Been planning this route for a couple years now. I think I've finally got it worked out. The main attraction is the Alpine Loop, but to make the drive worthwhile from the PNW, I needed to add a few more destinations from my bucket list. The attached screenshot from Gaia is fairly self-explanatory. A good portion of the route follows the Colorado BDR north to south. It then detours south to include a small section of the Rio Grande and over Stony Pass into the Silverton area. Next up is the Alpine Loop, which may take a couple days to explore as there's lots to see here. I'll be pulling an off-road teardrop behind a 07 4Runner SEV8, so I'll need a base camp for a couple nights to avoid pulling a trailer through the loop. Heading north through Ouray and Montrose gives me the opportunity to explore the Black Canyon of the Gunnison before heading west along the Rimrocker into Moab. I won't spend much time in Moab, but there are a few trails I'm interested in driving. Sightseeing, not technical stuff. From there I'll spend a night or two on the north half of the San Rafael Swell before heading west for the tour up Skyline Drive. I think I can do it in a month, but from the PNW it's a thousand miles to the start and another thousand to get home. I'm anticipating fall colors and cold nights, especially at the high elevations, and they'll be lots of that!
I haven't decided whether I want to do this solo or take on a couple companions. If you're interested (and this is probably a full month commitment) drop a note here and we'll see what transpires.
I haven't decided whether I want to do this solo or take on a couple companions. If you're interested (and this is probably a full month commitment) drop a note here and we'll see what transpires.
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When on the trail I much prefer the Bronco, but I have to be realistic about doing a 3K mile trip without cruise control and A/C. 
