Squerch. Glugg. Squish.
As my boot hit the ground, it was immediately swallowed by an inch of mud. I grabbed the SUV to keep my balance and found every inch covered in the same brown slime.
David sat stunned.
I started inching my way farther down the trail, until it dawned on me…
“I bet they went to plan B camp site and now we’re stuck on the way to plan A.
Alone. In the woods. In the cold. Shit.”
Retracing my steps towards the SUV which was so neatly lodged nose down in a gulley, I was at a loss for words. My normally calm, serene husband was silently beating the arm rest, until looking at me where we both looked ready to cry, but were simply too stunned.
A SCENIC DRIVE
But let’s go back to the beginning, how did we get ourselves in to such a silly mess?!
The amazing Heather of A Colorado Gal and her husband Will invited us on our first camping trip, so that we could get up close and personal with the golden Aspen trees.
We haven’t been able to luxuriate in Fall colors for the last 8 years in Florida, so I was thrilled!Having zero camping experience, we were nonetheless excited for the challenge and my great new friends from Kelty sent us a sleeping bag and tent, so we wouldn’t even have to build our own shelter from sticks. ;)
I Googled.
I packed.
I plotted.
Saturday morning we departed before the sun and were rewarded with amazing views.
As we continued our trek from Denver to Kebler Pass, the trees became increasingly brilliant though the weather a bit dicey. While in the comfort of the car it’s fun to see the snow mixed among the fall leaves and even the rain was beautiful as it hit the Colorado River.
It took nearly 5 hours to reach our destination, but we were in good spirits having enjoyed the drive…even with just a single random radio station giving us farming news!
A REGRETTABLE DECISION
Then…we made an error in judgement.
One of the constant discussions in Colorado is how intense people are.
They don’t go for a 6 mile run, they do 6o or they do 6 straight up a mountain to 14,000 feet.
They don’t go for a quick hike, they take backpacks and hike into the wilderness to sleep before hiking further.
They don’t let a dirt road keep them from their destination.
Ah ha that last one is where we really fubared the situation.About an hour previously we’d gone out of cell phone reception having truly entered the mountains and off roads. Reaching the turn off point for the camp, David pulled over and we started to debate.
It looked muddy, but was it that muddy?
Maybe we should walk to the camp site? But if we walked a mile and it was right, then we had to walk back and get all our camping stuff which didn’t sound right.
We have an SUV…it can do that, right?
Wrong.
As we started up the incline, it became apparent to both of us almost right away we’d made an error in judgement. The SUV was sliding and the road wasn’t just rough it was large ruts.
Reaching the top of the incline, we turned and agreed to just attempt going back down. Easy enough…except as you saw above, not so much.With my boots full of mud, I slipped, slid and nervously made my way down to the main road.
During all this, snow and rain are making all the roads infinitely worse. Hands frozen and eyes peeled I kept watch for someone with a big enough truck to possibly come help us.
Two guys in a small jeep pulled over and happily bounded up the hill to push David out, which was a fruitless effort, so back down we went.
Cue the trumpets! Bum, brummm, bum!
Around the corner came a Jeep with a winch on the front. I waved. They stopped.
“Any interest in driving up that ridiculous hill and pulling us out of ditch?”
“Of course!!” said the smiling angel (later to be named Todd)
And with no trouble at all, they drove right on up, he hooked up the car and yanked it out! Then stayed connected to help guide D down as the SUV simply kept sliding right off the mud side road.So there we are back on the main road, still no cell service, a car with every warning bell and light going off and pondering if it will even make it down the mountain…but we start driving and the snow starts falling and the cars start piling up.
Turns out we got down just before a large wreck that closed the road.
AFTERMATH
Crested Butte is out of this world beautiful, but there’s not an open mechanic on the weekends and just 1 working tire air pump in town. It was also Vinotauk, a festival celebrating Pagean heritage and the Harvest moon, so all hotels were sold out.I started making calls and got us the last room at Crested Butte Inn…apparently it was the last room because the lock on the door didn’t work! We figured that couldn’t be any worse than a tent in the mud, so oh well!
Monday morning David took the car in and miraculously, they said nothing was wrong. He had a pre-scheduled appointment for an oil change, so no guarantees they really looked it over, but for now we’re going with blissful ignorance.
He also spent two hours cleaning every bit of his bike. Thus we headed out for a RUNCH and RIDE.
And here he is walking 9 miles down the mountain when his tire burst. Likely from having been drenched, then frozen it just got too brittle when taking the hard hits.Overall it might seem like a bust, but we still had a good time. We saw a lot of different places in Colorado. We hiked 5 new trails. I got to celebrate my love of changing colored leaves and in the end we are safe, so look for another post on the beauty!
Lessons learned:
- An SUV is not a Jeep.
- We are not as rugged as our Colorado friends.
- We have a pretty amazing angel watching over us.
- It was probably not the perfect weather for a first camping trip.
Are you a camper?
Any crazy road trip lessons learned?
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Beth
Hi,
Love your blog. This is my first time commenting. It sounds like you made the best of a crazy situation. Just curious where you got the gel pouch? I’ve been looking for something like that.
Susie @ Suzlyfe
Lord.
We are not doing this when I come to Denver.
