One of the many reasons to love the LC250 is its ability to take us to places we might otherwise never see. The Crystal Mill has long been one of those places I always wanted to see, but simply didn't have the right vehicle to do the trip. The road to the Crystal starts at the edge of Marble, CO and proceeds up and over Schofield Pass. OnX rates the route a 5/10, but that includes some significantly tougher terrain that can easily be avoided by doing an out and back on the road. I had no interest in some of the sketchy, narrow, off-camber stuff that happens around the Devil's Punchbowl, so we did the out and back. Much of the road to and from the mill is relatively narrow, especially the shelf roads around Schofield Pass, but we were fortunate not to see much traffic on the trail. We saw several side-by-sides and a few Jeep tour groups, but all the drivers were very respectful, so passing wasn't a big issue going either way. I set up the LC by locking the center diff and disconnecting the sway bar. Where needed - and it's definitely needed a lot! - we switched into 4-low. The LC handled every obstacle with ease, but the most impressive part (to me) was that we never needed to lock the rear diff, even on the looser, uphill stuff. I did engage MTS on the way back as we started to encounter some rain and very small hail. Going back up over the pass in that weather was less than ideal, but we never lost grip nor did we need to use momentum to get up any of the terrain. The more I drive the LC off-road, the more I realize how amazing it is for some pretty rugged and challenging terrain. I'm impressed by the amount of control the LC has in going from zero to two miles per hour.
If you visit Colorado, then make some time for this trip, even if you decide to rent a side-by-side (which would make it easier to go and see the full loop, including Devil's Punch Bowl.)
Just a few pics of what we saw...
Near the top of Schofield with a waterfall in the background.
Crystal Mill - one of the prettiest sights in Colorado. It's the kind of thing you see in a photo and wonder if it can be just as incredible in person (the answer is yes!)
We spotted a bear on our way back from the Mill. It was raining, but I still snapped a couple of pics as the bear watched us checking it out. Our LC250 is named Bear
Last, but not least, we drove up to the marble quarry. The marble from the quarry was used to build the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The quarry also has a pile of marble on the side of the road (and, unlike most places, we were told you can take marble from the pile as a momento.)
If you visit Colorado, then make some time for this trip, even if you decide to rent a side-by-side (which would make it easier to go and see the full loop, including Devil's Punch Bowl.)
Just a few pics of what we saw...
Near the top of Schofield with a waterfall in the background.
Crystal Mill - one of the prettiest sights in Colorado. It's the kind of thing you see in a photo and wonder if it can be just as incredible in person (the answer is yes!)
We spotted a bear on our way back from the Mill. It was raining, but I still snapped a couple of pics as the bear watched us checking it out. Our LC250 is named Bear
Last, but not least, we drove up to the marble quarry. The marble from the quarry was used to build the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. The quarry also has a pile of marble on the side of the road (and, unlike most places, we were told you can take marble from the pile as a momento.)
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