July 2021 we took a group a power wagons up Heart Attack Hill! This is one of Kelly Flat’s main attractions as it’s a very steep, loose, hill climb with hard and easy lines. These trucks are so planted they walk right up without incident!
Video is at:
June 26th I spent the day with Colorado 4×4 Rescue and Recovery on the Switzerland Trail to recover a Jeep TJ that rolled over attempting to turn around on a tight trail. After getting the vehicle back on its wheels, the process began to pull it up the hill, which was upwards of 40+ degrees near the road. One occupant ended up with a broken back and is recovering at home, but had the trees not been where they were, this would have kept going until it hit the bottom of the canyon. This vehicle actually was able to drive out under its own power, even after being on it’s top for a week. We had to add a bit of water to the radiator, and some oil to the engine, but the 4.0 started right up!
Video is at:
June 19th Team Red Rubicon spent the day exploring the trails around Gilpin County. We wanted to run Miner’s Gulch uphill which depending on time of year, is a river running downhill. The water makes gripping the rocks very difficult and fun.
Check out the video at:
May 22nd 2021 a team from Colorado 4×4 Rescue and Recovery spent the morning pulling a Ram 2500 out of a deep sink hole that formed during the spring runoff. It took two trucks anchored to other vehicles both running 2:1 winch setups to break the suction free on that Ram 2500. We estimate the total pulling force somewhere near 18,000 to 20,000 pounds.
Video can be seen at:
May of 2021 Troop 184 went on a weekend trip along the Colorado / Wyoming border. It was a dreary wet weekend but a ton of fun. We cooked dutch oven stews, sat by the bon fire, played camping games (which ended up with some dirt in an eye), and using a whole bottle of eye flush to get it cleaned out.
Boys will be boys and we have a ton of fun when we’re out in the mountains!
In late april 2021 I went up Cherokee Park Road with Colorado 4×4 Rescue and Recovery to pull this Tacoma back onto the trail that got hung up in snow the week before. In late spring the snow melts fast, so once we got on scene this really didn’t look like too hard of a job. A quick winch sideways had the truck back on the road, and we broke all the rigging down and headed home!
Video of this recovery can be seen at:
Part of being a NRA instructor is using your credentials. I was invited up to the April Golden Plains Spring Camporee to run the Cowboy Action range with another instructor. I had a bit more free time on this trip to take photos since we had so many instructors, and it was an awesome weekend. Started off with some nice fog as I dropped into camp, and the warm weather had some spring snow melting causing an absolute muddy mess. We’re working on a new shotgun platform to keep that from happening again.
At the end of the day Saturday we cooked some amazing steaks and broke down camp to head home!
A couple times of the year, Troop 184 goes on a shooting sports extravaganza campout. I am a NRA Certified Instructor for Rifle, Muzzleloaders, Shotgun, Pistol, and am a RSO and Chief RSO (Range Safety Officer). NRA instructors and RSOs are required for all BSA Shooting Sports events.
I don’t get to take many photos at these events since I’m busy being a range officer, but the weekends are still a ton of fun and everyone has a great time.
Anyone that knows me knows I LOOOOOOOVE snow! Winter Storm Zylina didn’t disappoint. Colorado 4×4 Rescue and Recovery was activated to assist with critical personnel transports to work ensuring that hospitals, doctors offices, and dispatch centers were staffed with those mission critical folks for the blizzard.
I assisted with personnel transports and also had to deal with the storms wrath at the same time. It was very odd being in the “hot zone” while also responding to calls for help. By the time the event was over, I was one of two trucks that were able to move about the neighborhood, and even at that, I had to work for it. This record setting storm dumped over 30 inches of snow in town, and destroyed my front yard tree which I ultimately replaced in May.
Video can be seen at:
Went on the annual Troop 184 January Planning campout trip! Was a beautiful weekend at Ben Delatour Scout Ranch just outside of Red Feather Lakes, Colorado. Scouts planned their entire 2021 calendar year and had a great time ice fishing, hiking, hanging out and relaxing! A great trip!
