Trips you have to take: Colorado BDR
The initials BDR stand for Backcountry Discovery Route. You'll find BDR's across the country and in almost every state West of the Mississippi. A few of them really stick out though and the one we took on this year is Colorado's.
Colorado's BDR stretches from the Wyoming border in the North through the entire state to Four Corners National Monument in the South. Since we only had 5 days to tackle the trail we decided to start at 4 corners and work our way North, jumping off the BDR in Buena Vista Colorado. This would still encompass over 400 miles(over 300 on dirt), 8 Alpine pass crossings, and 1 epic trip.
The trip actually started though in Farmington, New Mexico. The group met up there at a local Air BnB with the plan to hit the Four Corners National Monument fairly early in the morning. The Land Rover had better plans as the Air Conditioning decided that summer in New Mexico was just not the best time or place to work. We got on the road though by late morning and followed the pavement to the monument. After a quick visit and everyone getting their obligatory four states at once pics we shot northwards towards Dolores, Colorado. This would be one of the last times we would see pavement.
As you come north out of Dolores you have to pay attention. The entrance on to the dirt is very subtle and around a fairly blind turn. We pulled off and parked in a field of Lavender to air down. We wouldn't air up again for 4 more days. Here the trail isn't super well marked and a little overgrown but not the most difficult thing we have ever driven on. Technical rating wise OnX has it rated as a 3 and that is probably being overly generous. We never needed anything more than 2WD and the only real concerns were pinstripes, dust, and some light mud. We came to our first planned campsite to find it fully occupied by cattle. Since a lot of the area south of the San Juan Mountains is BLM lands this can happen but luckily, at this part of the trip, campsites were plentiful and we found a beautiful one tucked in the trees.
Day 2 found us on pretty easy driving trails the entire day. As the day went on we found ourselves slowly getting higher and higher in elevation. We came down the dirt roads and in to a fairly large pond sized body of water known as Groundhog Reservoir. We decided to stop for lunch and do a little fishing. Half of the group had bought fishing permits before the trip and were clearly prepared. Once lunch had ended, the trail went up and went up quick. We were now coming in to the San Juan Mountain range. As we wound back and forth up the mountain we all came over the first real pass and were greeted to an absolutely amazing view that looked North and East. It was the mountains we would spend the next day and a half in. We took plenty of time taking pictures, before continuing in to Lone Cone Plateau and eventually down in to Telluride, Colorado. We camped just on the West side of town. It's about a half mile of pavement to the campsite we found.
Day 3 we turned South. We knew what we were looking for and here we spent our first miles officially on the Alpine Loop. The loop itself is a multi-day trip that would just be full of amazing views. At this point through the rest of the trip we would spend it almost entirely above 10,000 feet, dropping down to a mere 9,500 ish a couple of times. The road we were on though turned to dirt within a half mile of the campsite and quickly passed the landmark that let us know we were going the right way, Ophir Post Office. A mile or so later we came across 30-40 homes and a small town sign that let us know we were in Ophir, Colorado. We stopped, took some footage and pictures, then headed towards one of the most iconic trails in the Western Hemisphere, Ophir Pass. Although not difficult, if you have even the slightest fear of heights, you'll find yourself death gripping the steering wheel. Passing is incredibly difficult here and we found ourselves even waiting for motorcycles to finish before moving forward. The view though was every bit as good as google images shows. One of our group took a picture that is almost identical to what you first come across on Google. Coming down Ophir wasn't super technical but still had a couple of pucker points as you passed other vehicles. From here, we briefly jumped on what is known as the Million Dollar Highway, and headed to the next trail entrance for us, Black Bear Pass.
We got word just two days before the trip started that Black Bear was opened. The year before a few different groups attempted to drive on the trail while it was closed and it never opened for the summer. It seems to happen every year that it will open briefly but is usually closed by someone doing something they aren't supposed to on the trail and the sheriff closes it down. We all made the call that if it was still open we would go up the 2-way portion of the trail but then turn around before it goes down in to the valley and is a one way trail. The main reason is, none of us had ever done the trail, and we did have 2 bone stock vehicles in the group with us. We didn't want to be the group that got it closed for the year. We made the right call. Even on the 2 Way side of the hill it is narrow and technical. Passing requires patience and really good communication. The overlook at the top is just stunning. After coming back down we headed in to the trails that drive through the old mines. If we had to do this trip all over again we would have stayed near here and taken the day to explore. We didn't though and we pushed up and over Hurricane and California passes, and found a place to crash(although late because so many campsites were already taken) near Animas Forks.
After an exciting overnight filled with Elk bugle calls and coyotes we woke up and moved on for day 4. Day 4 was the longest day mileage wise but the trails were very easy. More high alpine passes including Cinnamon and Cumberland passes and eventually down in to Tin Cup for a stop for some abnormally large but great tasting milkshakes. Just past Tin Cup we shot off on to an old logging road called Cow Creek. This is actually where we came across our first water crossing...and it was deep, very deep. We all made it through and found ourselves where we started, just off the pavement in a field of lavender. It seemed like a fitting end and for all of us would be the end of our last ever trip with one of our dear friends. Jeff Evans was a beloved member of our group and on Day 4 had shown us the exact spot he had to quit and never complete the Southern portion of the BDR while on his Honda Motorcycle. He'd unfortunately loose his life on that same motorcycle just a few days later while headed home from work. The completion of the BDR was a bucket list for him that we all got to share and I'm glad we did. The views and memories make this trip, especially for those of us close to him, a trip you have to take.
