21 Road JP Magazine Photo
Shoot Run
July 11, 2012
By Jerry Smith
At
the invitation of Wally Sheata, 8 members of the Grand Mesa Jeep Club and Mary
Burns in her Buick showed up at the Acorn Truck Stop for a day of Jeeping 21
Road. Mary bowed out (no tow hooks) but
the rest were eager to hit the trail.
photo-op at the 21 road parking area
The
major reason for this trip was that Pete Trasborg of JP Magazine was in town to
do a “shoot” for an article in some upcoming issue of JP Magazine. Of course he was looking for Jeeps to
photograph as the magazine is about “Jeeps”.
 |
| Dale showing off some of the "flex" in her Jeep |
After
a photo-op at the 21 road parking area, we all headed into Hunter Canyon as it
is known to the BLM. This trail is something
hard to explain. It is primarily a wash
that runs heavy during the spring runoff and after significant rainstorms in
the "Book Cliffs" in the drainage to the north of the mouth of Hunter Canyon.
The
thing that makes it difficult to describe is the fact that after most storms of
any note and definitely after/during the spring runoff, many changes take place
as rocks and sand move around changing the trail… often in major ways. The line you take one trip may not exist on
the next trip.
Levi working over-time in the rocks of 21 Road
When
flooding, this would be nowhere you’d want to be. Standing in a deluge could literally be
dangerous to your health. Sand and silt
would be the minimum you could expect to wear against your skin.
The
real problem would be if you were in the path of one of the larger rocks being
pushed by the large volume of water. A
broken leg would likely be the minimum outcome.
Ross carrying a 35" wheel on 21 Road
21
Road is known nationally by many of the Jeeping public. Wheelers come from all over the map to run 21
Road. The trail is a big hit with the annual
Rock Junction event put on by the Grand Mesa Jeep Club.
And
yet there is a significant move by Preservationists pressuring the BLM to make
this a “Roadless Area”. How this makes
sense is a mystery, but when it comes to land use policies of public land
management, mysteries seldom have a happy ending if you’re into motorized
sports.
Roy's CJ making 21 Road look easy on 35" tires
That
having been said, once you dive off of the road into the wash, it won’t be long
before you realize why this trail has a high rating with the Daily Driver and
Buggy classes. If you want a challenge
you don’t have to look far.
Wally took nearly every "hard line" 21 Road through at us.
The
lines you choose in several places along this trail are enough to make a rig on
small tires or up to 40”+ tires wonder about the final outcome of their
choice. Yeah… this trail has it all.
With
all the difficulty comes with a fair amount of damage and broken running
gear. As you negotiate 21 Road you will
see scars on many, many rocks. Those
scars are from the undercarriages of many adventuring individuals who were
either slightly off-line or were simply too low to miss that rock.
Grand Mesa Jeep Club President Jeff Bates showed off his new "Patina" look with some "crawling" of his own.
You’ll
see those scars on rocks above your head so it’s not always low ground
clearance at fault. Many have used their
roll cages to keep from tipping over on some places.
Cody dropped out after a rock "tapped" his rocker panel rather hard.
Our
group had tires from 33” to 43” diameters and all rigs left their “sign” of
having passed by the end of the day.
Speaking
for myself, my 33” tires lost traction in more instances than I can
remember. In one place it took three
people bouncing the front bumper to find enough traction to get my rear
differential free of one rock.
One
other “situation” required pulling out the winch cable for further
progress. That “situation” is where the
rear license plate and the plastic mount became “wrinkled”.
Other
damage included Cody’s Grand Cherokee passenger side rocker panel. One large rock jumped up and smashed into it
leaving a deep dent. The rocks can be
vengeful when abused by passers-by.
We
all witnessed some great driving skills on this trip. For those who seldom witness true rock
crawling, watching Wally, Jeff, and Dale was a lesson in what “drives” them to
the extremes.
Wally showed how to crawl a 20 ft. vertical wall (behind the Jeep) horizontally. He's about 10 ft. up it here.
Places
we of the “small-tire” group wouldn’t even consider were negotiated with great
skill. The flexibility, capability, and
power of the rock crawling buggies is nothing short of incredible.
Even
with all the wear and tear of the day, back at the parking area near 4PM we
were all wearing smiles. This trip will
have memories for each of us and if all goes well we will all relive some of it
in JP magazine.
Many
thanks go to Wally and Pete for allowing us the opportunity to experience 21
Road and the possibility to be seen in a national magazine.
Wally again showing a horizontal - vertical rock crawl on the side walls.
The
experience alone was well worth the effort.
The anticipation of the other will only lengthen the joy of that
experience.
More interest in the 21 Road trail will make it even more popular and increase the burden on the BLM to close it.
One last thought… when you come to a fork in the road… take it!
Happy Trails.
Copyright
Happy Trails 4wd 2012- 2013, all rights reserved.
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