Alpine Loop 2026 - aka - DJ, NoNameX and Emed’s Excellent Adventure - Updated Daily (7 Viewers)

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After a filling breakfast at Colleen’s Airbnb- we made our way to Crystal Peak.

Her home is listed on Airbnb - - featuring 3 bedrooms, a garage and every conceivable convenience. Would highly recommend to anyone staying in Carbondale and looking for a new luxury accommodation.

Townhouse in Carbondale · ★4.99 · 3 bedrooms · 4 beds · 2.5 baths

New Luxury 3-BR | Bright + Modern | Walk to Town

www.airbnb.com

Stop at town of Marble.. with beautiful sunlit scenery..

Then stopping to Airdown to 18 psi to tackle the rocky shelf roads on route to Crystal Mill…

A gorgeous drive .. by DJsled and NoNameX - who took us safely over rocks and through water crossings to Crystal Mill… a memorable excursion!

Crystal Mill

Airing back up …

 

[Hoffy1337]

Beautiful scenery especially the Crystal Mill photo. Would love to take this trip and now know of a great AirBnB to stay at if I do. Thanks for posting

 

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Nice thank you note from Colleen about posting about her Airbnb in Carbondale.

“ if anyone from the Lexus Forum wants to stay at EITHER of my properties in Carbondale, tell them to just send an inquiry referencing their affiliation with the forum and I’ll give them a 10% discount on the nightly rate (does not apply to taxes and fees). Thanks again! Colleen. “

 

[Hoffy1337]

Nice thank you note from Colleen about posting about her Airbnb in Carbondale.

“ if anyone from the Lexus Forum wants to stay at EITHER of my properties in Carbondale, tell them to just send an inquiry referencing their affiliation with the forum and I’ll give them a 10% discount on the nightly rate (does not apply to taxes and fees). Thanks again! Colleen. “

That’s very kind of her. I think the rates are already pretty decent for such a beautiful home to stay in.

 

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Late start today - 8/31/26 .. and a partially cloudy sky has been replaced by a downpour..,

DJsled (being a native to the area, reassured us)… “there is a saying in Colorado:

“ if you don’t like the weather in Colorado…, just wait another hour…, ”

Gassed and headed to Silverton.

 

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We made it to the quaint town of Silverton, passing through Ouray. The rain followed us, so part of the cadre decided to eat out at Lacey Rose (NoNameX kindly treated us to dinner.)

I had made some of my famous crispy garlic roast lamb and savory rice this morning, for the collective to enjoy in Silverton, but with limited ability to serve the crew in the rain, my heartfelt preparations made their way into the freezer in the room - for us to enjoy the coming day for lunch.

What is our plan for reheating cold lamb at the top of engineer pass??

Well ..: that’s where NoNameX’s James Bond GX comes in….

For those who haven’t read about NoNameX’s rig (search the forum) - it is equipped with quite literally EVERY kitchen appliance, from a propane stove, to a microwave and even an air fryer… so heating up the roast lamb and rice shouldn’t be an issue..

Silverton and Ouray…

The alpine mountains surrounding these towns are so dramatic and majestic with low lying clouds floating mystically, and thin waterfalls materializing magically behind the hanging mist.

Don’t expect a night life in these towns… Oscar our server at the Lacey Rose shared that most everything closes around 5-6 pm - except he said,” the Shady Lady Saloon… which is still shady and not a place to go…”

lol - his comment made me feel I had fallen into an old cowboy film..

 

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The adventure continues - “but NOT on an empty stomach”..

Emed’s wife cut mangos, and NNMx broke out his grill and microwave and Emed cooked up some beef and lamb breakfast slices .. for the cadre.

Before heading out I stopped for carriage bolts to affix my Starlink to the rental. Silverton Hardware was a one stop shop for all kinds of materials.. (in the middle of nowhere)

While in line at Silverton hardware, we met Cindi and Dave, from the great state of Texas, who stopped their journey to come into town to buy parts to help a man who had a broken axle. Very touched by this pair of Good Samaritans - really representing what is best about being American - helping people in need!

Next post - Engineer Pass … wow !!!

 

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On our way out - met up with David Bennett in his Lexus 570… he was a huge source of information on local trails … including one particularly narrow trail pinch point where someone died about a week ago.. we hope to hit some of the places he recommended over the next couple of days..

 

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Since the Defender would not make Engineer pass without destroying its underbody - she was left behind at the “bent”…

Nonamex took lead and DJsled followed behind with Emed serving as spotter and comm designee… the trip was EPIC… And the roads challenged the two GX’s which crept with confidence and impressive capability..

Along the way llamas / ? Alpacas, and the remains of old mining structures from many decades ago..

And the GX’s kept going through deep water depressions and scree they made there way - along with a variety of other Toyota vehicles…

 

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Much more to follow…

 

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As we climbed Engineer passes rocky off camber switch backs the road became increasingly sketchy, as NoNamex had warned ..

But we kept moving and watching our lines without any scrapes or undercarriage damage.

 

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The views were absolutely spectacular.. and we continued along the shelf roads with drop offs that were unlike anything I had ever navigated..

 

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And then we arrived to what felt like the top of the world.. two GX 550’s at 12,800 feet ..

 

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This picture captures NoNameX In one image: family (wife), fwd and flag ….

 

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The descent from Engineer Pass felt a little more trepidatious than the way up… perhaps it was because clouds had rolled in and now the road was wet from unexpected rainfall… but also because NoNameX (the most experienced of us) had taken a different route down to Lake City, while we returned to Silverton.

We remembered the areas that required a spotter on the way up so I scampered out and checked lines on our descent … which was again EPIC!!

 

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The day ended with savory basmati rice and my secret recipe crispy garlic lamb - which DJsled described as “Outstanding.”