Radical Hill Trail
August 29, 2010
Along the Happy Trails
This Story is About How to Experience One of Your Best Days… While Having A Really Bad One
By Jerry Smith
With trails like Radical Hill, Webster Pass, Red Cone, and others in mind, Mike Click and I had planned to go on the Grand Mesa Jeep Club trip to Frisco, Colorado for several weeks. The club trip was scheduled for August 28 & 29, 2010 - (Sat, Sun). We planned to add some extra days because it is a long walk from Grand Junction to the Frisco/ Silverthorn area.
We figured to be able to do Radical Hill, Webster Pass, and Red Cone on the first day.
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| Radical Hill as seen from Webster Pass. |
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| Radical Hill from Red Cone through Webster Pass. The Radical Hill road is visible at the top of the ridge about ⅓ of the way from the left side. |
After a quick lunch and a fuel stop in Frisco, we headed for Montezuma. From there we planned to go over Radical Hill and Webster Pass and return by way of 12,801 ft. Red Cone Mountain.
Montezuma is one of those small, sleepy Colorado mountain mining towns that you drive through with little memory of having done so. You can find it mentioned in some Colorado “Ghost Town” type books. The Ghosts were not out haunting… Friday being their day of rest.
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| One of Montezuma's "Odd Houses" |
They have a 20 MPH speed limit that is quite unnecessary. The road through town is so full of deep potholes, you can’t do the speed limit without some serious undercarriage damage. It is my guess that the locals cultivate those potholes to keep the dust down… and trust me, it definitely works.
A short way out of town, we turned on FR5 (Forest Road #5) that takes you up the beautiful Deer Creek valley and up to the rim of Radical Hill. You have a grand look at the Webster Pass road across the valley with Red Cone reaching skyward above it. This view is worth the trip alone!
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| This is Mike going down the first steep slope of Radical Hill with Webster Pass and Red Cone in the distance. |
From Goat to “Goat Whisperer”
Breaking over the ridge and dropping down Radical Hill is typical of many high mountain roads. Steep, rocky, and slow is the word.
Mike was leading the way down Radical Hill and made his way out of sight around the first switchback. As I rounded that switchback, the view of Mike going down the road below was definitely a “Kodak Moment”.
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| Happy Trails laying on Radical Hill. |
I steered diagonally up on the bank on the high side of the road like I’ve done hundreds of times to be able to take a picture out the driver’s side window. It was a steep bank but looked like many I’ve climbed for this purpose.
As I reached across the passenger seat to get one of my cameras, I may have eased up on the brake pedal or the bank gave way because as I started sitting up to take a picture, I noticed the view had changed. The Radical Hill mountainside had disappeared.
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| From this angle, you could swear this roll-over was impossible. |
What should have been a view of Mike going down Radical Hill out of the driver’s side window was in reality of the road surface coming into an extreme close-up.
How to become “the Goat”
Yep, I had just experienced my first rollover. The really bad part was it happened without my participation until the very last quarter second. What a wasted experience! But “Radical Hill” had just taken on a new meaning.
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| The rocks just off the road surface left nothing unscathed. |
I do remember the thump and grind on the rocks and the sound of the side window of the top exploding at about the time a load of camera gear dumped all over me.
Shortly, I hear Mike asking if I am all right on the CB. It took a few moments to gather up the situation mentally as I turned off the ignition and began looking for the CB microphone, which was at my feet.
I told him “I have a situation here.” What I didn’t know at the time was that my CB antennae had been broken off so he couldn’t hear me. I saw him turning around, so I knew he was aware of my predicament.
This was my second time climbing vertically out of a Jeep passenger door window.
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| This is what a Mountain Goat looks like about 50-yards above you. |
The first time was back in the ‘70s in my CJ5 when I had slipped off a steep road bank. That time only required my Ramsey winch to recover us from the ditch. This time, being above the tree line, there were no trees for a very long mile or so from which to winch from.
The other disqualifier was the hydraulically driven Mile Marker winch on the front would require the engine running to operate. Running your engine while on your side isn’t recommended, so the winch was just as handy as a rudder for a duck.
Mike had no winch “mounted”. His winch has resided in his garage for years. Being downhill from me with no way to pass made that a non-issue anyway. Any winching to set Happy Trails back on her tires would have to come from above. With few exceptions, you always want to roll a vehicle back on its wheels in the up-hill direction.
