Back home and slowly unpacking. Unfortunately the J20 wasn't able to make the trip this year with several issues popping up the week before leaving; overheating, loose wheel bearing, rear brakes locking up before the front, and still running break-in oil. I made a last minute decision to borrow my brother's Tacoma for the trip.
First night we camped on the Medano Pass 4x4 road out of Great Sand Dunes NP. We explored the sand dunes the following morning before continuing on Medano pass out to hwy 69 then 50 over to Montrose.
Sunday night was spent at Ridgway state park, coincidentally in the exact same spot as last year!
Monday the left front wheel bearing suddenly failed, so much for Toyota reliability
. Fortunately NAPA in Montrose had a whole hub assembly on hand so I spent the evening tearing the front end apart and installing the new hub. While crawling around the front end I also found the passenger side rack and pinion boot was torn. None of the parts stores in town had one but autozone had a universal boot so I zip-tied it over the old boot and covered the hole.
Short ride up to Yankee Girl on Tuesday
Rode up to the restrooms on corkscrew before lunch with the crew on Wednesday. Went out fishing in the afternoon and apparently Sean did as well in the International. Or maybe he was panning for gold, not sure but it sounds like he installed a porthole in the side of his engine
. The group had some crazy stories Wednesday night around the fire about their ride.
Some FSJ Spottings in Ouray
Thursday we rode up to silver basin with the crew and what an amazing trail! This was our first time on this trail and it was awesome. Jeff followed me through the creek at the beginning of the trail coming and going and splashed his ignition both times requiring a tug out
. A few minutes of drying out each time and he was back going. Just before reaching the top we encountered a snow bank blocking the trail but the basin was only a short hike. The top was truly amazing and beautiful. Meanwhile some more FSJers stumbled upon us, Ross and Jesse showed up to join the party! Backing out of the trail was interesting and Jesse got the XJ in a precarious spot requiring a little tug back on level ground. On our way back out we ran into the rest of the crew at the creek crossing, Sean, Gabe, and Sarah captured Jeffs second creek recovery!
The potluck and raffle was fun as always! The pulled pork was great and there were a ton of awesome raffle prizes!
Friday we climbed the Ouray Via Ferrata, grabbed a 420 burger from Maggies per Will E's suggestion and checked out the Ouray Mountain Rescue.
Saturday was our last day in CO and I ended it with a bang, right before we were planning to leave I decided to do a blue run and took a big spill off the bike. Skidded across the rocks and gravel, cut myself up pretty good and got some road rash on my arms and chest. Spent the afternoon at Telluride medical center and left with 5 stitches and two wrapped arms. Made it home late last night and doing ok. FSJ invasion 2023 was a blast and I'll see yall next year!
