4th of July weekend
For this post we’re taking a break from Alaska and the cabins and writing about a Colorado trip in our camper van. I spent about 3 weeks back in Colorado preparing for the move back to Southeast Alaska, and we were able to get the van out for a couple nights.
If you had told me we could find an isolated camping spot in Colorado on one of the busiest weekends of the year, I would’ve thought you were crazy. I really had zero expectations, and though we might end up just going for a very long drive…but maybe that’s why we got so lucky.
Planning our Colorado Camping Trip
Months ago we had discussed trying to leave for this weekend, but as it got closer it seemed less and less likely. I was overwhelmed with work, and I had also just tested positive for Covid. Which after avoiding it for over 2 years kind of pissed me off.
It wasn’t until that Saturday when we decided our choices were to stay inside all weekend (it was supposed to be beautiful), or give it a shot and see if we could find a place away from the crowds. We decided on the latter.
After spending a few minutes looking at some maps we put together a game plan, which was essentially a loop which had some forest service roads that might have dispersed camping. We felt pretty good about our plan, and were happy that it would be a beautiful drive if nothing else.
The Drive
Now that we had a plan, we packed the van with everything we would need for a two night camping trip. Mostly this was food and beer.
The forecast was nice, and we weren’t going to be undertaking any large hikes or climbs, so the required gear was minimal. I was very close to not even bringing a change of clothes…which it turns out I very much needed.
Finally, we were ready to hit the road at about noon on Saturday. Anticipating bad traffic, we downloaded a podcast to listen to and started driving. If you’re familiar with I-70 heading west out of Denver, then you know how bad this stretch can get.
It was exactly what I was dreading…cars in every lane hardly moving. We thought maybe there was an accident or a stalled car, but we never saw anything of the sort. Over two hours later, we were finally at Eisenhower Tunnel, which normally takes about 45 minutes.
On the other side of the tunnel traffic lightened up and we were able to get into Silverthorne with no problem. Now our loop was starting. We headed north and crossed our fingers.
The first Forest Service spur we came too looked promising, there weren’t a million cars driving in and out so we decided to take a chance. We crossed a bridge and started on a dirt road that ran along a small creek. Immediately, there were great camping spots on the river, but they were all taken.
Continuing for about 5 miles, the story was the same. We would see a turn off for a spot, and then see the camper or vehicle a moment later. It was time to move on to the next place, so we turned around and got back onto the main road.
This is where the plan changed, we thought we had a long drive to next spot, but after only a few minutes I spotted a gate that looked to have a public access sign. We stopped and checked it out…sure enough it was an entrance to BLM land.
The first section was a grass field, with small groves of aspen surrounding the camping sites. We saw two campers, and then a third spot open which we though about taking.
But the road kept going, heading into the forest itself and we decided to keep exploring. This road got worse, with larger ruts and more bumps, but we didn’t think we had hit our limit yet.
Getting Stuck
Then we came to a fork. One road went straight and looked very rough, the other was a better road…except for one spot with large ruts and a big dip around a corner. If we could make it through that section we would be fine.
We contemplated heading back, but I had walked a ways down the road and found the perfect camping spot only a couple hundred yards away. I wanted to see if we could get back to it.
Now we just had to navigate through this problem section. The van started through staying on top of the road, but as we started to turn the back tires began tracking inside the turn, eventually slipping off the high section into the rut pulling the entire van down.
Jenn tried to hit the gas, but nothing. It was muddy in this part, so at first we thought the tires were slipping. The van isn’t 4 wheel drive, so it doesn’t take too much to have issues with traction. With this in mind, we placed the MaxTrax we carry under the front tires and tried to drive out.
Nothing. There was no movement and the tires didn’t even spin. It was time to reevaluate, and when we did we noticed the back bumper was almost on the ground, and the rear axle was buried in the mud.
It wasn’t a traction issue, it was a clearance issue. The rear axle needed to be dug out in order for us to have a chance. In the back we found a small, foldable shovel. More of a camp shovel than a real shovel, but it was all we had.
