| April 27, 2013 |
| DeBeque, Colorado |
| Jerry Smith |
| Coon Hollow |
Coon Hollow is north and west of De Beque. This is another “Let’s open another one of Jerry’s new found trails” deals and will be subject to weather getting better and drying out the area.
For this trip, we will LEAVE the Horizon Safeway parking lot (at Horizon and 12th St.) at 8:30 AM on Saturday April 27th. Don’t be late or you’ll have to catch up on your own.
Coon Hollow is a class 6 or 6+ rated trail. It hasn’t been traveled by full-size vehicles for several years and has a lot of brush growing into the roadway.
We will be doing a lot of tree and brush trimming to reopen the trail… so bring your work gloves at a bare minimum. If you have some good trimmers, please bring them along. (Most of the trimming will be on sagebrush that is not easily trimmed). A sharp hatchet, axe, or machete seems to be the best tool for the job.
There are one or two places where we may need to do some dirt work as well. The first wash crossing may need to have some dirt removed from one side to make it passible for long wheelbase vehicles. Picks and shovels will be needed for this ceremony.
This will be a very rare chance for you to drive into an “area with Wilderness Characteristics”. It currently is slated for closure to full-size use unless we get the BLM to change their minds.
The road is “cherry-stemmed” into the “Wilderness” and is a really unique find. The area is a great example of High Desert Canyon land beauty and the trail has some challenges that make it quite fun. Don’t forget your cameras. Scenery and “wheeling pics” will be great.
Most high ground clearance 4x4s should be able to make the trip once we trim the brush. Jerry and Happy Trails are the only Jeep to have driven the trail in several years. We had Harley Barfoot along to help with some rock and tree removal and we did trim some of the worst of the trees already.
For those who have never reopened a trail before, you won’t believe how good you will feel after we get to the end of the trail. Just knowing you have opened a quality trail will make you feel like a million dollars after all the closures we have endured.
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| May 4, 2013 |
| Gateway, Colorado |
| Jerry Smith |
| Calamity Mesa Loop |
Calamity Mesa Loop
Saturday May 4th, 2013
We will LEAVE from the Orchard Mesa City Market parking lot at 7:30 AM sharp. This could be a long day (minimum 8 to 9-hours) if little or no work is required. This is a “Pre-Run” for the Rock Junction 2013 event. As we had a fairly mild winter, not much trail damage is expected… but that is only a wild guess. On previous pre-runs, we’ve had two with a lot of work and some with no work required.
SORRY, NO FULL-SIZE RIGS ARE ALLOWED ON THE CALAMITY MESA LOOP! It has a too narrow obstacle for you to get through.
The Calamity Mesa Loop is a class 7 trail. High ground clearance is a MUST. One locker is good, two are better. Tow hooks on both ends are mandatory and a winch is not a bad idea. A CB radio is a good thing to have as well.
Definitely bring plenty of water for each person for two days minimum. Have coats, gloves, and clothes ready for cold or warm weather. Be prepared to spend a cold night out (just in case). Bring a lunch and food for other snacks or meals for two days. Don’t forget sunscreen and bug spray. This is a very remote area with no help for miles. Don’t forget your cameras. Scenery and “wheeling pics” will be great.
Cody may be camping Saturday night for the Pace Lake trip on Sunday May 5th so anyone who wants to camp out, bring all your gear.
As far as I know, they are still not selling gasoline in Gateway yet… so plan for that. Between the Calamity Mesa Loop and Pace Lake, we will be covering around 260 miles minimum, if you camp up there between trips.
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| May 5, 2013 |
| Gateway, Colorado |
| Jerry Smith |
| Pace Lake |
Pace Lake
Sunday May 5th, 2013
We will LEAVE from the Orchard Mesa City Market parking lot at 7:30 AM sharp. This could be a long day (minimum 8 to 9-hours) if little or no work is required. This is a “Pre-Run” for the Rock Junction 2013 event. As we had a fairly mild winter, not much trail damage is expected… but that is only a wild guess.
Some rock rolling and brush trimming is common on the first trip into Pace Lake every year. Have some good work gloves. Trimming shears would be handy.
Pace Lake is a class 7 trail. High ground clearance is a must. One locker is good, two are better. Tow hooks on both ends are mandatory and a winch is not a bad idea. This trail has caused several flat tires. Have a good spare tire.
A CB radio is a good thing to have as well. The history and geology of the area is something you will want to hear while we travel through.
Expect a lot of off-camber (some very off-camber) on narrow road on a steep mountain road with large rocks to crawl over and/or around.
Definitely bring plenty of water for each person for two days minimum. Have coats, gloves, and clothes ready for cold or warm weather.
Bring a lunch and food for other snacks or meals for two days. Don’t forget sunscreen and bug spray. This is a very remote area with no help for miles. Don’t forget your cameras. Scenery and “wheeling pics” will be great.
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