Wednesday, November 11, 2015

A Coon Hollow Adventure

Preparing Coon Hollow for Rock Junction, 2014

April 19, 2014

By Jerry Smith

With Rock Junction looming only a little over a month away, (June 3, 4, & 5, 2014) pre-running the premier western Colorado and eastern Utah trails to ensure their readiness is necessary. Winters in this part of the world can be tough on our trails.

Cody entering the first major wash crossing.

Members of the Grand Mesa Jeep Club had already reopened Granite Creek. After several years of neglect, the roadside brush had grown into the road making forward progress a paint removing process.

The Calamity Mesa Loop had required moving large rocks and downed trees from the trail to allow “unfettered” access.

Next, the Coon Hollow Jeep Road would no doubt need some maintenance.

The Coon Hollow Jeep Road was reopened to full-sized vehicles in 2013 after many years of non-use by full-size vehicles.

You may read about that at: http://coonhollowisopen.blogspot.com/2013/06/Coon-Hollow-Jeep-Trail.html

Tree branches, mountain ash, and sagebrush had overgrown the trail to barely leave room for ATVs to pass. Now, it allows access into an area with “Wilderness Characteristics”… funny how some people can ignore the presence of a road to fulfill their desire to name more “Wilderness”.

Removing some large rocks.

The winter of 2013/14 had been a long, cold, and harsh one. Erosion on other area trails had shown to be severe. With several deep washes to cross, Coon Hollow would no doubt need some tender loving care.

The morning of April 19^th was somewhat ominous. Already raining, the forecast was for more rain. Much of the land north of the Colorado River is not conducive to wheeled travel when wet. The mud can be treacherously slick and even dangerous. Coon Hollow is north of the river.

The trip had been advertised to LEAVE from the Clifton “Albertson’s” parking lot. Albertson’s has not existed in Clifton for years. Confusion deluxe!

Not realizing the error at first, I sat at the City Market parking lot thinking that it was the correct place. At nearly 8:30, Greg comes driving up saying he saw Adam over near the former Albertson’s waiting… so we left for there.

Meanwhile, Adam had gone seeking any others hoping to go. Finally, the CB radio allowed all to convene and we dashed up I-70 toward De Beque.

After airing down in De Beque, we proceeded to the Coon Hollow road. Even though it had just rained, the road was only damp. Good luck was with us.

Entering the canyon, we noted several deep cuts across the road from erosion. Some were bone jarring to cross.

Coming to the first large deep wash crossing, Jerry led down the extreme grade into the wash. Bad decision!

Jerry and Happy Trails entering the 1st major wash.

Jerry and Happy Trails exiting the 1st major wash.

The wash was nearly two feet deeper than the last time it was used and had exposed a substantial boulder in the bottom that was hidden from view over the hood.

The wet road surface disallowed any kind of stopping power and we ended up nose down in the wash up against the huge rock. Backing out was impossible without help. I should have looked this over on foot BEFORE entering! (a lesson I learned years ago and usually follow)

Greg’s winch was double blocked to the rear of Happy Trails and dragged her out with little trouble.

Looking the situation over, it was decided that a much larger crew would be required to “remedy” access through the wash. The only other avenue would be to scout another route.

Walking back down the road, we found access to and from the wash circumnavigating the former crossing.

Tim in a wash crossing.

The only reason we pursued this action was because this area is still considered “Open” by the BLM. If it had been managed under other circumstances, we would have been done for the day.

Soon we were back on the trail and wondering; “what’s next?”

Luckily, we found the road in fair condition clear to the top of the first shelf road. There, with the damp surface, the nasty off-camber turns entering the small canyon were going to be a bit of a challenge.

Jerry and Happy Trails on the entrance to the upper wash.

Tim showing some of the off-camber.

Dry, the corners are banked enough to slide you into the deep, rocky wash. Wet, well let’s just say there were new rules.

After negotiating the wash, it was on to the next shelf road section. This steep hill has many sizable rocks that you must crawl over. Some are large enough that if you aren’t careful, you will hang your axles on them. Again, add the mud factor on round rocks.

Todd crawling through the off=camber wash.

Soon we were traveling up the hogback ridge. Often, we stopped to trim Juniper and Mountain Ash from the road.

About half way up, the skies turned dark and began to wet everything. The road became slick in the extreme. Walking was tough while trimming.

About 500 yards from the top, the trail becomes quite off-camber and steep. The road by this time was saturated and treacherous.

Jerry finally spun-out and had to apply the lockers to continue. Adam and Greg were sans lockers and Adam spun-out about 2/3 the way up. This was a very bad situation.

The only sane (?) thing to do was to back down to where we could turn around. That, it looked like, would be dangerous and difficult. The cold rain coming down wouldn’t improve the situation any either. Hands and fingers ached from the cold before we were through.

The washes are deep and have extreme angles entering and exiting.

Some of the terrain is crazy cool.

Walking on the road was like walking on a steep, icy hillside. The only saving grace was most of the way; there was a small berm on the lower side of the road with thick brush growing from it.

