Kingston Peak (12,000 ft)

SubaCool

SubaCool

Forum Member
Joined
May 23, 2009
Messages
414
Location
Brighton, Colorado
I've been wanting to tackle Kingston Peak since last year, but never had anybody interested to go with me. I've talked my buddy Jason into joining me on Sunday (09/12/2010) and we've headed out. Lisa has decided to stay at home so I was going solo, which resulted in some minor damage due to me being able to play more than usual. Jason didn't bring his camera so we've shared mine and we didn't take many action shots.

I've met up with Jason in Idaho Springs and then headed up Oh My God road to Central City. I like going this route because it is on dirt, and it shortens the trip by a few minutes than the CC Parkway. From Central City we drove up through Apex and up to the trail head. We didn't waste much time, zeroed the odometer, and continued on.
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About a mile in we got to a big open area with two huge mud puddles and we've decided to give them a go.

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And ended up looking like this:
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The water claimed my left front fender liner clips, and I've had to take it off. It's intact though.
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After we had our fun in the puddles we then continued on up the trail. We've had to pull over a few times to allow the oncoming traffic to pass. Yeah, they looked shocked every time
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The climb was quite steep, and the higher we got, the more my engine struggled for air (i need to clean my air filter, and I'm sure the mud didn't help either). But needless to say, the mighty Subie chugged on up to the top like a champ. Jason did without any problems but was very impressed (me too).
Once we got up the steep part, we found ourselves driving through a flatter alpine tundra. The views were just breathtaking (no pun intended).
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We came up to a wash out with no (legal) way around, so I went for it. Three wheeling is cool, M'kay!
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When we finally reached the "Rock House", it was really windy and chilly, but that didn't stop us from getting out and checking things out and signing the guest book. I took a two picture panorama which resulted in Jason's daughter becoming her own twin
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People bring rocks from all over the place and add them to the rock pile along with their names and other scribbles. So I couldn't resist to represent:
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From up there we could see down to Loch Lomond lake, which we've visited last year: Loch Lomond - 08/28/2009
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We've spent about 45 minutes at the Rock House before continuing on to the other side, to Alice. The descent was mildly steep with loose gravel and rocks and quite bumpy, though uneventful.
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We got down fairly quickly, and the trail spit us out in Alice, just before the trail head for Loch Lomond. We've then continued down to I-70 and then back to Denver where we split up. I've decided to go wash the car, but before I got to the car wash, I drove by a Subaru dealership and just couldn't resist snapping a few shots there. I mean, how could you resist, right?
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Finally, I found the car wash where I've cleaned off all the evidence (although I did show the pics to Lisa, and survived!).
It was a great day in the mountains, we came unscathed, but i was dead tired from the trip (130 miles round trip, about 7 hrs total). It was definitely worth it though!!

Videos:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUUTsNIlUO4"]YouTube - Jason in mud puddles[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qawwrpfg0xI"]YouTube - Kubo running the Outback throught the mud puddles[/ame]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DIt235nSQw"]YouTube - Descending Kingston Peak[/ame]

FULL SLIDESHOW!!
 
Nice pics. You need a turbo so you don't struggle so much with the heights. Or so they say. beats me.

Would be nice to go on a trip like that tho :iconwink:
I bet the people driving in the opposite direction thought "hey, some guy in a Subaru got lost and drove the wrong way since he's up here. How did he get here anyway..." :biggrin:
 
I like you warped sense of humour :lol: in the car yard
As usual pics are great
Is that covered in snow in winter (not much grass around)
The Outback looks the same colour as mine after a trip :iconwink:

Jan
 
Great trip report SubaCool. :biggrin:
Reading & viewing your trips & pics together with your adventures are like sunshine on a rainy day. :raz:

The pics of your dirty Subi in the car yard are....what else can I say...they'er classics. :rotfl:

I think there's going to be some new "banners" very soon. :ebiggrin:

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
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