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The Coon Hollow Trail

By Jerry Smith

10/4/2012

Ken Sander’s description of the Coon Hollow trail sounded like one that I had been searching for.   I had been looking for and wanted a new trail to offer the gang in Rock Junction 2013 and this sounded intriguing.

This is Jerry and Happy Trails entering the first major wash after doing some "shovel work".

Ken is the President of the Western Slope ATV Association and has a lot of experience in the American BackCountry, so when he said it was a very difficult trail for an ATV and would be the same for a Jeep, I’m sure my eyes lit up.

Located behind Debeque, I had seen the Coon Hollow trail on the map when studying the area during another trip there.  Now I wished that it had stood out a little more.

This photo does not convey the bank's steepness.

Having rounded up Harley Barfoot and Mike Click for a little support, we headed to Debeque from Clifton Thursday morning. 

Taking the V.2 Road west and south out of town, we followed it toward Pyramid Rock where the road forked to Coon Hollow.  The maps showed the trail as a “Jeep” road.

To say that the first part of the Coon Hollow trail was boring as a Jeep road is to say that grease might be slippery.  If it hadn’t been for the scenery, this trail’s beginnings would put you to sleep.

 

About here you are beyond "committed".

 We took a couple of false forks that ended in short courses up canyons that dead-ended quickly.  Coming back to the main road we continued northerly toward the South Shale Ridge that is an easily seen landmark in the area.

After finally coming to the Coon Hollow canyon, we took the left fork and followed it up through a Juniper forested area.  The bottom of the canyon presented large quantities of small and large washes across the road.  One was well over 6-feet deep with about a 5-foot wide flat bottom before the other side climbed out in a very steep climb on loose rock and sand.

Here is where the short wheel base is a good thing.

This required some digging to make the entrance into the wash something a Jeep could make without nosing into the bottom with your bumper.  The pictures don’t make it look so bad, but driving into it the first time made you question your decision to proceed.

Getting stuck in the bottom would be a bad scene.  Potentially you could have your front and rear bumpers grounded with all 4 wheels just hanging in the air.  Luckily, Happy Trails walked right through.

Mike requested that I go up the trail for a while to see if it was worth him following into the wash.  After returning from this scouting trip, Mike crossed the wash with little problem.

The climb out is on loose sand and small round rocks that roll easily.

It's always a good feeling to clear an obstacle.

While preparing this crossing, Harley noticed that the main leaf spring on the driver side front of his “Sammy” had broken, so we left it parked along the roadside.

The next real obstacle we came to was where the flow of the wash had cut well into the road leaving a 4-foot vertical drop off on the left side of the road next to a large boulder on the right.

There was still enough road surface left for a Jeep to pass, but if the vertical bank sloughed off from the weight of the Jeep, there would be an instant rollover.  Luckily, the wash bottom was easily accessed and we went around this dilemma.

It was immediately visible that from here the trail had turned into an ATV trail for a very long time.  The track became ATV width with brush growing well into and over the road surface.  The majority of the brush was low enough that we just drove over it.

The first wash puts you verrrry close to your work as you hit the bottom.

Very good approach and departure angles are a must.

Good articulation is always a plus.

After more wash crossings and erosion roughness, we came to a switchback to the left that began a steep dug-way climb up onto a ridge.  Not far up the ridge we found the first of what Ken’s description of “Off-camber” meant.

Rounding a blind corner, the road surface got real narrow and had a very steep off-camber on a loose, hard sandy surface that was hard to walk on.  Driving on it would likely cause a lot of slippage that would put you into the deep, narrow, and rocky wash on the immediate left side of the road.

After trimming a Mountain Ash from the lower roadside, Happy Trails was put into action. 

 

As we rounded the first right-hand corner, the road disappeared from view over the hood.  Driving by “feel”, we came to the off-camber and began the immediate left turn up and around the Mountain Ash we had just trimmed. 

It's not far across the bottom which may stall a longer wheel base vehicle.

Even though we attempted to climb to the high side of the off-camber, the front of the Jeep slid into the wash on the left so we proceeded up the wash straddling the narrow bottom and several large rocks residing there.