There wasn’t much room under the van, so I had to lay on my back and use one arm to try and break about the mud, then pull it out of the way. Due to the angle, I couldn’t dig, just break it up, then get the mud on top of the blade, and slide it out.
I would dig for a bit, then we would try to drive hoping we could break free. Several times we tried with no change in the situation. After about an hour of this, and some discussion of getting help, I felt like we had most of the mud and sticks cleared out.
Jenn climbed back into the driver’s seat to try one more time. She started on the gas and the wheels were trying to turn, the van moved a few inches and looked like it wanted to go.
She was about to stop but I told her to keep on it as I ran to the back to try and push. I pushed as hard as I could and it started to move, slowly at first, then gaining momentum! The van was pulling back up to the road, and at the same time I could hear Jenn screaming with excitement.
We were free!
Camping
It took a little while for the adrenaline to fade, and we still had a couple hundred yards to get to the final location. The road from here out wasn’t flat, but it also wasn’t terrible.
Even though we were through the worst of it, there was still some nervousness about the rest of the way (and we didn’t even want to talk about the way out). Slow and steady did the trick and we finally made it to our camp.
Camping
To say it was a relief to arrive at our campsite is a major understatement. As soon as the van was in park, I had a beer in hand to celebrate getting unstuck.
We leveled the van, and I decided to fly the drone. Since we didn’t really know where we ended up, we didn’t know what was around us. On all four sides, it was green and beautiful.
It was already getting late so we spent some time sitting in the chairs outside, then cooking dinner. I was starving and the fajitas Jenn made were delicious.
After we finished I decided to fly the drone again, and immediately I spotted elk directly behind camp…not more than 200 yards. We walked down the trail in that direction and started to hear them mewing. It was surreal to know they were so close, to hear them communicate, but still not see them.
One poked its head out and made eye contact with Jenn and immediately bolted back into the woods. It happened so fast that I missed it and only heard the crashing through the woods.
Now it was getting dark, so we made our way back to camp and called it a night. Reminiscing over the time we almost got stuck…
The next morning we slept in, enjoying the new blackout curtains recently installed in the van. Next it was coffee, eggs, and bacon.
Feeling full and energetic from the coffee we decided to walk the trail behind our site and do some exploring. I expected to make it a quick trip, but the trail kept going and going.
We found an old cabin, a beautiful meadow, and some more incredible wildflowers. The trail eventually hit a stream, and we started to loop back around. During the 5 mile hike we saw 2 deer, and a lot of cows.
By the time we made it back to camp we were both pretty tired, so it was nap time. Jenn took the hammock and I took the van. It was one of the best naps I’d had in a long time.
After a relaxing afternoon we decided to scout the road we were going to take out. We knew we wouldn’t be going the same way, but weren’t sure how bad the other option was.
It didn’t look terrible, but it also didn’t look great. Being extra sensitive to the low clearance, there were a couple places that looked like they could cause some problems, but that was for the morning.
Jenn cooked some delicious meatballs that night for dinner, and we decided to call it an early night.
The next morning came, and Jenn wasn’t feeling well. That, combined with wanting to beat traffic, meant we packed up without coffee or breakfast and left. Admittedly, part of that was because I was anxious about our exit from the site and I wanted to get it over with.
Drive Home
We came to the points in the road we had marked as problematic the night before and with some nervousness, made it through with no issues. Once the last large dip was cleared, we both felt a weight lift off of us.
The rest of the drive was easier than I could’ve hoped. We never hit traffic, had some amazing views, and perfect weather. It took us less than two hours to make it all the way home from our campsite…a very different story from the trip up.
Conclusion
More than anything else, this camping trip was refreshing. Before this weekend I didn’t think it was possible to get away from people anywhere near Denver without some serious work.
We proved that notion to be false. And even though we had a close call getting there, it was all worth it. It was a great reminder of how special Colorado is, and how lucky I am to have been raised here.