This past weekend, I had a fantastic time last week at the 2012 Jeep Experience in southwestern Colorado. If you follow our Facebook page, you saw some of the awesome scenery, great trail riding and cool concepts that were part of the trip. What you didn't see was me shivering.
A recent trip to Moab for the introduction of John Deere's new Gator RSX, where temperatures were in the 90s, led me to expect similar weather in for the Jeep Experience. As a result I packed my duffel bag with nothing but shorts and T-shirts. I didn't even think to bring a rational pair of sweatpants or a fleece jacket for gathering around the evening campfire.
We started in the delightfully eclectic town of Durango, where the weather was warm and pleasant. However, once we headed north toward Silverton and Telluride, temperatures dropped significantly and rain started becoming a regular occurrence on the trip.
It wasn't a major issue during the day, which was spent in the plush confines of a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited for the first day of the trip, but at our high-elevation camp that night, the combination of moisture and low temperatures would be formidable obstacles to my comfort.
As I staggered and shivered around the cool, moist campsite, everyone asked me, "Did you bring a jacket or sweatshirt or anything?" The best response I could muster? "I wasn't expecting it to be this cool."
Thankfully, one of the other attendees had mercy on me. David Webb, Canadian blogger, photographer, screen-writer, and content guru extraordinaire, I later came to find out, offered me one of his Stanfield thermal undershirts, which made a huge difference.
David and I spoke at length about various subjects during the trip, and not once was incredulous that this Californian could be so naive as to not pack appropriately for the trip. He and I went on to have several friendly chats over the course of the event.
Sure, the scenery of the trip was beyond breath-taking (due to both the visual impact and altitude), the hospitality by Jeep was great and the vehicles were capable and great fun on the trail. The most memorable part of the trip for me, though, was David's immediate and non-hesitant generosity and willingness to loan me that thermal shirt.
If you're interested in learning more about David and his adventures, visit www.acrossandabroad.com.