Misadventures on an Off Road Jeep Trail

While in Ouray, we decided to try one of the jeep trails, after all, we didn't by a Jeep for nothing. We did a lot of research first about the classifications of the trails and what they meant. We read reviews of the trails in a brochure at the hotel and on tripadvisor. We even watched a video that was running during breakfast at our hotel. After all the research, we picked the Yankee Basin trail for our first off road adventure in Colorado.

The drive was pretty scary but fortunately, we did not have to compete with anyone coming down while we were heading up. We got to one very frightening section where the rock had been cut out for the trail. Unfortunately, I was holding on too tight to take a photo but when I say cut out of a rock, I mean that they literally blasted a rock cliff to make a path a little wider and a little taller than our jeep. It was like a tunnel but the left side was missing and a 1000 foot drop off was put in its place.

As we passed through this section of the cliff, water was falling on us from the snow melt above and the road was covered with water. As we were finishing up this white knuckle experience, Kevin noticed the tire pressure sensor said the front right tire was losing air very quickly. We debated on whether to drive forward or back up to find a place to change a tire. We knew there was a place behind us but there was no way on earth I was going to let Kevin go backwards on this cliff. My fear prevailed so we went forward.

As we started going forward, the sensor on the back right tire also started showing we were losing air. We couldn't believe we had two flat tires!!! Fortunately, we did not have to drive far to find a nice sort of flat pull off to change the tire.

Here we were about 7 miles up a rocky road with two flat tires. Luckily, we had a full size spare and a patch kit to work with in hopes of getting two tires that were good enough to drive back down the mountain on.

The first item of business, after unpacking the jeep to get the spare, was to put the spare on the front. We knew it was in worse shape because it deflated so quickly and we could still hear the air hissing out when we parked. Unfortunately, when Kevin jacked up the jeep the front wheel was still on the ground due to the incline. Consequently, I went in search of a large flat rock to add another inch or two to the jack. Fortunately, I was able to find the perfect flat rock and Kevin quickly changed the front tire.

Next, we started to work on the back tire. Again, after jacking up the car, even with my perfect flat rock, the rear tire was not off the ground due to the incline. I once again was in search of another even more perfect flat rock. I found one in a creek close by...and it was very heavy. Kevin said I looked like one of the Scottish guys in a stone throwing contest carrying the rock down the hill.

This rock worked out so we were able to get the bad tire off. The trick was now to find the hole and hope it could be repaired. Fortunately, we had a 12 volt inflator in the car and camping gear, which included dish soap. Kevin inflated the tire, as I made frequent trips to the creek to fill the water bottle up to make soapy water to pour on the tire. It took a long time before the tire finally had enough pressure to show where the leak was. Just as we found the leak 4, hikers walked by and asked if we needed help. We had a nice conversation with them while Kevin plugged the tire. The hikers were impressed that anyone could fix their own tire. Their amazement made me realize how much I take Kevin's McGuiver-like skills for granted.

We are still driving on the plugged tire and with no spare 4 days later. Not that we want to be in this situation but the problem happened on Saturday, no place is open on Sunday in this part of Colorado, and we have yet to find a tire place that carries the right size. We do have tires ordered and have an appointment on Thursday to get two new ones. This is just another unplanned stop and expense in our journey, but at least we have a good story to tell.

We did have many folks on foot, in SUVs, and on ATV's stop and ask us if they could help. It was very comforting to have so many people stop and check on us. The folks in Colorado are fantastic.