Snowmass Village, CO: Rain Showers (2432.3 miles)

I tackled the four hour drive to Snowmass Village this morning, as we bid adieu to Ouray and began the next leg of our trip. We're in Snowmass to participate in a Jeep Jamboree, a collection of about 300 jeepers that all come to drive trails together and to celebrate the sport of wheeling. I wasn't sure wheeling was a sport until we arrived in a parking lot full of tricked Jeeps. You wouldn't believe it. Old Jeeps. New Jeeps. Rubicons. Saharas. Grand Cherokees. Lifted Jeeps. Jeeps with massive tires. Orange, green, gold, silver, red, pink, and purple Jeeps. You get the idea-there are a lot of Jeeps here.

It was a fairly uneventful drive in from Ouray, although it rained all day. Rain and mountain roads don't make for a good combination. Caught the Car Commander trying to use the air brake a few times as I really tested the Jeep's handling around some of the corners. When you have the opportunity to remind your dad that his life is in your hands, you've gotta jump on it, because opportunities like that simply don't come all that often. Sorry, dad (okay but actually not that sorry)!

Tomorrow, I'm going to tackle the difficult trail we signed up for. It's rated as a "Double Black Diamond," but many of the guides seemed to think we'd be totally fine once they discovered that we conquered Black Bear Pass. Pearl Pass should be a good challenge, and with all of the rain today it should include some deep creek crossings as well as some quality mud bogs and other features. It'll be dangerous, but not terribly bad. Like I said, I'm extremely excited.

Check back tomorrow for pictures and video!