We drove out to Montrose where our friends were camped on the BLM land. We caught up with them at the first ledge on Calamity. After I made the second ledge I noticed my sway bar was broke in half so we headed back to camp to grab my spare and lunch. Next we ran Die Tryin. Melissa did some driving on this trail but Max was the only one to make the main exit ledge with his shorter wheelbase. He had just gotten his jeep back from M and M offroad after PJ swapped his '08 corvette engine into his TJ...he was grinning ear to ear all wk.
Cactus 1 was up next and Chris was the only one that had to pull cable on the waterfall. After being down stretching and swapping tons into his rubicon he wasn't ready to commit to the possibility of a rollover, I couldn't blame him. We had a great dinner at camp and got to catch up with some friends. There was a billion stars in the sky that night. With all the falling stars and flying space trash we chose not to start a fire that night and just enjoy the show.
Melissa woke up scared around 4am asking what the hell a noise was coming from a deep wash about 80yds from our tent. I told her it was a pack of coyotes(I was awake and had been listening to them) and to go back to sleep. She asked if they were going to come to us and I told her laughing that they would get Russ first who was asleep in the open with just a sleeping bag and his gun on Max' trailer. We came out of our tent around 7:30am and Russ sat straight up looking at us and asked, "you guys hear those F'ing coyotes last night!?!?!?"
After a killer breakfast we set out for Death Row. No one wanted to run this trail with me last yr so I had to pass. This year I had Sam with me and knew he would give it a shot. This is a short but nasty uphill trail with BIG boulders. With some help spotting we both made it through unscathed with only one of us winching one time. We were done by lunch time. We had the option to load up and trailer around to Boulder Canyon, this is a trail I wanted to do and the only one in Montrose I have yet to do. Max suggested we load up and head to Grand Junction and hit 21 road and stay in a convenient hotel we stayed in before. We did this as it was going to play into our plans for Wednesday much better.
Like Billings Canyon 21 road is right on the edge of town and super convenient. It starts out as a good dirt road and deteriorates into a wash becoming worse the further you go. Like Billings though it's all about the optional lines, you can make it as hard as you want. We made it up to the alcove and took some pics in the cool air. Erosion always amazes me. A little further up following the leader on an optional line Sam managed to wedge a 43sx into a really tight spot and promptly broke a rear axle. We all decided to turn around and head back since it was getting late, we were all hungry and in terrible need of showers Melissa and I put the buggy in high range and wound the turbo up on the ride back to the trailers, so much fun! The 7 of us took a free shuttle to downtown Grand Junction that night and had a great time.
Before I got married me and a friend had a Moab trip all planned out, but it never happened, and it's my only regret from my past.
Now I look forward to doing the trip with my daughter in the future.
Thanks for sharing!
We left Grand Junction and drove to Gypsum. On the east bound side of the exit is the town of Gypsum. Cross over I-70 to the west bound side and the road immediately turns to dirt, goes by a Gypsum mine and eventually dead ends into BLM land. Somewhere out there is one of the most extreme rock trails in the country, Ten Falls. My friends had been telling me of this trail and once I saw pics I had to go. We dropped the trailer we were using and Sam left for Denver to pick up some axle shafts. Max, Chris and I headed out into the unknown since none of us had ever been to this exact trail before that had very recently became a public trail. Max did a great job finding the trailhead with gps coordinates, it took us more than 30min to get there.
I guess 10 falls was just a figure of speech because it seemed there was another waterfall every 50-100yds. They were endless! We made it through the first ledge to the first good waterfall. Max and I made it but Chris' trans started acting funny and he decided it was best if he went back. This is probably one of the very last trails you would ever want a catostrophic failure as such. So then it was Max and I with Melissa and Russ riding shotgun. Russ earned an award for spotting and pulling winch cable. I had to winch twice due to big undercuts swallowing my 39" tires. Max short wheelbase forced him to winch a handful of times. He made a lot of lines he shouldn't have though! We only had 2 slight issues on the trail. A set scew decided to jump ship and my throttle pedal fell apart, 3 zip ties later we were crawling again! Mel saved me from breaking an axle shaft when my pass side rear tire dropped in a perfect sized pot hole in the trail. I was just getting ready to bump it when she stopped me. I had Max pull the tire out of the hole. In all I think it took us 6hrs or so to do the trail. We came out of the canyon and were over 5miles from the trucks. We returned at dusk running head lights on the way.
