Black Bear Pass - San Juan Mountains, Colorado

Black Bear Pass, the place that dreams are made of. To me it’s the perfect Jeep trail, it has views, it has danger, adventure, it’s easy at times, and hard at others, it is beautiful, and most of all downright terrifying. For me, I have wanted to ride this trail for years, heck I named my company after it. It’s my style of wheeling, it’s overlanding meets rock crawling. It’s views were breathtaking, and it’s over all splendor leaves you speechless. Here is what you need to know, the trail is run one way, so your best shot at getting gas and supplies is in Silverton, CO. It’s a great little town, and you can find free air at the local station for airing up if you need it. It’s a 40 minute drive from Silverton to the trail head, when you first get there, you will find the iconic sign welcoming you to the trail. This is going to be your best place to air down, our group ran an average 20 psi. and it worked well for us. You really don’t need to the most built vehicle to but you do need decent ground clearance, 4wheel drive, good steering and brakes, and it doesn’t hurt to have the ability to flex. Power at altitude is limited so keep that in mind, and make sure you bring a good running vehicle. Having some sort of offline GPS is a plus, and purchasing a Fun Treks book is really helpful for planning your trip. The trails have few markers but they all seem to lead you into Telluride one way or another. It really is a breath-taking trail, but you have to keep your eye on the trail at all times. Once you run down the steps ( super nerve racking), you have a few dauting switch backs and it’s easy peezy from there. Be careful as you go down because the hikers are plenty, and many people stop for pictures along the way. The trail is really unlike any other and is worth your time and effort. I would like to add that, if you plan on running black bear, there are a half dozen other epic trails close by like engineer pass or Imogene pass, or even the alpine loop. Black Bear Pass is a trail of a lifetime, however I do have a few words to the wise, the trails can take longer than expected because of trail traffic caused by complete idiots, yes I said idiots, but it happens sometimes so I want to prepare you. Also altitude sickness is real, and it effects people in different ways, so, well, just take it easy and don’t get in a big hurry. Besides that, make plans, be flexible, and enjoy one of my favorite places in the world.

Regards,

Bradley “Jeepin Bubba” Cohron

P.S. Eat Your Prunes!!!