After returning to the road, we got out and moved several large rocks on the next steep climb to make it “passable”.  After making the top of the climb, I parked Happy Trails and grabbed my camera to take pictures of Mike coming up this section.

When we came around the corner, Mike was eating his lunch behind his Jeep and announced that he would not be proceeding up the trail.  Disappointment!

Note the rear corner.  Mike has no rear bumper here and it is still this close.

After some discussion, Harley and I walked back up the hill.  Along the way we met an ATV rider coming down.  He expressed his surprise at the progress we had made on this road with a Jeep. 

He also gave a graphic description of what was to come for us up the ridge.  It sounded exciting to me.

After making room for Harley to ride along, we proceeded on up the trail.

This second wash is nowhere near as deep, but it is more narrow.

The narrowness is cause for concern on the first time through.

The road basically followed the ridge-line.  Winding through Junipers, sage, and rocks up the steep, very narrow road was challenging… just what I had hoped for.

This road was showing promise of being up to the task of becoming another Rock Junction trail.  A couple of the lower obstacles had already promoted it up to a class 7 trail.

About half way to the top we met two ATVs coming down.  The front rider looked very familiar as they approached.  Even through the goggles and full helmet I recognized him as Jim Soloman from Cohvco. 

After some introductions, we discussed the upper trail and Jim’s surprise at a Jeep being this far up the very difficult road.  His description of the upper trail brought more excitement and anticipation to me.

This photo shows how narrow the bottom is.  This will test a long-wheel-base rig.

Proceeding on our way, we were soon jumping out often to trim brush and tree branches from the road.  Occasional downed trees were encountered… all of which had new trails established around them by the ATVs.

Nearing where we believed to be the end of the trail to be, the sagebrush had grown to the size that a chainsaw or a lot of trimming would be necessary to make the road wide enough for a Jeep to pass without a lot of deep scratches in the side. 

This looked like a good time to turn around and see if exiting the trail would be doable.  (Harley later took his ATV up to the end, which is about a mile further up).

Some of the views on the return trip were very “Wow”.  This trail is a prime instance of why closing spur roads is so very wrong.  The descent is a totally new experience than the ascent.

Some good articulation is a definite plus here.

The ascent is mostly a view of the skyline through the Juniper forest from a narrow “hogback” type ridge.  The limited views to either side virtually hide this road from view from the surrounding area making it nearly a secret entity.  Not a bad trait for a “cherry-stemmed” route into  an area with “Wilderness Characteristics”. 

As you turn around to descend, the view becomes one you won’t soon forget.  To say it is magnificent is very understated.  This whole area is a little piece of heaven if you take time to let it soak in just a few moments.

See how the back bumper nearly drags on the short-wheel-base.

To “appreciate” this kind of countryside is a true acknowledgement of there being a superior being.  This could not be just a random source of beauty.  It’s a “work of art” and you don’t have to see the artist to know he/she exists.

If all goes well, this road will become a “club project”.  To reopen a trail should be a “pleasure” rather than a chore.  To have another class 7 trail this close to Grand Junction can only add to the desirability.  Being this close to I-70 is just an immeasurable blessing.

There are some strange sights in Coon Hollow.  This we thought looked like "Siesta Time".

This is another chance to relate my motto… "when you come to a fork in the road, take it!"

If you have found this story interesting or exciting, please “Like” it on Facebook so others may know about this “find”.  

This is one of the views you'll see coming down.

Looking back toward Debeque and the Grand Mesa is one of those "WOW" moments.

More interest in the Coon Hollow trail will make it more popular and increase the burden to close it.  We already have the support of the Mayor of Debeque to make the Coon Hollow trail a 4-wheeling destination, which will be a boost to their local economy.

Happy Trails.

Copyright Happy Trails 4wd 2012- 2013, all rights reserved.

Calamity Mesa Loop and a WARNING!

Calamity Mesa Loop and a WARNING!