Wendy
Oh, wow, what an adventure! It is always scary when things like that happen. Glad it all turned out ok.
Maria
Amanda what a story! This makes me really need to get outside more haha. The concrete jungle of NYC doesn’t seem to give me the same experiences ;)
Laura
LOL THESE are the stories you will remember forever! A seamlessly easy camping trip could’ve been easily forgotten…but this one will live in infamy! My husband and I are those crazies you talk about…we went back country camping on our honeymoon! We love hiking forever into the wilderness just to camp and then keep hiking deeper! Here’s to hoping for a better experience next time!
Colorado Gal
Hahahah oh friend :) I still can’t believe this happened; we missed you at camp! And for the record: we “tough CO people” were NOT cool enough to make it up that hill either. We took one look at the mud and were like, NOPE! No way my Subaru would’ve made it so you attempted even more than us. Promise: our next attempt at camping with you will go MUCH better. After all, how will I get you into backpacking if I don’t make you love camping? ;)
amanda
It’s all laughable which is the key! We will definitely give it a go again!
Beth
I can’t believe so much went wrong on your first camping trip! Sounds like a more entry level camping trip is in order ;) it looks like you were trying for expert this time, don’t get discouraged! Camping is the best.
So glad all is well with you guys and your car.
amanda
haha yes we agree, we were excited to be with some experts but maybe a tad over our heads
Heather @ FITaspire
Oh no!! I’m so sorry things didn’t go as planned, but I’m glad it turned out okay. If you want to try again next year, we would love to have you join us sometime. Maybe on a dry weekend when it’s a little warmer? :)
amanda
yes David has stipulated SUMMER :)
Sarah- A Whisk and Two Wands
Sounds like quit the weekend! Love your outlook and finding the good in the situation instead of dwelling on it and letting it get you down. I have to giggle about the JEEP because that’s all we own, and we love them!
Emily
It always seems that there is never a ‘perfect’ camping trip, but the stories are what make it so hilarious. I have been covered in mud on camping trips, totally wet, crawled up hills and slid down them, gotten stuck in mud, and ridden in cars that are sliding all over the road because the mud is so bad. It’s harrowing, and it can be frustrating, but I love that you reminded us to count the memories and all the things learned. Colorado people impress me, and even though I am one, I’m always meeting people who are WAY more intense than me. Give me a baking pan, a hoodie, some sweats, and a nice 3 mile run, and I’m happy. :D However, if you have adventurous people in your family, you will always be pulled out of your comfort zone in a good way.
amanda
You have the best outlook! I agree we love our adventurous friends because they do push us!!! We certainly need to meet up here in Denver soon!
Sonali- The Foodie Physician
Oh wow, what a crazy adventure! The intro to your post was written like a best-selling thriller! You guys definitely made the most out of a tough situation and I’m so glad your story had a happy ending :)
Eri
wow what an adventure! I cannot imagine camping out in the mud/snow/rain either….
I thought SUV was perfect for Colorado, but I guess you need something more rugged like the Jeep! crazy!
Jess
I’ve never camped! The people in the great state of Colorado sound so nice. I’m excited to follow more of your CO adventures since we hope to move there within the next year!
amanda
OMG, what, wait, are you serious!! I need to know more!
Laura
ARGHHHHH this is what I’m always afraid of when I go camping! (You know, the two times I’ve tried it so far.) I now think I have just been lucky, as I certainly don’t have the experience to know what to do in a predicament like yours. I may drive a Jeep, but if you had asked me to tow you out I would have been totally clueless!
XOXO Just glad you guys are okay!
Chrissa - Physical Kitchness
Oh my gosh, what an adventure!!! I can’t do a 6 mile run in regular elevation, sooooo you’d definitely not want to bring me on a trip like this! LOL
Kristen
Haha omg this post! This is exactly what life is like in Alaska, so don’t even worry about feeling like you’re not rugged enough! This story proves that you are :) When we drove up to Alaska on the AlCan highway (no cell service, in the middle of nowhere in Canada, and with all of our belongings in a trailer on the back), we drove off the road in a snowstorm because we had to keep going on the drive and “everyone else was doing it”. No. We are not rugged enough for that ish. Luckily we just crashed into a ditch and magically didn’t hurt the car at all, but it was the scariest moment of my life. It’s exactly like how you described yours, and it definitely made me laugh a bit because I remember that feeling! We later went on to pop a tire in the middle of nowhere in Alaska, and luckily found a very nice woman and some of her neighbors (who rode up in ATVs with guns strapped to their chests because they were in the middle of a bear hunt) helped us change a tire. Rugged road trips are no fun at the time, but they make for the best stories later! I hope you both are feeling better about it now!
amanda
all right your stories are wayyyy more interesting :)
Alisa @ Go Dairy Free
He had to walk his bike 9 miles?! Oh my goodness. I love the outdoors, but nope, not a camper. You are much braver than I! Definitely some stories to tell for later :)
Julie @ Running in a Skirt
Glad you guys are ok! I swear this kind of stuff happens to the Hubs and I too! haha! You guys might need a jeep! So strange to see snow already!
Natan
Wow. This road looks really nasty. Do you know which winch was on that Jeep? Thanks