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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.

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