We started walking Adam back down the hill. Every time he tapped the brakes, sliding out of control was all he could do until enough traction was found from the small amount of growth on the road surface.

Several times the Jeep slid nearly off the road toward the steep mountainside below. You could hear the seat covers ripping.

Finally, we reached Greg’s rig and started the whole process over with him behind the wheel.

Here you see the Grand Mesa with snow over the large burn area.

Way down the hill, a wide spot appeared and we turned Greg around. Back up the slick road we mushed to Adam’s Jeep. It was like “Peat and Repeat”.

Then it was trudge back to Happy Trails, about a quarter mile up the hill. All this walking on the rain-slickened road was getting very hard on a guy who just weeks ago had open-heart surgery.

At Happy Trails, it was decided that I would drive up to the top to gauge how much further it was. Greg and Adam were willing to walk up if it wasn’t too far.

By the time I could see the top and get turned around, they were nearly caught up to me. We continued to the top of the saddle where the views are tremendous. This is where I made another mistake.

Down the other side, the road normally takes you to a great lunch spot. I thought about driving down to it. BAD idea!

From the "Lunch spot", the burn area above the natural gas well and beyond.

Just a few yards down the hill, it was apparent that the only “down” was down the steep hill… off the road sliding sideways.

The only option was to tie the winch line to a small Juniper above the road and swing the rear downhill. Then winch back up to the road where we could switch the anchor to another tree and begin turning back onto the road.

Luckily, this plan worked perfectly and soon we were on the way back down to the other Jeeps. Going down forward was much easier than backing.

A late lunch was held before we headed out. Coon Hollow is one-way in and out. The look of the trail is dramatically different going down than going up though. It’s like two different trails altogether.

Going up, it’s like looking through a tunnel of trees. Descending, you can see the panorama of the entire canyon and town of De Beque and the Battlement Mesa behind. Gorgeous!

The Coon Hollow Jeep Road will require a heap of work to allow continued access for the foreseeable future. The wash will likely require a rock dam be built below the road with some screen to catch and hold sand and silt. This will allow the road crossing to be raised to a level of usability again.

Until that, the bypass will have to suffice.

Despite the difficulties, this day turned out to be quite an adventure for the three brave hearts. A ton of work was performed and some new experiences had. We look forward to doing it all again.

One last thing we have to cover; “When you come to a fork in the road… take it!” Who knows? You might find another gem like this one.

Many Happy Trails to and for you.

NOTE: Most of these pictures are from several different trips up Coon Hollow.

Monday, June 10, 2013

The Coon Hollow Jeep Trail

By Jerry Smith

May 31, 2013

Having told some friends of the reopening of the Coon Hollow Jeep Trail, I had been heartily encouraged to lead an expedition into this newly accessible bit of heaven.

Last fall, it had been brought to my attention that full-size vehicles had not used the Coon Hollow Jeep Trail for quite some time. It was also told to me at that time that this trail was quite difficult even on an ATV.

Some vistas from the Coon Hollow Jeep Trail are awesome!

As it turned out, the trail had been ignored for several years by full-size vehicles due to a deep wash near the mouth of the canyon. Seems that most folks don’t care to provide a little work to enjoy a great trail. Their lose!

ATVs had continued to utilize the trail by finding a way to sneak around this wash crossing and the way they had used would not work for a full-size vehicle.

The wash crossing had required some pick and shovel work to make it passable on that first trip. That turned out to be only the first of the considerable work required to reopen this trail.

The remainder of the work had to do with clearing miles of sagebrush and tree limbs that had grown into the roadway choking it down to ATV width.

What we were left with is one outstanding primitive Jeep trail that is cherry stemmed into an area with “Wilderness Characteristics” according to some citizen advocate groups and the BLM.

As you might imagine, being within an area with “Wilderness Characteristics”, there is considerable pressure to close this trail to all motorized travel. That fact would make this trip even more special because of the possibility we could be some of the last to be able to enjoy it by motorized vehicle.

After meeting at the Clifton City Market, we drove to De Beque. The sleepy little town was still stretching from its waking-up though the water trucks were out making the V.2 road dust-free.

The freedom from dust stuck to the fender flares and mirrors as we headed for the V.3 Rd. turn-off. V.3 Road was being graded so we went beyond all the activity to air down.

Proceeding to the Coon Hollow turn, Jerry lead everyone into the mouth of the canyon with the sun shining and a slight haze hanging in the air. The potential for a great day was very high.

This tower and Hoodoos mark a fork in the road.

Reaching a tall tower with small hoodoos on top signaled a fork in the road. Taking the left fork, we were soon at the first major wash crossing. After allowing Wendy to take a position for photo-ops, we all slowly dipped into and through the steep-sided wash and onto a sagebrush flat beyond.

Roger entering the first wash.

Shortly we came to more lesser wash crossings where some found out the hard way that you should often “look before you leap” into a blind wash.

