Posted by Scott Bideau on August 11, 2013 at 9:35 PM
After my recent post about various 4x4 roads in the San Juans, I headed up to Yankee Boy Basin for my first drive. There I found this VG Beetle, badly mangled and disabled on the side of the road.
According to Edmunds.com, the ground clearance on a 2012 Beetle for example is 5.7". It looked way less than that to me :)
Posted by Tom Stermitz on August 11, 2013 at 9:49 PM
Beetle!? I'm not sure that word means what you think it means. A real beetle from the 60's would have stomped up that road with no problem!
Posted by Scott Bideau on August 11, 2013 at 10:12 PM
The new Beetle may be nothing like the version from the 60's, but it does carry the same name.
Back in the late 70's, my uncle came to souped up a VW and took it some crazy places (including Imogene and Black Bear). The looks on the faces of the guys in the huge trucks as this little thing came up the hill was awesome.
Ouch. I'm always amazed at how far I see people up trails with their Subaru. I'll be jeeping along and have a WTF moment when I see some guy practically rock crawling in one.
Posted by Doug Beezley on August 12, 2013 at 9:26 AM
The only garage in Ouray that tows vehicles out of the San Juan's charges $100 per mile round trip! They are probably looking at a tow bill of around $1800. There's no substitute for common sense.
Doug Beezley
Snellville, GA
Posted by Karl Buiter on August 12, 2013 at 10:29 AM
For several years there was a totally flattened - crushed beyond recognition - vehicle between Hurricane and California Passes. The story on it was that the vehicle was disabled late in the season and before the owner could get a tow, winter moved in. The remains was the result of immense snow weight.
Posted by Monika Chace on August 12, 2013 at 12:02 PM
When I was about 3.5 miles in on the Lead King Basin road, ther was a broken down tour jeep backing down. I gave one of the fellows a ride into Marble as the day was young and I hadn't seen anybody else on the road. He told me about seeing a Ford Fiesta that had literally left its transmission on the road to Crystal Mill. Then, on my way out the next day, there was a couple in a rental minivan whose GPS had directed from Demver to Crested Butte via Schofield Pass! They had stopped at the creek crossing just past North LostMan TH.
Discussion
9 repliesAccording to Edmunds.com, the ground clearance on a 2012 Beetle for example is 5.7". It looked way less than that to me :)
Back in the late 70's, my uncle came to souped up a VW and took it some crazy places (including Imogene and Black Bear). The looks on the faces of the guys in the huge trucks as this little thing came up the hill was awesome.
Doug Beezley
Snellville, GA
For several years there was a totally flattened - crushed beyond recognition - vehicle between Hurricane and California Passes. The story on it was that the vehicle was disabled late in the season and before the owner could get a tow, winter moved in. The remains was the result of immense snow weight.