If there's one thing that's certain about four-wheel adventure it's that it's almost always more enjoyable when it's shared with good friends.?We guess??that??it??has something to do with man's inherent need to explore the great unknown and an associated sense of camaraderie while doing something exciting. There is a reason you own the four-wheel-drive vehicle sitting in your driveway, and subconsciously it just may stem from your childhood. As kids we loved to explore the unknown, and whether it was on bikes or skateboards or foot, we just had to see what was up around the corner.
Recently, we met up with a group of friends and casual four-wheel-drive club members just south of Denver in the small town of Castle Rock, Colorado. We headed south on Highway 25 to Highway 50 and then west toward the Rockies. If you've been to this area before, you know just how spectacular it is for adventure. If you haven't been here before, we highly recommend it as a future recreation destination. Wheeling with friends has a twofold purpose: safety in numbers and fun. It's also much easier to overcome daunting challenges and obstacles when there's someone there to help spot or motivate you through the tough sections with the proper hand signals, a little friendly name-calling, and some radio banter.
Our destination was an area just east of Salida, Colorado, around the Arkansas River. The real objective of this adventure was to find a pass through a canyon that connects one trail to another - a missing link of sorts. A year or so back this group thought they had found the connection, but it wasn't passable. Upon further consideration, they weren't really sure if it was the right pass at all. However, as incongruous as it may seem, just one of the exciting perks of four-wheel adventure is searching for a hidden trail and never finding it! This may sound strange, but it makes things on the trail exciting. Besides, there's always more to explore along the way.