November 14, 2008

By Jerry Smith

 

Friday, November 14^th, Mike Click, Harold Delfelder, and Jerry Smith left the Orchard Mesa City Market in Grand Junction just after 7 AM for a trip to Calamity Mesa with the intent to travel from Calamity Camp down the 11.5 Road to the Blue Creek Ranch where Blue Cr. and Indian Cr. come together.  

 The Calamity Mesa Loop can be rough.  "Headshake" is a common part of the trip.  

They were going there with the knowledge that the 11.5 Road was washed out below Calamity Camp to the point of impassability. 

Some digging had already been done to repair the road in two previous trips there by Jerry, but that stretch of road was still too dangerous to try as is. 

This obstacle has about 80-yds. of the right side of the road  washed well below the original grade and is full of large, undercarriage eating rocks.  The hopes of making it through the wash did not look good.

This is Mike "christening" "Mike's Rock".  This is the first damage he had                                        ever done to his Rubicon.

Having explored other options, they elected to "surreptitiously" bypass this obstacle by way of connecting two abandoned drill sight roads that were just yards apart.

The route back to the 11.5 Road was somewhat hair raising as well.  If we would have to come back this way, it wouldn’t be easy.

 This is Happy Trails "flexing" a bit on Calamity Mesa Loop.

The last 50-yds was a very steep descent on a bentonite hillside.  Bentonite is a blue/gray material that is super fine.  When wet, bentonite is not anything you want to drive on.  It builds up on your tires and is extremely slippery. 

Climbing the hill when dry would be difficult.  If even the slightest bit wet, impossible.

By taking this bypass, we had gone around the first wash and then another serious obstacle just below it.

A bit further down the trail we came to another washout.  This one wasn’t near as bad as the first, but it had some definite rough spots. 

 This is the bottom of the 3rd wash.

Entering the wash required your suspension to articulate severely.  Then a fallen tree on the lower side of a severe off-camber threatened to gouge the side of your rig as you passed by.

Finally, there was a 3-ft. waterfall over some boulders that would cause some difficulty if you had to come back this way.  (a distinct possibility for all we knew)

 This wash is what caused the "overnighter".  Notice how narrow the top is and the drop if you roll-off the side there would be deadly.

Having conquered that wash, we proceeded.  Further obstructions such as very large rocks and lesser washes hindered any fast progress, but eventually they made the lower mesa just above the ranch where the road begins a steep descent off a bench. 

 Some of the views on the Calamity Mesa Loop are "eye-popping".  This is the Blue Cr. canyon where it dumps into the Delores River.

Several Jeep-sized rocks in the dug-way road made this the end of the road for the time being.

This trail was one being considered for the Gateway Jeep Rendezvous in June ’09.  With a little work, it will be a very exciting and challenging trail for the entrants and leaders.

 This is a typical stretch of the Calamity Mesa Loop Road.  Narrow, rough, and many smiles per mile.

With several hours of daylight still left, we elected to take a side road a short way from the end of the trail to the ranch.

Little did we know that would become a major question in good judgment.

Articulation is necessary in many places on the Calamity Mesa Loop.

This trail ended up going around the base of Calamity Mesa which on its’ own would be a good thing.  Some of the obstacles encountered made this trail not only a great challenge; it required a cold overnight stay in the great outdoors to complete.

 My face has hurt after driving this trail from smiling so much.  You'll love it too if you get the chance to "come along" sometime.

The "Warning"

This is the “WARNING” part of the heading of this story.  When you go wheeling, go prepared for the unexpected.  Your wellbeing may depend on it.

Harold had gotten off to a late start that morning.  He hadn’t taken time to get “anything” packed for a day-long trip.  No coat, no drinks, nor food. 

Thankfully, Mike and Jerry were prepared like usual.  Although we had no plans of staying out overnight, we were ready for it.  

 If you are afraid of "tight" places, don't come on this trail.  There are some snug places you'll swear you can't get through... but you can. (unless you're in a full-size vehicle)

Between extra coats, blankets, and sleeping bags, the night for the three of us was not necessarily comfortable, but tolerable.  The other things, like food and fire making materials just added to the enjoyable outcome.

 This is far from this rock as you can get.  The speed limit is just 25 MPH.