After some Radical Hill pictures, (yes, I had the wherewithal to grab a camera on the way out) we assessed the situation. Not good!
It was decided that I would stay with Happy Trails on Radical Hill while Mike went down to the campground where Dave McCollough should be. Dave has a Ramsey winch on his TJ.
Now I had what I estimated would be about three hours to think about this whole experience. One of the first sensations turned out to be my right knee hurting. The longer I waited, the more it ached.
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| This Nanny was easy to identify with one deformed horn. |
As we were well above tree line, sunburn, even through the thin cloudy skies, was an issue to consider. Standing there in a tee shirt, I looked for some shade to set in but found it in very short supply at about 2:30 PM on Radical Hill.
Eventually, I found that if I stood on the front driver side tire, I could have some shade and a great view of the surrounding valley rim on the skyline. “Wow” is the only word that comes to mind.
This large high mountain half bowl above treeline was really something to see. I had the time to study intensely.
After a little while, one of the reasons for coming up to this area came walking over the rim above Radical Hill.
A wild Mountain Goat in its habitat is something you have to experience to understand the deeply spiritual feelings involved.
Watching this goat feed its way down the steep and rocky mountainside about four hundred yards from me was a real thrill. The experience got a little better when straight up the hill near the Radical Hill road, another goat and her kid began a stare down with me.
From Goat to “Goat Whisperer”
She stood on the skyline for about 45 minutes just measuring the danger I posed to her and her kid. She would look at the first goat to see if any warnings were being sent. Apparently, none were so she began coming down the steepest part of the Radical Hill road toward me. This I found to be really strange behavior.
Just moments after she began coming down the road, I heard footsteps behind me. Many thoughts ran through my mind.
Thoughts like… what could be sneaking up on me? Is it friendly? Is it not friendly?
In order not to scare "it", I made a very slow turn of my head to see five more Mountain Goats staring at me from just a few feet away. That explained why the other one was coming down the road.
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| This kid was one of my first photos taken of the Goats that became "MY friends". |
Well, here I am, standing on the front tire of my pride and joy laying on its side on Radical Hill, surrounded by wild Mountain Goats closer than I ever dreamed possible, and my camera is on the rear bumper… can this be happening?
Standing as still as possible, I watched as one of the kids walked up to the rear tire while trying to figure me out. This was too unreal. Wild animals don’t normally walk this close to you on an exposed mountainside like this. There was nowhere to hide for hundreds of yards.
Soon, the need to take pictures outweighed the need to stay still, so I began a very slow move to the back of the Jeep. Surprise! No mass panic on the part of the goats. Yes, they did move off a few steps.
Now the next realization hit me. Mounted on the only camera not in the Jeep was the super wide-angle lens. A 10mm to 22mm lens is for very close up picture taking. Long distance shots are not very detailed normally. Bummer you might think.
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| I am told that few TJs have this suspension on the front. A Teraflex triangulated front and rear long-arm suspension has proven to be extremely flexible and very reliable. Seldom needed ARB lockers replaced the unreliable stock Rubicon lockers. With the tires always firmly on the ground, lockers are a luxury not needed often. |
As it turned out, the lens was a good choice. These goats became almost family in the next hour or so. I actually began identifying individuals and practically naming them.
I talked to them some and they began coming closer and closer while doing what wild goats do. Eating, coughing, sneezing, bleating, and butting the weaning kids away when they tried to suckle. This was nature in all its glory.
The thought occurred to me, “what a John Denver song this could have been if he had been here to experience this”.
During all this excitement, a cold front had moved in. Suddenly my tee shirt wasn’t very warm. As I became colder, my left hand found its way into my front pocket.
Shortly, one of the nannies walked right up to me, stretched out her nose to within about one inch from the hand in my pocket and took a smell. What an unexpected thrill…. and a serious dilemma.
Let me tell you, having a wild Mountain Goat that close is right up there with going directly to heaven. Looking into her eyes that close was both a mind warping thrill and a very scary time all in one package.
You see, just above those dark inquisitive and nervous eyes are two long horns with sharp points that could leave a man with either two serious bruises or very deep wounds depending on the animal’s reaction.
The desire to pet her was overcome by the fear of those horns. I didn’t even attempt a picture of this for fear of sparking the wrong reaction.
Just a few minutes after this life altering experience, another nanny walked by close enough for me to pluck a tuft of the wool being shed from her back.
