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August 9, 2023
Rollins Pass
So today, we had nice weather and I figured I'd take the Jeep and see if I could run it up to Yankee Doodle Lake, and possibly Needle's Eye Tunnel as well. Figured I'd take the Jeep on this one, as I recall that the road up there is very rocky - not well maintained.
I stopped at Walmart on the way out and picked up an air compressor for about $25. My thought being that I need to be able to control the air pressure in my tires. All of the guys out here for the Mile High Jeep Club rally all had air compressors and were airing up their tires after they got back to hard top.
I was going to take I-70 west but it was a parking lot, so I went down the hill on I-70, then north on 93 up to Coal Creek Canyon. Then up Coal Creek Canyon to Rollinsville to the east portal of the Moffat Tunnel.
I figured I should check and see what air pressure to use for the Jeep when off-road. I settled on 18 PSI, and that's what I did when I got to Forest Service Road 149 at the east entrance to the Moffat Tunnel. I let the tire pressure for all 4 tires down to 18 PSI, and then headed up the road towards Yankee Doodle Lake.
I started up the Forest Service Road 149 at 5:00 p.m.
It's 9 - 10 miles to Yankee Doodle Lake, but the road is very rough and rocky, and it took me almost 1 hour to get there. I would have liked to go up to Needle's Eye Tunnel, but by the time I got there (Yankee Doodle Lake), it was 6:00 p.m., so I turned around at Yankee Doodle Lake and headed back. Got back to Tolland Road (9 - 10 miles) at 7:05 p.m.
Then, I ate in Idaho Springs, and I hustled back home to get the cats inside before I lost them in the dark of the night. Got home at about 9:00 p.m.
I think that, in hindsight, the road is pretty rough. I think it's better suited for the ATV instead of the Jeep.
My route looked something like this.
Posted by Rob Kiser on August 9, 2023 at 9:42 PM
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