What required our night out was another washout of the road.  We dug our way through this dangerous spot while the sun was barely shining, only to discover another large rock blocking the way a short distance up the road.   

By the time we returned to the washout to try it going back the other way, it was dark.  

 Calamity Mesa Loop is a good class 7 or 7+ trail.  Come prepared or stay away!

Jerry got about three quarters through the wash before we decided it was entirely unsafe for us to attempt it in the dark, so Jerry was winched back out of the hole and we set up camp.

Shortly we had a very warm fire and dinner.  There was a lot of bull along with the “dinner” and a long, cold nights’ sleep in the Jeeps.

The next morning after a meager breakfast, it was decided that we would continue running the trail to its’ outcome in lieu of returning back through the washout and the work that would have been required to cross it.

 Sometimes a narrow shelf road, the Calamity Mesa Loop has made more than one person get out and walk.

As luck would have it, that decision turned out to be both a blessing and a LOT of work.

Several more rocks and washouts became obstacles along the way to what turned out to be a nearly 20-mile loop back to the 11.5 Road to Calamity Camp.  

 It is a great trip if you are looking to be challenged and don’t mind a bit of work.  (Actually, it is a lot of work)

This tree stump is evidence of how long this trail had been closed before we reopened it.  The tree was exactly in the middle of the road with no way around it.  We estimate the tree was at least 15 years old.

We reached the 11.5 Road about 11 AM.  You with normal thinking processes would think we would then return to town.  You would be wrong.

Next we turned to a trail that Jerry had partially run a couple weeks prior.  Darkness had kept him from finishing the attempt.

We went about 300 yards past where Jerry had previously turned around only to find a dead end.  On the way back we checked out a branch trail which turned into another loop back to the trail we had run earlier in the day. 

This trail is not for the faint of heart and required more rocks being moved and stacked and washes to be negotiated with some high degree of skill. 

There is also a steep hill climb with very loose dirt and large rock where lockers and momentum are the only way to the top.

All in all, this was a great trip.  If you like adventure on your trips, you might want to follow along with these three  explorers of the American Backcountry.

If you have found this story interesting or exciting, please “Like” it on Facebook so others may know about this “find”. 


More interest in the Calamity Mesa Loop trail will make it even more popular and increase the burden to close it.

There is another official "Warning" at the end of the trail.  Uranium country is dangerous.

Plans to ask  the Grand Mesa Jeep Club for help to make this trail a little more passable will be pursued at some time in the near future.


One last thought we’d like to leave you with… when you come to a fork in the road… take it!


Happy Trails.

NOTE:  Some of the photos above are from other trips since.

Copyright: Happy Trails 4wd 2012- 2013, all rights reserved.

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Pace Lake  (part 2)

5/10/2009

By Jerry Smith

The road to Pace Lake was firmly in the crosshairs today.  The previous failure needed to be rectified. 

This view is from near Pace Lake.  In the distance you can see Lone Cone Mountain and some of the San Juan Mountains near Ouray, CO.  The lower part is the south end of Sinbad Valley.

In talking with the BLM about the Pace Lake road, it was clear that Mother Nature had closed it at least two years or more before.  This would possibly be the first reopening of a trail I had done in some time. 

Reopening trails is something that brings a wealth of pleasure to me.  I have fought road closures from Montana to Utah and Colorado since back in the mid 1970s.  It's become a passion.

Where most people simply turn around, I find the challenge to be alluring.

This trip I knew the Pace Lake road would be traversed further than the first time barring any major changes to the roadway between then and now.

The ditch along the roadside was twice as deep the first time I traveled this road.  In other sections it crosses the right half of the road making a deep obstacle.  When wet it can be an instant "you are stuck".

The lower Pace Lake road offered little resistance but as we began the ascent up the mountainside, there was a repeat of the last trip.

Many new rocks had rolled into the road and the V-cuts had been enlarged so the work began early.  It was obvious that the spring runoff had been dramatic this year.  Water damage to the Pace Lake road was everywhere.

After an hour of rock moving, we were finally up to that pesky tree blocking the road just above the intersection.  The Mile Marker HI9000 hydraulic winch made quick work of it.  Pace Lake or bust!

