally */ .td-transition-controls ul.wpv_pagination_dots li.wpv_pagination_dots_item, .td-transition-controls .wpv_pagination_dots li a { display: inline-block; float: none; } /* remove the default styles */ .td-transition-controls .wpv_pagination_dots li a { text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none; } .td-slider-container { padding: 0 25px; margin-bottom: 20px; position: relative; width:100%; display:table; } .td-slides { position: relative; } .td-slides-image { float:left; display:table-cell; } .td-slides-image img { border:1px solid #c0c0c0; } .td-slides-content { padding:4px 4px 4px 10px; border-top:1px solid #c0c0c0; border-right:1px solid #c0c0c0; border-bottom:1px solid #c0c0c0; display:table-cell; height:227px; overflow:hidden; } .td-slides-content h3 { margin-top:8px; } .td-slides-leader { font-size:smaller; margin-top:4px; } /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* View slug: reports-other-reports-for-same-trail-slider - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */
/* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Template for a Single Report - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ .entry-header { display:none; } .entry-content h1 { margin-top:16px; padding-top:0; } h1 a { color:#222; } h1 a:hover { color:#666; } p.entry-meta { font-size:small; } #report-body-spacer { clear:both; width:100%; height:20px; } #addtoany-bar { margin-bottom:2em; text-align:center; } .category-reports .post-info .author, .post-info .date { display: none; } .addthis_recommended_horizontal { text-align:center !important; } /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Template for a Single Report - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Loop item in REPORTS Runners - start */ /* ----------------------------------------- */ #runners-container { width:100%; clear:both; } .runner { border:1px solid #c0c0c0; margin:0 6px 6px 0; float:left; width:49%; height:81px; } .runner-image { float: left; } .runner-image img { margin:2px 10px 0 2px; height:75px; width:75px; } .runner-name { text-transform:uppercase; } .runner-name a { color:#222; } .runner-name a:hover { color:#666; } .runner-vehicle { font-size:small; } @media only screen and (max-width: 768px) { .runner { width:100%; } } /* ----------------------------------------- */ /* Content Template: Loop item in REPORTS Runners - end */ /* ----------------------------------------- */