Twin Cone
One thing that people from outside of the state of Colorado always misjudge is when the wheeling season starts. In Denver, the weather is nice in May so people head up to the mountains. All they find in May above 8,000 feet or so is snow. Even in June there is still a lot of snow in the high country. Twin Cone is a special trail because a lot of it is in the sun, so the snow melts. That means you can get well over 10,000 feet in June near Kenosha Pass.
This trail was always one of our spring "go to" trails, but somehow we forgot about it for a few years. We needed to revisit it, and we were really looking forward to the trip. We had a good-sized group of seasoned wheelers and new members, and it promised to be a great group.
We aired down at the Kenosha Pass pit toilets, of course, and there were quite a few people there. We'd find that there were quite a few vehicles on the trail, too. Everyone we saw was happy and friendly, and that made it fun.
We were going through the residential area near the start, and we were happy to find a nice creek crossing on the trail. It wasn't particularly deep, but it was long and smooth on the bottom, with clean, cold water in it. Monica went through it quickly with her Jeep's top flipped back and windows out, and they got soaked. That's a good way to start the trail.
The switchbacks were fun, but we were looking forward to getting to the rocks. We soon found ourselves at the first rocks, and Monica was the only one to get her Jeep's picture taken there. The next bit of rocks was even better, and we all took our turns going through it.
Bob S. was without lockers, and he was gunning it through everything. It was fun to watch. Everyone had a great time in the rocks. Pat's Jeep was three months old, and he made it look easy.
We were already pulled to the side of the trail and it was 1:00, so it was lunch time. We took our time there, even though the mosquitoes were really out. The rain and snow we'd had made everything really green, and the bugs loved it.
Quite a few groups were coming down, and we could see two big groups passing each other high up above timberline. We decided to wait on one of the groups, so we stayed at lunch even longer. There was a break in the traffic, so we started back up.
The biggest rocks were even bigger than the last time we were there because of the erosion that had happened during that time. Monica got in the middle of it, but then it was taking too many tries so she backed out of it and went around. Matt tried it a bit, too, but in the end he also had to go around.
Bob S. remembered the line from last time and went high to the left at the edge of the trail. He couldn't lock up his axles, so speed was his friend. He didn't go too fast, but he kept his momentum. He made it through! That was definitely a highlight.
No one else tried the biggest rocks, so we were soon past it. Then another group was coming down, and we were at another wide spot. Everyone was friendly and it was good to see all of the different vehicles.
The last obstacle was always a challenge, but this time it was really big. We all twisted and banged our way through it, though we didn't stop to be the peanut gallery for everyone. We still had a distance to go.
The hill climb was back to its loose and rocky glory. Everyone seemed to take a different line, and they were all fun. Even though no one was in a hurry, we were soon all back together and heading up past Lunch Rock and above timberline.
There was still quite a bit of snow on the peaks around us, but Twin Cone was dry. The rocks above timberline looked the same as before, which was good. Once we got to the top we all parked and got out to wander around.
It was very windy and very chilly, of course. We hung out for a while trying not to blow over and taking lots of pictures. Red Cone was going to have snow on it for quite a while, yet.
We left before we all blew away, and the way down was pretty easy. On the way up, there was someone camping at the overlook so we went by it. Surprisingly, it was open on the way down so we stopped. Holly found one of her control arm mounts bent, and Pat scratched a new rim. Welcome to wheeling!
The overlook is nice, but it isn't as dramatic if you've already been to the top. We stayed for a bit just to enjoy each others' company, but then the mosquitoes were too much. We headed back down to visit at the trailhead instead. It was the perfect day!
Reports from Other Days: 6
Use the arrows or dots to flip through the previews of the other reports for Twin Cone. Click one of them to read more and see all of the photos from that day.
