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Mapping Crew - Colorado
My Profile
Year Started:
1996
Off-Road Style:
Rock Crawling
My Garage:
- 2018 Jeep Wrangler (4 door) (3.5" lift, 39" tires)
- 1988 Jeep Wrangler (2 door) (6+" lift, 40"+ tires)
- 1946 Jeep CJ (Stock lift, 26" tires)
Marcus is a 4th generation Buena Vista, Colorado native who grew up bouncing around the central Colorado mountains in the back of his dad's CJ5. During his younger years, Marcus grew to appreciate public lands and the recreation opportunities backroads and 4-wheel drive trails offer. Marcus has been wheeling for 20 years now and has wheeled in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and California. Until a few years ago Marcus had just been a participant in the wheeling community, but he has become much more active in preserving trails and working to make sure the wheeling community has their access maintained for future generations. In 2017 Marcus helped to found Colorado Off Road Enterprise - CORE, based out of Buena Vista. CORE has worked with the Forest Service and BLM and has volunteer agreements in place with both organizations. CORE also has a Forest Service trail adoption agreement in place for Grizzly Lake, Pomeroy Lake, Hancock Lake, Hancock Pass, and Tincup Pass, Tomichi Pass, Williams Pass, Ptarmigan Lake, Mineral Basin, Clohesy Lake, Lost Canyon, Champion Mill, Iron Mike Mine, and Slide Lake. If Marcus is not working you can generally find him somewhere out on the trails around Buena Vista.
My Garage (3)
2018 Jeep Wrangler (4 door)
Lift Size: 3.5"
Tire Size: 39"
2018 Jeep JLU, 3.6L motor, and 8-speed automatic transmission. 3.5" Metal Cloak Game Changer Lift. Falcon 3.3 shocks. 39" KM3 BFG Tires on 17x9 Battleborn Bootlegger Beadlock Wheels. 10K Warn Winch and ARB dual compressor.
1988 Jeep Wrangler (2 door)
Lift Size: 6+"
Tire Size: 40"+
1988 Jeep Wrangler YJ...well the body is an 88 at least. The motor is a 4.0 HO from a Cherokee, which is mated to a AX15 transmission and then to a doubler built with the front half of an NP231 case and a 4 to 1 low range Dana 300. The wheelbase has been stretched to 105" and the lift is from a 4-link rear and a 3-link front with ORI Struts. The front axle is a SuperDuty Dana 60 with a Yukon Grizzly Locker. The rear axle is a SuperDuty 10.5 with a Yukon Grizzly Locker. Complimenting all of this is a hydro assist steering system, 40" Cooper STT Pro Tires, BattleBorn beadlocks and armor on just about everything.
1946 Jeep CJ
Lift Size: Stock
Tire Size: 26"
1962 CJ2A. All original with a 12v conversion. Still running bias-ply tubed tires.
My Trail Reviews (24)
(within last 6 months)Morgan City Wash (03/29/2023)
A beautiful spring day in the Sonoran Desert. This guide is spot on and the trail was easy for a mostly stock JT Mojave. The trail was fairly quiet, we saw one JK and three SxS machines. Temps were in the mid-70s making for a pleasant afternoon. The landscape was really green and the orange flowers popped in the mid-day sun surrounding the iconic Saguaro Cactus, and we did see a few wild burros. I would recommend this trail for a half-day trip to get out of the city.
Castle Hot Springs (03/29/2023)
Ran the first half of this trail in reverse from this guide as a loop back to Lake Pleasant after completing the Morgan City Wash Trail. It was a busy day on the road with lots of traffic, which included vehicles, ATVs, and UTVs. The temperature was perfect and the afternoon sun made the desert flowers really pop. We did see a few wild burros. This trail is a great option to complete a loop back to Lake Pleasant with Morgan City Wash.
Hell's Revenge (02/19/2023)
A little cold but clear skies and a moderately busy Sunday on the trail. The main route was totally clear from the recent snowfall, but there was some snow still on Hells Gate and Tip Over Challenge was completely covered.
Eye of the Whale (02/18/2023)
A little snow on the ground in places and cold temps but a fun day out. Only saw a few other vehicles.
Tower Arch (02/18/2023)
A little snow and cold temps but a fun day on the trail.
Tusher Tunnel (02/18/2023)
Snow on the ground and cold temps. The breeze blowing through the tunnel was cold but the sun on the south side was pleasant.
Klondike Bluffs (02/18/2023)
A little snow and some cold temps today, but a fun day on the trail. Didn’t see another vehicle.
Top of the World (02/17/2023)
First time I’ve ever wheeled this trail in snow. Was patchy and only an inch or two deep at the beginning, but was 6-8” deep at waypoint 7. We couldn’t make the obstacle with the snow. Turned around but still a fun day on the trail.
Chinaman Gulch (01/22/2023)
Fantastic January day on Chinaman. A mix of snow, ice and dirt. 6 rigs in our group, didn’t see anyone else.
Bald Mountain Loop (01/01/2023)
First run of 2023. Watched a snow storm roll in over the Collegiate Peaks.
Lathrop Canyon (11/13/2022)
Awesome day in Lathrop Canyon. Easy trail for a stock 392 Wrangler. Driving down the wash was a cool experience.
Tusher Tunnel (11/13/2022)
Quick trip to the tunnel on our way out of town. Always a great side trip.
White Rim (11/13/2022)
Drove in to access Lathrop Canyon and back out. Lots of traffic both motorized and MTN bikes. Saw a few desert Big Horn sheep and the side trip to Musselman Arch is really cool.
Shafer Trail (11/13/2022)
Cold and a little sketchy at the top with snow and ice on the first few switchbacks but no issues.
Eye of the Whale (11/11/2022)
Easy day on Eye of the Whale. Cold at 41 degrees and some muddy spots. Lots of traffic along the trail so watch the blind corners. Hit the arch right near sunset and the sun made the arch glow as it were lit.
Tower Arch (11/11/2022)
Cold and muddy along parts of the trail, but a beautiful day in Arches. Lots of traffic along the route, and it was easy for our new 392 wrangler.
Klondike Bluffs Escape via Baby Steps (11/11/2022)
A bit cold and muddy today, but we had the trail to ourselves. Ran this with a brand new stock 392 wrangler and we navigated the trail without issue.
Klondike Bluffs (11/11/2022)
A bit cold today and somewhat muddy, but never a bad day on the trail in Utah. Ran this with a brand new stock 392 wrangler.
Jones Mountain/Ptarmigan Lake (10/30/2022)
Still open for a bit longer if you can navigate the snow.
Mineral Basin (10/29/2022)
Still open for a bit longer if you can navigate the snow.
Grizzly Lake (10/20/2022)
Beautiful October day. Some trail work before winter. Secured a log to hold the road up at waypoint 4 so it’s not as dangerous as before and drained the avalanche field ruts just before the lake parking lot.
Tomichi Pass (10/18/2022)
The trail is open (for now, winter will close it soon) and the landslide is not an issue as reported on 10/9. You do need to drive over the original landslide as shown in Waypoint 3 of the guide and seen in the trail video. CORE rebuilt a new road over the top of the landslide in 2019. If you are looking at Tomichi from Hancock Pass you can still see how the landslide originally covered the Tomichi Trail with about 30' of material, but the road is currently still open if you have the nerves to drive up and over the slide.
Jones Mountain/Ptarmigan Lake (10/16/2022)
Still open on a beautiful Sunday. No other people around.
Mineral Basin (10/16/2022)
Still open and totally dry. Only saw a few hunters.
My Trails (37)
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