Rocky Mountain GGG?

[P. Larson]

How come nobody has tried to organize a Rocky Mountain GGG? It seems that there are a fair amount of people on here that live in Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, etc.

We have the California and New England GGG. And I saw a thread about our flat land friends (he he he) trying to organize a Midwest GGG.

Any takers?

[Mark Ries]

They hold them out there twice a year, they just dont tell you about it (HE HE HE)

[P. Larson]

Hahaha. Mark you caught my "flat land" comment. =)

[Mark Ries]

:)

[Mark Ries]

Maybe it was the friends part :)

[Mark Ries]

???

[Eugene Smith]

Make it happen captain.

Are you going to spearhead this Paul or are you just wondering?

[Tony Wong]

My suggestion is to simply find a camp ground that is relatively close to a trail head and set a date and ask who can make it.

You will never be able to get a date that is going to make everyone happy, so just set a date and pick a place that can accomodate a group of 15-20 people.

Once you pull one off….even if it is with 5-6 people, post some follow up photos to show what happened- the good, bad, and ugly.

I think that you will find that once you have some photos posted up of the event, it seems "real" to others and can help encourage more people to come out when you post the 2nd GGG.

You can definitely do it and it should not have to be a lot of work for you…..other than picking a date and spot.

Tell people when and where to meet….make everyone be responsible for their own parking fees and applicable permits, so there less pressure on you to organize it.

It is that simple….

I can tell you that the ones that I have been to have been Great….people have made friends, found hiking partners for future trips, and had a chance to check out other people's UL gear, gotten tips on how to use gear, and suggestions on where to take trips.

You can DO IT!!!!

-Tony

[Justin Baccary]

I'm definitely interested, preferably with a Colorado location…

[Eugene Smith]

Put me down as interested Paul. Grab the bull by the horns dude!

One thing to consider is changing the format a bit from the west coast GGG. I'm more inclined to travel the distance to get away from front country campsites and into the backcountry for the weekend.

Time? Perhaps in the early fall? Gives people several months to plan.

The Pecos wilderness would make a great location. Just throwing that in the hat.

[Justin Baccary]

I'm with Eugene, back country is preferable to front country.

As for location, I'd happily travel to New Mexico but that might preclude Northern Rockies BPLers from participating. I guess we have plenty of time to pick a location…

[Mark Ries]

I like the backcountry idea but it would have to be late summer and I would try to make it out. If the group gets large you might want to consider using already impacted sites.

[P. Larson]

You guys are on the same page as I am. About it being a backcountry spot. I was going to go even one better, at least in my eyes. Make it an actual backpacking trip. Nothing strenuous or anything. But then again, that isn't really what a GGG seems to be.

If it did end up being a larger group, I think a group campsite would have to be the way to go.

As for location, I was really thinking Rio Grande/San Juan National Forest. I know of a few campsites (Forest Service land campsites are free, and for the most part lawless, hahaha) in that area that couple accommodate a larger group.

[Ken Thompson]

First two were hike ins. Almost everyone still hikes in. Logistically with the large group we have now some vehicle access and facilities(water, bathrooms,trash) have become necessary concerns. But true the nature of the beast is a social interaction, accompanied by an insane amount of cottage gear, food and drink.

GGG. I guess the name has stuck.

Do it.

[Eugene Smith]

I had in mind a gathering of the backpacking trip variety as well Paul when you mentioned this. The NE GGG pulled off a small low key trip and did some hiking and socializing, looks like they had a killer time.

Positioning this somewhere in CO makes sense, keeping it centrally located so furthermost Northern Rocky members (*ahem, Dace Chenault) could make a presence perhaps. Also, people travelling in from different parts of the country could fly into Denver and get to the trailhead.

Keep the ball rolling here Paul, you're onto something.

[Aaron]

Sounds like a fantastic idea. I think somewhere in Colorado would be a good "meet in the middle point".

[Mark Ries]

How bout someplace where they once held the mountain men rendezvous, that would be in wyoming. Kinda symbolic

[P. Larson]

I wouldn't mind doing something in the Wind River Range just east of Lander.

[P. Larson]

I will be happy to put this together. I'm thinking mid-late August and at the moment, somewhere in central Colorado. Bugs are pretty much gone by then and it's starting to get a little cooler in the mountains.

So, who would truly be interested in attending?

[MFR]

I'll just weigh in for a differing opinion. For those of us in the Northern Rockies, Colorado is not just further south, but much further east. I couldn't drive to Boulder in a day (well technically I could, but I don't do 16 hour days in the car anymore).

Utah would be ideal, much more central in my mind. How about Salt Lake, or even Moab?

[P. Larson]

Ok…Moab could work. Eugene is in Las Cruces and having him drive to SLC would be the same case as you driving to Boulder.

Maybe this is why a Rocky Mountain GGG hasn't happened before.

[Hiker 816]

I'm in! I live in Denver, so somewhere in central CO would be ideal, but I'll drive if I need to.

[MFR]

Totally fair points. There aren't many of us this far north, so I don't want to be selfish and have everyone cater to a few. Moab is only a couple of hours closer than Boulder.

Honestly, the biggest decider for me are the dates.

[P. Larson]

I'm thinking August 24, 25, 26. It gives people time to figure out schedules, travel plans, that sort of thing.

I'm going to go with this: The dates above, EXACT location TBD and depends on who is definitely coming. I think it would be unfair if I said it is planned for somewhere in Colorado yet we had 8 people from Montana, 1 from New Mexico, 4 from Wyoming, 5 from Utah, 3 from Idaho, and 1 from Colorado attending.

Does that make sense ?

OR..we could say screw it, and have the Rocky Mountain GGG in freaking Alaska! Get all Skurka crazy and s**t.

[Mike Allen]

Hey Paul I'm interested and would be coming from salt lake city… Drive time would have to be some what reasonable though… Pick your place and I will let you know

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