For the next mile or so, we stopped several times for rocks, trees, and brush overgrown into the roadway.  This was the easy part.

The next major obstacle was a 50-yard stretch of the Pace Lake road where the lower side of the road was now a deep gully. 

Off-camber is a constant on the Pace Lake Road.  You almost get used to it.

As I have made a habit of, I walked well past the bad area to see if working on it would be rewarded or just scoffed at later.  I made up my mind that the Pace Lake road could be overcome.

The road between the two Jeeps was where the low side of the road was a deep wash.  It took hours to fill it enough just to make it passable.

The first attempt at straddling the deep notch ended up with the entire left rear tire hanging below the road surface.  This was really a bad kind of stuck but we crawled out after a little rock and tree limb placement.

There was some damage done to the fender flare and a little scuffing of the corner paint, but it's a Jeep.  The bad part was that this was the first real damage done since Happy Trails was new in '06.  Pace Lake would be remembered.

OK, this would require some serious fill work to make it passable. 

After gathering all the downed trees and large rocks nearby, I began shoveling the high bank into the ditch until it looked good enough a little over 2-hours later.  You can't believe all the dirt and debris it took to partially fill that ditch.

A couple of turns later we encountered another "serious" obstacle.  Pace Lake wasn't giving in yet. 

This is the entrance to the "Rocky Corner".

This one had both erosion and three major boulders in the way.  The boulders were nearly hood high, so going over was not an option.  They blocked the road in such a way that going around the low side of the first two would work, but the third one was too close to the lower side of the road to get around. 

After some technical “calculated eyeball” measuring, I decided if we could get past the first two and go hard left between the second and third rocks and then go high enough on the upper bank, we could make it past.

The first part of the plan went well.  Crawling the very steep upper road bank tightened the seat cover to the breaking point.  To say we were leaning over was like saying there is sand at the beach.

Pace Lake is hard to see over the fence.  It looks really pretty though.

The rear couldn't climb the bank and the right rear wheel hooked the point on the third rock breaking a chunk of the faux beadlock out and mutilating the center cap.  More damage!  Man … !!!

With more rock rolling, tree removal, and a lot of brush trimming, we cruised through the gate into a meadow where Ponderosa Pines were just beginning to grow. 

To the left of the meadow was a serious barbed wire fence on the Colorado/ Utah border and Pace Lake just across the road on the other side of the fence.

The JB Ranch patrols the Utah side of the fence line and no trespassing is permitted.  After a very late lunch with a view of Pace Lake, we proceeded further up the road to the National Forest boundary where the signs say, "closed to motorized travel".

Known locally as the "Little Forest", this small isolated parcel is closed simply because the Manti- La Sal Forest Service doesn't want to manage it.

Check out the rear tire sidewall climbing the rock.

(Note:  I have recommended that the BLM assume responsibility for the area and that they allow us to pioneer a short road to the east where another road ends that comes from the John Brown road.  This would create a "Loop Road" that is so popular with land management these days.)

Returning to the meadow, I was rewarded with the sight of several elk on the Pace Lake dam.  It's always great to see wildlife.

This rock has caused a lot of damaged tires and wheels.

As the day was getting late, we had to go down the Pace Lake road much faster than the ascent.  With most of the bad obstacles passable now, that was not much problem.

The Pace Lake road was open once again.  Pace Lake was worth the effort to see and the trail is a dandy class 7 or 7+.  If you're going to attempt the Pace Lake road, you better come equipped and capable.

The views from the upper Pace Lake road are incredible.  Sinbad Valley is beautiful and you can see over the south end clear down to the San Juan Mountains near Ouray. 

The Pace Lake road is and will be a challenge for the foreseeable future.  I hope you make an opportunity to see Pace Lake.

If you have enjoyed this, please “Like” it on FaceBook and spread the word about it to your 4-Wheeling friends.  Let them know about the Pace Lake Road.

One last thought; when you come to a fork in the road, take it!

Happy Trails to you.

Copyright 2008- 2012, all rights reserved