Overlanding The San Juan Mountains, Lime Creek [Fly Fishing, Camping & a Distillery in
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- Опубліковано 9 тра 2023
- In this latest overlanding adventure, I head down to the San Juan mountains, starting off in Durango, Colorado. This area is amazing if you want to overland, camp, fly fish, hike, hot springs or basically anything outdoors. My first stop is a little different, Honeyville, a large store that has everything bee related, but I am here to harvest some local ingredients for a later Trails n’ Cocktails episode. Not only do they have all kinds of flavors and styles of wildflower honey, but they also have a distillery! I will cut to the chase and tell you right now, their booze is amazing and rather inexpensive. The people here were very friendly, as Ian gave me a quick walkthrough on how their vodka is made (which I did buy for a cocktail in the next episode). After picking up some much-needed supplies I hopped back into the Titan with the dog and head up highway 550 to the real adventure. Lime Creek trail can be run in either direction, but I started at the entrance nearest to Durango. I thought this was going to just be a dirt road, so I could squeeze in some quick fishing, I was wrong. This trail is not difficult, and most vehicles could make it, but it is very rocky, so it is hard to maintain speed. The exit does have some spots where 4WD and a little clearance would be nice. Lime Creek brings with beauty right off the bat; nonstop aspen groves and huge pine trees. At one-point things open up into a bowl where there are large ponds covered in lily pads. Shortly thereafter, things get interesting. The trail tightens up into a shelf road. It actually seems PRETTY safe, with stone barriers where there is room, until it gets too narrow. But what made it a little spicey was all the recent rain brought down some rock slides. Even so, my full size Nissan TItan didn’t have much of an issue. If you get over possibly plunging to your death, the views are fantastic with the mountain sides covered thick with aspen trees. This place in the fall is a must!
Once on the valley floor, things get a little damp, with mud puddles everywhere. I was starting to worry that I would not find a suitable campsite, but even a blind squirl finds a nut once in a while. There is a small turn off that sneaks up on you, but it leads to about 6 riverside campsites, all well-spaced apart. I was lucky enough to get the site at the very end, so I didn’t have to worry about anyone coming by. It was surrounding by towering trees and thick vegetation, so it will make you feel like you are totally alone. The best part is that the river is only about 1 minute walk from camp. I wasted no time getting my fly rod rigged up, cracking a beer and heading down to try my best lines on the trout with Dewy. Turns out I had plenty of luck, as long as size doesn’t matter to you! LOL. Landed about a dozen brook and brown trout within an hour. Nothing to write home about, but they were hungry and that’s all that mattered. It is hard to complain about trout taking dry flies on the surface.
Once the sun faded away, the soaking wet mutt and myself went back to camp to get some quick chow, a night cap and call it a day well spent. The next episode shows some other gems on Lime Creek with waterfalls, hikes and challenging bits on the trail. Even though the fish were not big, this trail is perfect for an addition to most any overlanding adventure. And remember, What’s Your GOL?
Catch up on past videos using the links below.
Halfmoon Creek Part 1 : Fly Fishing, Overlanding, Rock Crawling, Alpine Lakes, Hiking and More
• Overlanding Rock Crawl...
Overlanding Colorado at 13,000 Feet with Epic Lighting Storm
• Overlanding Colorado @...
Clohesy Lake : River Crossings, Amazing Mountain Lake, Mining Ruins & Cocktails
• Overlanding Rock Crawl... - Авто та транспорт
![OPHIR PASS with EPIC Campsite! [Overlanding the San Juan Mountains, Colorado at it's Best!]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yrRg940Dl_0/mqdefault.jpg)
![OPHIR PASS with EPIC Campsite! [Overlanding the San Juan Mountains, Colorado at it's Best!]](/img/tr.png)
![3 Days in the San Juan Mountains (Overlanding the Alpine Loop) [ep 138]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bkbkeDWd6HI/mqdefault.jpg)
San Juan’s are absolutely beautiful! Camp site looks perfect.
I can’t believe Dewey is such a savage in the River 😊
The boy loves kissing the fishes and will do anything to make it happen!
I am all for the distillery! Love your fur baby is your fishing partner!! So cute!!
If I could get my hands on their products in Denver, I would in a heart beat! That place alone has me wanting to pay another visit to Durango in the near future.
Brookies are fun! Even if they're tiny😊. Dewey is a beast! 😅😂😅
Never had a small dog before, but he doesn't seem to have "I can't" in his vocabulary. The lil' guy goes into everything head first.
Dewy is awesome... great video!
Thank you. The hikes and storms that little dude put up with last weekend blew my mind. He is a fearless trooper.
I camped at that lily pad pond when I was in Boy Scouts! Some guys hopped into the water and got leaches on them 😬
LOL, that place 100% looks like it has creepy critters in it that would suck you dry! Staying on land was a good call. Some things are just nice too look at and then walk away.
Love your video we are for sure cut from the same cloth my friend! Love visiting distilleries and breweries and always looking for stuff to add to our cocktails ! That was one heck of a cliff drive but the view looked worth it! We always crack open a beer first thing as a matter of fact we have some tips of how to level with the beer! Great drone footage perfect mountains to film. Dewey is adorable and courages we camp and hike with 3 little dogs one Dewey looks a little like. I thought the only way to fish was a beer in one hand?? That was a great camping spot and thanks for sharing the bachelor pad. Man hope to see u on the road one day. We have subscribed and will be supporting your channel wishing you more great adventures and a growing channel. Hope we see u as we are all Just Ramblin Around!
Well thank you for all the kind words. I was worried that this video would come out a little flat since there was no real objective (besides fishing) for the day and the plans quickly changed. Fun for me, but not sure it was fun to watch. I know going to local spots like breweries really doesn't count as "overlanding" but I feel like taking those side trips really does enhance the experience. If you say we are from the same cloth, then it looks like I need to hop on your channel and check out some videos!
@@grandeoverland6787 well not just saying that go take a look and u may see. Until then looking forward to more of your videos!
@@justramblinaround Of course the first video of yours I watched, y'all were at a brewery. lol
Damn I wish I knew about that Honeyville place when we hit the San Juans last summer!
It was certainly a happy accident! Was on the way to go hit the trail and saw a sign for it last minute. If you ever get the chance again, I would highly recommend it!
I'll definitely be back. When I was there in late June Black Bear was still impassable due to snow and the bridge on Imogene was still out so we could only summit and turn around on those 2. Certainly want to hit lots of others too.
@@MidlifeAdventurer Last I saw that area of Colorado had about 200% snowpack. It could be a late seen for those high mountain passes. Hope they are cleared up before your trip. Everyone should do those big name trails at least once!
LIme Creek Road was once the main road from Dgo (Durango and Silverton, hence the guard er, walls?
I didn't know that. You REALLY needed to get to the next town if that road was your only option back in the day. At least it was a pretty trip.
@@grandeoverland6787 Built around 1880.
@@Freepowder Wowza, guessing the trail was a little more hairy back then.
@@grandeoverland6787 Probably not. Probably in better repair as it was the major freight route. Would have been mule trains and/or wagons.Before that the Utes used it. The "guard rails were put in by the Civilian Conservation Corps. in the 1930s.
@@grandeoverland6787 Not really. Originally it was a trail used by the Ute Nation. Then it was a supply route for Silverton & Durango. At that time it would have been mule trains and/or wagons. In the 1930s the 'guard blocks' were put in by the civilian conservation corps.