If anyone ever decides to run this trail know that once you're in, by God you're committed!
We said our goodbyes to Max and Russ and Sam, Melissa and I headed towards Buena Vista. We had a late dinner in Leadville before arriving at our cozy motel that the owners had to stay up late to give us a room key for, and of course make sure we weren't pot smokers(see pic). The room didn't have ac but it was 50 something degrees outside and that wasn't an issue.
We drove a few miles to the trail head for Carnage Canyon and Chinamans gulch. Carnage is full of big boulders, a waterfall followed by a big v-notch and an exit that climbs a mountain with some technical ledges. When Max, Russ and I ran this trail in May 2015 there was still snow on the ground and water running down the trail, everyone winched at some point. It took us all day to run it. This time everything was dry except for a mud hole at the bottom of the waterfall. Sam and I had a clean run and were eating lunch on top of the mountain 2.5hrs after we started. After lunch we ran Chinamans Gulch since we were there, a much tamer trail.
After that we headed into Colorado Springs to get a hotel where A Buffalo Wild Wings was across the road. Chris and Max met us for dinner and the Panthers vs. Broncos game where we proceeded to embarrass them by cheering rather loudly. We went into downtown after that and met a real life life ghostbuster at a redlight. He said he hadn't seen any that night but gave us his card in case we ever needed his services.
We had decided to do an evening/night run in Penrose so we had time to do some tourist stuff around Colorado Springs. Off to Pikes Peak we went! I drove up and think I would have done better had I been driving a car low to the ground. Instead I could clearly see that if we went off the road whatsoever there was nothing to stop the truck for a LONG way. I drove slow and more towards the middle of the road! Once at the top the temperature had changed significantly. It was downright cold and there was plenty of snow around. I handed the keys to Sam for the drive down while I kept my head down until we got into the trees again lol. We had the truck in tow haul with the exhaust brake on. It did really great on the way down and the brakes weren't used much. When we got to the checkpoint where they check your brake temperature they guy looked really confused by his reading then shot them again, gave a shrug and said you're good to go!
After lunch and some shopping in Colorado City we went to the Garden of Gods visitor center and took a drive through there. After getting the oil changed in the truck and the tanks filled up we met the crew in Penrose. We went down independence and up patriot. We were having a great run until Chris managed to cut a brake line at the top of patriot, TERRIBLE place to lose your brakes!!! After many many attempts Max finally winched. Sam, Russ and made it with some throttle while Russ did it in complete darkness due to having zero lights
We left Colorado Springs at 7:30am headed for home. I drove the first 4hrs or so then Melissa took over while I tried to lay down in the back seat and catch up on some sleep. Not much longer after that every time the truck hit a bump it got a terrible death wobble. I was wondering wtf was going on since I just drove and didn't have any issues. I had Melissa pull off the interstate and Sam checked the front end while I worked the steering wheel. He immediately noticed the axle end trac bar bolt had started to back out and the nut was missing. This had happened to me before and it bent the bolt badly. Luckily it went right back into the hole for the mount. We didn't have a metric nut to fit the bolt but Sam found a tiny pair of vice grips he just happened to throw into a tool bag before we left. It was the only thing small enough to fit in the boxed mount. Once clamped on the bolt Sam put a zip tie on the handle for insurance and we hit the road. That was in mid-eastern Kansas. We topped off the truck before getting out of Kansas and made it home on that fill up around 10:30am Sunday after driving through the night, with a tiny pair of vice grips holding the steering together.
I've seen this thread title for a while but never clicked on it. I am glad I did now. I needed that little vacation! I am very envious of your adventure! If everything went as smoothly as your writing made it seem, you are truly an exceptional planner.
I would love to do a trip out West someday and I know that "someday" never comes, hopefully my situation will change where a couple of weeks off and the funds to make a trip like this is possible.
Thanks for the adventure!
Melissa and I put the buggy in high range and wound the turbo up on the ride back to the trailers, so much fun! The 7 of us took a free shuttle to downtown Grand Junction that night and had a great time.
