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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.

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