On Tuesday August 5th, at 9:30a.m., another bright and beautiful morning in the Colorado Rockies, and time for the line-up outside of the 2003 All-4-Fun camp in the Lost Canyon staging area for the Wheeler Lake trip. Trip leader was Glenn and some 17 jeepers included Jim M. (HOBO Jed's older brother), Velvet and Pierce and the rest of the Amarillo "gang ", Bob D. and Virve (me), and others. Wheeler is one of the most challenging trails in Colorado, so there was definitely an air of excitement in the air about beginning the day!

   We headed out of camp and north on County Road 24 to the turn off east onto County Road 7, which crosses Weston Pass from west to east. A longer route than Mosquito Pass but quicker with a large group of jeepers in order to get to the Wheeler Lake trailhead. The pace was quick, but the dust was ferocious! When the CB call went out to keep the jeep behind you in view, one response said "I'll just keep the dust ball which I presume is a jeep in view". A quick stop to do a partial air down was done 3 miles before the summit of Weston Pass.

   More dust was encountered on the east side of Weston Pass summit (much easier), and the pavement of Hwy 285 was a welcome relief. We then traveled north to the Conoco station on the south edge of Fairplay for a 10-100, and some provisions. Then it was north to a left turn onto Route 9 and into the center of Fairplay. After driving north on Route 9 through Alma, and the dummy in the police car enforcing the 20 mph speed limit through town (plus the real sheriff stopping cars), we turned off onto County Road 4 and then Forest Road 408.

   The Wheeler Lake trail starts at the gate on the north side of beautiful Montgomery Reservoir. We stopped on the north side of Montgomery reservoir for a final air-down before starting up challenging Wheeler Lake trail. We then set out on the road around the back of the lake. The trail immediately starts to climb and at 1.1 miles we drove right under part of the old Magnolia Mill.

    There is a challenging spot just after the mill and it was a credit to the group of very capable jeeps and jeepers that as soon as the trip leader Glenn declared that he was through the obstacle, and ready to come back and spot others that all the other jeeps were already through and moving forward. This remained true for the other challenging obstacles on the trail that day.

   The length of time for the trip to reach the Wheeler trailhead, and the route up the trail so far that day, led to a call for a lunch break before we reached the lake. We stopped in close formation with aspen, dogwood and willow bushes brushing up against the jeep windows.

     At 3.8 miles the trail bears to the right and starts the final ascent on a narrow ledge of loose rock. A guide book says that this is the point at which stock vehicles should go no further. (Any stock vehicle which has made it this far has had an extremely capable driver behind the wheel, author's opinion.)

    There continued to be a series of rocky steps on the trail up to the final destination, the extremely beautiful basin of Wheeler Lake. We were surrounded by high peaks, a series of waterfalls flowing into Wheeler Lake, and quiet mirror pools flowing out of the lake. The wildflowers around the lake and water falls were incredible. We all got out of our Jeeps and enjoyed the beauty of Wheeler Lake for awhile.

    Then as the dark clouds increasingly threatened the peaks around the lake and raindrops began to fall we gathered for a group picture. Everyone reluctantly left the beautiful Wheeler Lake basin, and returned to their jeeps to begin the trip downhill.

    What started out as a few drops became a consistent rain, accompanied by soft hail. The rain followed us most of the way down. We all stopped again at Montgomery reservoir to air-up for the trip home.

    A quick trip north on Route 9 to Breckenridge and Frisco, I-70 to Copper, then Rte 91 over Fremont Pass to Leadville and back to camp. Everyone was quick enough to arrive back in camp just in time to enjoy Tuesday night Bestop's Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social!! Waiting in line in the rain for ice cream didn't dampen anyone spirits. Thanks Bestop!

Virve Strid

Many thanks to 'Guest Writer' Virve for a great report!

    After a great trail ride and some good camp grub, what else do you need??  How about a nice cold ice cream sundae and some live music for your evening!  That's what the 'Bestop Ice Cream Social' on Tuesday night is all about!  Thanks to Bestop for their continued support.  As the live band played, people mingled under and around the tent and around their campfires.  That's what All-4-Fun is all about---FUN on and off the trail!!

Bill Hallinan HoboJeepers

Other All-4-Fun 2003 Trip Reports

Sat: Leadville Boom Days    Sun: Mt. Antero Trail    Mon: Iron Mike Mine Trail    Tue: Wheeler Lake Trail

Wed: Vendor's Day    Thur: Lost Canyon Trail    Fri: Mosquito Pass/Mt. Bross Trails

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