Calamity Mesa Loop and a WARNING!
November 14, 2008
By Jerry Smith
Friday,
November 14th, 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.
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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