Some of these washes have a sharp break-over that hide large rocks at the bottom. As you approach the wash, you cannot see the bottom over your hood and if you don’t know what’s down there, some lines are a little more “rough” than some others.

This would be the correct "line" on this wash crossing.

Having driven this trail several times, Jerry knew the proper lines and made it through unscathed. The followers ignored a warning on the CB radio to get out and look and the hiding rocks greeted some as they missed the line by mere inches.

Mere inches can make a "line" with a totally different outcome.

“Follow the Leader” and his warnings now began to take on a new meaning. Luckily, this lesson resulted in only a rougher than necessary ride through a wash.

I add this pic simply to emphasize the point.

The next “warning” came as we began the ascent of the ridge.

After a short, steep climb up a shelf road, the trail takes a sharp, blind right turn into a narrow ravine.

As you enter the ravine, the trail has a sharp “S-turn” with high-banked turns that leave you severely off camber on a loose, sandy surface that makes it very hard to hold the turn without sliding down into the narrow, rocky wash.

The off camber and loose soil has a tendency to push you into the wash.

This is where the Coon Hollow Jeep Trail gets its class 6 rating. If you don’t pre-walk this piece of the trail, you must “drive by feel” through some dangerous places because you won’t be able to see where you are going most of the way.

Al held the off camber while Malcolm held whatever he could grasp.

Even after walking the obstacle, many don’t realize the magnitude of the off camber they are about to experience and the difficulty of crossing the loose surface only serves to make matters worse.

Levi chose the more "level" wash for access.

You can hear the stretching of seat covers as you guide people through. Deep fingerprints can also be found in the door handles and any points of hand contacting Jeep after the first turn.

After you pass through the corners, a steep, rocky hill-climb up a narrow shelf road with a wash down one side awaits your driving skills. Welcome to the Coon Hollow Jeep Trail!

Gathering on the steep, rocky shelf road.

From here, most of the trail is along a steep, winding, narrow ridge lined by primarily Utah Juniper, Pinon Pine, Mountain Ash, and tall sagebrush.

Much of the surrounding brush has been trimmed back for clear passage. Some places you can still expect to hear the scraping of brush along the sides and top of your vehicle as your tires strain to hold the steep terrain.

Some sagebrush was sacrificed during the reopening ceremonies.

Twisting and turning through the trees keeps your focus primarily on your driving as you ascend the trail. At times you will glance off the trail to enjoy a small view down into the steep canyons on either side of the trail.

This is a land with “Wilderness Characteristics” and it lives up to that billing. You won’t see any other signs of man’s presence except the road ahead of you here.

Beauty is often near the road.

It’s a good time to slow down and absorb the experience. Driving the Coon Hollow Jeep Trail should be held in reverence even though I have found this same experience nearly everywhere in the American BackCountry.

Appreciating the freedoms we in the American West have should always be taken in and savored every time we get the opportunity to experience them. If you’re not, you miss the “Real” reason we all know the song; “God Bless America”.

Looking over De Beque and beyond.

John Denver often sang about his love for the American BackCountry. We all can still learn from his appreciation of this great land and would be well advised to follow his lead. Your well-being and demeanor will all be raised if you do.

As we approach the western end of the South Shale Ridge cliffs, the trail begins leveling to a less steep climb. Ahead you see a shallow saddle with a tree lined crest come into view.

This is the “Top of the Trail” and near the end. Seems like most good things must come to an end.

Dropping down onto the Lunch Spot.

As you break over the saddle, knowing the end is near can be somewhat a downer… until your eyes go from the narrow focus of the trail to the overwhelming panorama that literally stops your heart for a few beats.

In a microsecond, the world explodes before you in a way few places can.

To your left, you are looking over across the valley to the north side of the Grand Mesa… the largest flat top mountain in the world.

Panning your vision from left to right, you see the southern grand valley with the Uncompahgre Plateau behind reaching from miles to the south to the rim of the Book Cliffs and Mt. Garfield.

Between you and the Book Cliffs, you see the majority of the Pine Ridge Wildfire burn and the Wild Horse Area. Further to the right over the rim of the Book Cliffs, the La Sal Mountains show off their majestic peaks.

Let me tell you, this view will take your breath away.

At the end of the trail is a large flat that is perfect for a lunch spot. As you enjoy a good lunch, the view will make everything taste better and you will relax in a new way.

When you feel the need to return, you will find that the ride going down the Coon Hollow Jeep Trail is a whole new experience compared to the ascent.

The trail has a few rocks to deal with.

Much of the way down, the panorama through your windshield is just awesome. Coon Hollow opens before you into a long range view looking down on De Beque and beyond to the Battlement Mesa above Parachute and the Grand Mesa.

About here I had Sandra in tears fearing for her life. Had I known, I would have asked her to get out and watch to see how safe she really was.

More appreciation for this land we call “Home” should well up in your chest as you lose elevation and get closer to the views from above.

Ah, another great day with good friends and a fabulous Jeep trail to share.

The only way that things can get better is for the following to occur; “When you come to a fork in the road… take it.” You never know what you’ll find.

Happy Trails.