Safe Autumn Off-Roading for the Seasoned Adventurer
Off-roading in the Rockies is a risky adventure at any time of the year, but the fall can be particularly tricky unless you’re well-equipped and know what you’re doing. It isn’t a season for novice off-roaders; if you’re new to this type of recreation, wait until next summer to tackle the peaks. But if you’re a well-seasoned off-roader, even at lower elevations, this is the perfect time to experience the glory of the season in a safe, practical manner. Remember, in autumn there are less people around to winch you out of a ditch. The Rocky Mountains are very unforgiving when the wind whips up and the temperature drops suddenly; you may find yourself coated with three inches of snow within an hour in mid-September. When you travel roads that aren’t really roads at all, you assume the risk of misadventure.
Extensive preparation is the key to safe autumn off-roading. First, you need a four-wheel drive vehicle that you know how to drive. And we’re not talking about some kind of buff luxury car; we’re talking about a real “utility” vehicle that may get dented and scratched, but will get you home alive. If you’re concerned about how your vehicle looks, leave it in the garage. You’ll be traversing the highest points in the Rockies, at least 10,000 feet – well above timber line and into the perpetual winter of permafrost tundra. Your vehicle must be equipped with these basics: a roll-bar on top in case you and your vehicle take a tumble, working seat belts, two spare tires (steel-belted, all-weather radials), three cans of extra gas, a hard grill on the front in case you have a close encounter with an elk, and a front-mounted winch that can automatically haul your vehicle out of a ditch, a fast-rising stream, or an unexpected pile of mud, snow, or ice.
Manual winches are cheaper, sure. But to haul a Jeep Cherokee out of a snow bank manually takes the strength of three grown men. Pay the bucks; get the auto-winch. Make sure you’re very familiar with your vehicle; if you’ve just gotten a new one that you’re dying to try out, do some practice runs at lower elevations before you head up the peaks so you’re sure about how your vehicle performs and you don’t find yourself having to guess what it will and will not do. Get yourself the best CB radio you can afford, and equip it with a battery-operated power microphone so you can broadcast for help if you’re stuck or injured. Take two sets of extra batteries for the microphone. Your antenna should be the “whip” type, not the “shortie” that magnetically adheres to your hood. Tie the whip antenna down well to protect it from unruly trees.
Bring food – lots of it – that won’t spoil. If you’re really stuck hard in a sudden storm, you may be there for a day or two. Bring blankets, rain gear, warm clothes, extra boots and socks in case you have to hike out. Bring fresh water. Don’t drink out of those clear mountain streams or lakes; you’ll end up with a nasty bug called giardia that causes intense stomach cramps and diarrhea. The animals are used to it; you aren’t. You can eat fresh snow without problems. Bring several flashlights and lots of extra batteries. Bring a loaded firearm and know how to use it. Grizzlies can get downright unfriendly in the fall mating season. A .44-caliber pistol, a .357 magnum pistol, or a serious hunting rifle should do the trick if it comes down to you vs. bear. Keep all your food locked tightly in your vehicle; food smells attract bears and you can avoid an unpleasant encounter by not becoming an attractive nuisance to a hungry bear.
If you’re not in good physical shape, stay home in the autumn. Mountain air is thin and cold; each step will feel like ten if you’re hiking out. Remember that what you call a “road” may be nothing more than a well-used Bighorn trail. Don’t count on being rescued; be accustomed and equipped to hike in the alpine terrain. A “handicapped” decal won’t do you a bit of good at 12,000 feet in a Rocky Mountain autumn snow storm!
Finally, this isn’t a good time to explore terrain and 4X4 trails that are unfamiliar to you. You don’t know what’s around the corner, nor do you know where the terrain leads. You may be headed for civilization, but you just may be headed deeper into the Rockies at 4:00 pm. Not a good idea! “Go where you know” is the motto of autumn off-roaders as is “Never go alone.”
Now, where does the fun come in? Everywhere! Look around you; beautiful leaves decked out in every fall color, marmots scurrying into their mounds, elk bellowing for mates, permafrost tundra plants, snowy white mountain goats that seem to defy gravity and walk vertically up the mountainsides, the ptarmigans’ feathers changing from summer brown to winter white, the little picas hunting for seeds among the tundra. Listen for the sharp crack of Bighorns battling for mating supremacy. Visiting high elevations in different seasons is a real thrill; you can see how nature equips the plant and animal “residents” to survive and prosper. When you return in the spring, the glacier lilies will be in full bloom and the baby mountain goats will be taking their first shaky climbs under the watchful eye of their mothers. In high summer, it’s hard to picture the peaks coated in snow only a few months ago.
In autumn in the Rocky Mountains, nature’s glory is spread out in front of you like clouds that were hung for a poet’s eye. Standing on top of the world, you understand now why you came this way.
