Western Colorado Trails

Crossing the Delores River and Granite Creek

By Jerry Smith

November 3, 2013

Day 2 of 2

Sunday morning began fairly early.  Well before 08:00 we (Happy Trails & I) were parked across from the Glade Park store awaiting the possible arrival of Marty.  When he hadn’t arrived by 08:00, we did the boogie for the lower Delores River crossing.

To be there at 09:30 to meet the club members coming from Moab would be close.  I dearly wanted to be there to photograph the “Jeep crossing”.  The road to the crossing is about 35 miles from the Utah/Colorado border at the end of DS Road.

DS Road was very quiet as we made headway toward the Colorado/Utah border.  Approaching the nine-mile marker it becomes quite narrow with 5-6 foot sage growing right off the paved road.

With one step a mule deer doe appeared not more than 5-feet ahead of my passenger side front fender.  Not even time to hit the brakes.  Long before we were stopped, the doe could be seen skidding on her side before the Jeep.

I steered around her and soon came to a stop.  In the mirrors, I watched her very stiffly limp across the road and just as she stepped into the brush a yearling doe followed.  My view wasn’t great, but I don’t think anything was broken but her pride, but she will be terribly sore for some time.

I backed up to see how she was doing, but never saw her again. There were no tracks or a blood trail on the hard ground.

Later at the Delores River crossing, I inspected for damage.  Only a very small crease in the fender could be found… very lucky considering the impact.  The Fab Fours bumper had just paid for itself.

Four River Otters doing what Otters do.

We pulled into the river a little just to gauge the depth and thought the water to be quite safe to cross.  Knowing (hoping) that several others were on their way, I backed out leaving just the front tires in the water and began the wait.  Crossing alone was more risk than was necessary for now.

After about 10-minutes, out of the corner of my eye, something dark surfaced in the riffle to the right for just a microsecond.  My first thought was “catfish”, but then a “V” in the water became two as they proceeded upstream.

These guys were a riot to observe.

Imagine my surprise when one of those “Vs” suddenly produced the head of a river otter.  Then the other “V” broke the surface.  Retrieving a camera from my bag didn’t take but a moment.  This was something I did not want to miss.

Even with a 400mm lens, these River Otters were making the camera "reach".

After taking a few shots of the two swimming, they were getting too far off for the mounted lens to produce a very good picture.  So, it was off with the small and on with the longer-range lens.

Luckily, the otters, which now had become a foursome, had found a place to rest and do what otters do.  Shooting through a close bush proved to be a potential problem, but we managed to rest the long lens on the window to steady it and got some fairly good shots.

The joy of watching their show was a perfect reward for early rising on a Sunday morning.  I've always been a huge fan of wildlife watching, so I was in a little corner of heaven this morning.

Not long afterward, I heard chatter over the CB “skip” that had been a nuisance all morning.  I recognized the voices of Dave and Cody so knew they would be arriving soon.

The tires nearly drowned on the first crossing.

It wasn’t long that the camera was clicking off pictures as the Grand Mesa Jeep Club made their way across the lower Delores River crossing.

Some first timers had that nervous smile as they baptized their rigs following the path the others had taken.  Coming up and out the other side the nerves let that smile grow into the proverbial “Cheshire Cat” as pure enjoyment took over.  Most Jeepers will never have the opportunity of doing a river crossing.  It can be a very special occasion, but it can also be a prime source of frayed nerves until it's over.

Today, the river was a little on the high side.  This lower ford has more current than another just a couple miles up river.  At times of really low flow, the Colorado River (about a half-mile downstream) will back up clear to this point.  In times of high flow, a crossing is not advised.

Small variations of the line taken meant depth changes.

I’ve seen that reaction many times at this crossing and back during my life in Montana.  The big difference is that you can see through the Montana water… not so in most of the Colorado red water streams.

One quick safety note;  when crossing deep waters, it's a good idea to roll down your windows for the "just in case".  Removing your seat belt is also a great idea.  Making a fast emergency exit is much easier if you follow these rules.

Mary's line started in the deep pool.

Cody pushed water ahead like a barge.

After some time, we all fired up and headed for Granite Creek where we would have lunch and some hiking (for the hearty). 

Lunch for some had that "aged taste".  Actually, we found these at a nearby fire pit and couldn't resist the fun of "reusing" them.

The section of road they hiked is the fairly steep, narrow shelf road that drops into the bottom of Granite Creek Canyon.  From there it turns upstream where it is grossly overgrown with thick brush.  In places, even the overhead is overgrown.

A section of the shelf road is reported to have sloughed off and needs some TLC as well.  It has been on my “radar” to do the required maintenance and reopen it for some time, but we haven’t made the time yet.

For those of you who have never worked on a project like the re-opening of a road or trail, I truly feel sorry for you.  The pride of bringing a trail back to “life” will make your head swell. 

It may not really equal the experience, but it is like when your children are born.  You just can’t help but love them thereafter.

Later, when you see the smiles of others as they experience “your trail”, you’ll feel that again and again.  It’s a special thing that you’ll have to do to understand, but trust me, you will be glad you did it.

After the weary hikers slowed their heart rates, we took the road North and East into Ryan Creek where the road heads North and West to Red Gap.

Heading for Red Gap

Red Gap is a high overlooking point with a tremendous view of the valley to the West.  (It took a little research to find "Red Gaps" name.  I was asked on the trail and didn't know). 

From there we dipped down through Renegade Creek and then up and over to Spring Creek where the road jumps up on the Colorado/Utah border and brings you back to DS road where most aired up and headed home.  Three elected to take the short drive up 9- 8/10s Road to Miracle Rock and “The Pot Holes”.  (in case you are wondering, western Colorado has some strange addresses and road names)

Though not a particularly challenging day of Jeeping, this proved that mild trails can definitely make for an excellent experience if you love the Great American BackCountry as most of us do.

Our many thanks to Dave and Cody for leading two great days of Jeeping and providing us the opportunity to spend the time together.

Don’t ever forget —when you come to a fork in the road… take it!

Happy Trails.

Copyright Happy Trails 4wd 2013 - 2017.  All rights reserved.

Cosmo (the dog) smiled for this shot.

Fall colors helped "flavor" some pictures.

We have safely crossed here when the water was up to the hood.