The thoughts of this experience were ranging from “Awesome” to “how will anyone believe me when I tell them?”
Soon, I see a man standing on the rim above Radical Hill near where the first goat had been. He was nobody I knew, but I could tell he didn’t believe what he was seeing. After all, how many times do you see a Jeep lying on its side in the middle of a mountain road surrounded by 17 wild Mountain Goats?
Just minutes later, I no longer had to wonder how my story would be accepted.
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| Some of 17 Rocky Mountain Goats |
Mike’s Jeep broke over the top of Radical Hill above with Dave a short way behind and another guy on an ATV behind him. As Mike got closer, some of the goats began slowly moving off, but some just watched while chewing a bite of grass.
This was definitely a surreal experience for the books. God was truly working overtime that day.
Next was the meeting to decide the best approach to putting Happy Trails on its feet.
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| This is not the recommended way to show your rear suspension. |
I have been the one doing the recovering of others many times. From these experiences, I have learned to let others speak their views of the situation before making a decision as to how to proceed.
You often gain a new perspective of a problem that makes you re-evaluate your first impressions. Often too, the guy who is in the tough spot is not the best one to make the final decision. (that would be me in this instance).
Dave lined up to take a pull on our first thoughts. This proved to be a “no go”; Happy Trails had begun to roll up when Dave’s Jeep started skidding toward it, so we had some more brainstorming.
Dave came up with a great plan that I had not considered. We ran the winch cable to HT and then up to Mikes JK to provide a new angle of pull and to take some of the strain off of Dave’s Jeep.
Dave’s idea worked perfectly. Soon HT was up on her wheels and then dragged up the hill to a spot well off the Radical Hill trail.
After confirming that the engine was “hydraulically locked” with oil in the cylinders, Dave offered his help and some fluids he carries to get us back to running condition.
As it was close to dark, Dave left for his camp down beside the Dillon Reservoir and Mike and I set up camp for the night right on the Radical Hill road.
The next morning, the sun was upon us before the folks in Denver. At over 12,000 feet above sea level on the east side of the mountain, you get to see the sun before many people over a hundred miles to your east.
I pulled off all the necessary hardware required to remove the spark plugs to blow the oil out of the cylinders. Thinking we had the job done, all the parts were replaced and another attempt to start it was tried.
During all this activity, some of my new friends came back for another close encounter. We had about ten of the Radical Hill goats surrounding us while we worked on Happy Trails.
One fed on some grass about two steps from the driver’s side door the whole time we were getting in and out and cranking the engine. “Amazing” doesn’t quite say what I felt about this.
Still locked up… all the parts were removed and replaced one more time before we heard the engine cough and puke a fog of blue smoke. The smoke was more than the goats could deal with and they moved away. It was time to leave Radical Hill.
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| This is the interior while still on its side. Please pardon the mess. |
After breaking camp, we headed back up Radical Hill toward Montezuma and met Dave and his wife Pam coming up Deer Creek. Pam nicknamed me “Goat Whisperer”. After all the wonderful experiences, how could I argue?
It didn’t occur to me at the time, but no one had “razzed” me about the rollover. What a great bunch of people to not rub it in.
With my now bum right knee aching like that was its entire purpose for being, I decided to set out the next couple of days of Jeeping. What a bummer!
I had so looked forward to seeing some new trails and this awesome Colorado high country, but having to brake and throttle with my left foot wasn’t making this anything less than dangerous. One major calamity seemed like enough for this trip.
After some discussion to the contrary, Mike finally relented and stayed with Dave and Pam to run the hills for the next two days. How I envied them!
After a very wind noisy, but uneventful trip home, I unloaded Happy Trails so she could be sent in to have the dents and scratches repaired. I am really looking forward to having a new driver’s side rear view mirror. How do you drive with no mirrors?
Radical Hill, the real estate, will forever be branded in my memory.
The Radical Hill goats will always outweigh that memory by an infinity or two.
Happy Trails to you, and remember—when you come to a fork in the road, take it!
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| This one let me pick some of the shedding wool off her back. |
Copyright Happy Trails 4wd 2008- 2017, all rights reserved
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| Here, the contrast of a goat already done shedding and one not. |
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| Note how this nanny is comfortable standing on rocks when there is bare ground all around. Their footing on impossible places is incredible. |
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