TLDR: Camper elevation and road condition advice thread CO GMU 67 3rd Season, looking to not get stuck.
After shooting a +150 class mule deer last year in the front range of Colorado unexpectedly, I decided to stop accumulating points and use my 10 resident points this year on some place that I always wanted to both hunt and camp and worry less about finding a trophy. I decided on Unit 67 and pulled a 3rd season rifle tag. I’ve read a bunch about the unit not really having trophies anymore and that’s fine. I just want to spend a week chasing game and will punch my tag on anything legal towards the end of the week for meat. I plan to bring my daughter along for a good portion of it as her first long hunting trip experience. I normally hunt 55 to the north for muzzleloader and 18/181 for later rifle seasons. I’ve made a few trips to the unit and gotten a bunch of general area advise, but I’m still trying to figure out what it will be like in 3rd season for camper access. The bulk of the advice I’ve received for camping is valid June – Sept.
I generally base camp with an Aliner pulled behind a Jeep Gladiator. The Aliner is a hard walled popup with the construction quality of towable foam cooler. It goes on graded roads only and I try to limit snow to less than 8”. The Gladiator is a Rubicon with lift and winch that I use on jeep trails during the summer. It’s very capable of getting back to better hunting spots and I carry a tent to spike camp as needed. I’m really not looking to be close to any specific hunting area with the camper, just something with good access to a large chuck of the unit and honestly something that is more camping oriented with nice views as I’m less worried about results and just want an enjoyable week in the mountains without getting the camper trapped for days if/when a heavy storm rolls through.
I’m looking for anyone that might have several seasons of experience for some feedback on the weather and road conditions. If this was 181 3rd season I would know based on 10yrs of hunting that unit that driving up to around 9500 is ok with many of the roads being well graded and chains on the tow vehicle generally being optional with good AT/MTs. That freak one in 5 year snow would only isolate me for 2 days at most. However, several of the roads that go over 10k are a hard pass as they are both ungraded and I could see my camper getting trapped for the season.
My research on 67 has me targeting a specific section of the unit; but I’m still pondering if I can tuck up into the tree cover (most of the camping advice I have gotten at 9600-9800ft), find something lower down in valley (9400-9200ft), or go even further out to a main road (9000ft or less). This is a one and done sort of trip for me so I’m trying to cast a wider net for advice. I’ve been to the unit, but I haven’t been during 3rd season to understand possible seasonal road conditions. I’d also like to plan a decent experience for my daughter as she has a strong interest in hunting and has been tagging along for shorter trips since she was 4.
I try to participate on the forum where it makes sense, but the level of experience and expertise here generally limits the opportunities where I feel my input adds value. Open to swapping info through PMs as well. I tried to stay very generic on my post, I rewritten it a few times and if I missed something, let me know and I’ll edit it. Thanks in advance for any and all feedback as I really appreciate all the knowledge on the forum.
After shooting a +150 class mule deer last year in the front range of Colorado unexpectedly, I decided to stop accumulating points and use my 10 resident points this year on some place that I always wanted to both hunt and camp and worry less about finding a trophy. I decided on Unit 67 and pulled a 3rd season rifle tag. I’ve read a bunch about the unit not really having trophies anymore and that’s fine. I just want to spend a week chasing game and will punch my tag on anything legal towards the end of the week for meat. I plan to bring my daughter along for a good portion of it as her first long hunting trip experience. I normally hunt 55 to the north for muzzleloader and 18/181 for later rifle seasons. I’ve made a few trips to the unit and gotten a bunch of general area advise, but I’m still trying to figure out what it will be like in 3rd season for camper access. The bulk of the advice I’ve received for camping is valid June – Sept.
I generally base camp with an Aliner pulled behind a Jeep Gladiator. The Aliner is a hard walled popup with the construction quality of towable foam cooler. It goes on graded roads only and I try to limit snow to less than 8”. The Gladiator is a Rubicon with lift and winch that I use on jeep trails during the summer. It’s very capable of getting back to better hunting spots and I carry a tent to spike camp as needed. I’m really not looking to be close to any specific hunting area with the camper, just something with good access to a large chuck of the unit and honestly something that is more camping oriented with nice views as I’m less worried about results and just want an enjoyable week in the mountains without getting the camper trapped for days if/when a heavy storm rolls through.
I’m looking for anyone that might have several seasons of experience for some feedback on the weather and road conditions. If this was 181 3rd season I would know based on 10yrs of hunting that unit that driving up to around 9500 is ok with many of the roads being well graded and chains on the tow vehicle generally being optional with good AT/MTs. That freak one in 5 year snow would only isolate me for 2 days at most. However, several of the roads that go over 10k are a hard pass as they are both ungraded and I could see my camper getting trapped for the season.
My research on 67 has me targeting a specific section of the unit; but I’m still pondering if I can tuck up into the tree cover (most of the camping advice I have gotten at 9600-9800ft), find something lower down in valley (9400-9200ft), or go even further out to a main road (9000ft or less). This is a one and done sort of trip for me so I’m trying to cast a wider net for advice. I’ve been to the unit, but I haven’t been during 3rd season to understand possible seasonal road conditions. I’d also like to plan a decent experience for my daughter as she has a strong interest in hunting and has been tagging along for shorter trips since she was 4.
I try to participate on the forum where it makes sense, but the level of experience and expertise here generally limits the opportunities where I feel my input adds value. Open to swapping info through PMs as well. I tried to stay very generic on my post, I rewritten it a few times and if I missed something, let me know and I’ll edit it. Thanks in advance for any and all feedback as I really appreciate all the knowledge on the forum.
