The Sheep Creek Jeep Trail

By Jerry Smith

Not long after we moved to Grand Junction, Colorado in '85, I began exploring area Jeep trails in my ’73 CJ5 (Old Blue).  As a traveling salesman at the time, my time off from work was extremely rare and valuable.

New to Grand Junction (GJT) and seldom home, I had nearly no local friends to find out about the area.  The answer was to take a map of the area and draw a 50-mile radius circle around GJT and go drive ALL Jeep trails within that circle.

It took till about 2009 to be able to say I accomplished that goal and then a little, but it’s safe to say that at one time or another, I have traveled 98% of all Jeep trails in that circle and many beyond.

During that time frame, we (Old Blue, Happy Trails [my ’06 Rubicon] and I) managed to find some trails in need of some TLC.  Trails that Mother Nature had closed for one reason or another were not to be ignored like most people do.  In my younger and healthier years, when an impassable obstacle presented on a Jeep trail, we simply removed or repaired it. 

To me, THAT is just part of the Jeeping experience.  You see a problem and remedy it.  Overcoming obstacles is part of the fun.  Opening a new trail or reopening an old trail is something few of us ever have the pleasure of… and yes, it definitely is a pleasure.  But you must find the opportunity to do it!

Exploring every sidetrack is the way of finding old and new opportunities.  They are out there.  If nothing else, look at the trails that have been closed by land management.  There ARE possibilities of reopening them if you get creative and solve the problems that caused the closure in the first place.

The first trail with that kind of show-stopping problems we worked on was the Pace Lake road.  The bottom of the road showed lots of erosion damage.  Tons of rock falls littered the road.  Some required removal to get by, so we rolled them into some of the deep “V” channels cut into the lower side of the road to slow the erosion.

Happy Trails on Pace Lake

Part of the trail goes through an old burn and several of the old dead snags had blown down over the road.  The tracks in the trail were common.  People would drive up to the first tree blocking the road and turn around.  Between a hand saw and the winch, we moved several trees to get to the first main obstacle.

This obstacle turned out to be a 3-foot wide gash snaking its way down the road about 3-feet deep and 75-yards long.  Trying to straddle the trench only resulted in the first body damage to Happy Trails.  Now it was a working Jeep… not a pleasure Jeep.

Before I worked on the ditch, there was a short walk up the trail to make sure all that work would be worth the effort.  From that walk, I knew there was a big rock fall not far up the trail, but it looked like something we could get around.

So… for the next few hours, I threw everything I could find in that ditch.  Trees, limbs, rocks, dirt, and sweat mostly filled it in.  There was some REAL satisfaction when we drove the full length of that thing!

At the big rock fall, taking a turn around the first kitchen table-size rock, we started to climb the high-side bank of the road to evade another large boulder.  That would have worked well except the rear slid over into the boulder we were trying to avoid and broke the plastic wheel cap (the second damage to Happy Trails) on the right rear.

After a few more trees, we finally reached the top and end of the Pace Lake trail.  The lake is on the Utah side of the border, which is on the wrong side of the fence to the JB Ranch.  The JB Ranch has an agreement with the Fish and Wildlife as a private hunting preserve and they are adamant about trespassers.

** As a side note, we are working with the USFS, BLM, and a private landowner to connect the top of the Pace Lake trail to another trail to make a loop trail.  This is going through the Manti-La Sal Forest Planning presently. See – opportunities!!  ** 

Next came the Calamity Mesa Loop Trail.  This one had been closed for an estimated 25+ years.  Calamity Mesa took some help from two Jeep Clubs to officially open the first half of the trail.  The second half was mostly just myself again.  The Calamity Mesa Loop Trail is a 19-mile loop from the trailhead to the end.  If you count the mile from the end to the trailhead, it’s 20-miles.

The Twisted Drop obstacle winds up your suspension.

Calamity Mesa also has one other smaller 5-mile loop and another trail on top of the mesa from the airstrip to an intersection with the big loop that we reopened.  There is a library full of uranium mining history in the area and some drop dead beautiful scenery.

Narrow shelf roads sometimes scare people.

 Next, we found Flat Top Mesa closed due to two monstrous rocks blocking the road.  This one took some extreme nerve to drive past the second rock.  Your paint was less than 1” from being removed by the rock because you tipped into the rock as you passed it.  Those were some intense moments the first few times we drove this trail alone. 

People have elected to pass driving their pretty paint jobs through this on the two trips we have lead up this trail.

Next was the Coon Hollow Jeep Trail.  This was marked on BLM maps as a “Jeep trail”, but it had not been used by full-size vehicles for many years and had grown in tight to ATV width with four-foot tall sagebrush on both sides and had some deep washes to deal with.  It took a lot of work to reopen Coon Hollow.

Coon Hollow has some difficult crawls

 When we did the work, the area was still managed as “open” to cross country travel, so what we did was legal for you who are touchy about such things.  We created bypasses of two washouts of the trail and trimmed and trampled miles of the tall sagebrush to reestablish a full-width trail again.

Coon Hollow has become another “highlight” trail for our annual Rock Junction event.

The Coon Hollow wash can be tricky

 South Beaver Mesa was next.  This one is a steep, narrow, heavily eroded shelf road down to an old cowboy camp.  The trail is a great Jeep experience for seasoned drivers.  Others may find it frightening.

In 2018 I was contacted by the Paonia Forest Service office and asked it we would come and widen a Jeep trail by cutting miles of heavy overgrown brush back.  It took two trips, but we got it done.

So. Beaver Mesa is steep, rocky, and eroded.

 Just counting these trails, that is over 100-miles of Jeep trails that we have been responsible for reopening.  Some we must work on nearly every year just to maintain them.  Sheep Creek is a prime example.

In the fall of 2018, a nasty storm hit the upper region of the Sheep Creek Jeep Trail.  It brought down tons of debris off the mountainside onto the road and severely eroded the road surface.  This is a common occurrence on Sheep Creek.  Once or twice each year this trail is subject to closure by Mother Nature. 

Sometime during the winter of ‘18/’19, more storm damage added to the previous carnage and added a humungous rock (15’ tall and the width of the road) to our problems.  Sheep Creek is part of one of the favorite trips we lead people on for our Rock Junction event.  Having it closed was not going to make some people happy.

Steep and winding is Sheep Cr.

 Because of all the damage and the huge rock, we met with the BLM to discuss what could be done to reopen the trail “legally”.  Our club has a very strong working relationship with the local BLM.  They gave us some parameters to work within to reopen the trail.

Sunday, May 19^th began as a workday to reopen the Sheep Creek trail.  We started out with a good-size crew of eager beavers ready to move the world if necessary.  In reality, they turned out to be a worthless bunch that never moved a rock all day.  Not even one shovel full of dirt turned.  It wasn’t their entire fault, though. 

While airing down at the Sheep Creek trailhead, a phone call from Keri informed us that a crawler tractor had already been up the trail and had removed all obstacles.  Work party disaster!

With that news, we lost Jeff and his buggy.  The rest of us decided to run the trail through to Glade Park.  On our way to the top, over the radio comes word that Luke will be riding through Granite Creek where the word is there are “rock falls” near the “homestead”.

The exit from Granite Cr. is a steep, narrow, rocky shelf road

 After a brief stop at the cabin near the top of the Sheep Creek trail, Roger’s freshly “repaired” LS powered JKU shot another code and became questionable, so the Bartons turned around with Dick following and left the mountain (we hope).

Topping the trail, we elected to head for a meeting with Keri somewhere along the trail toward Glade Park.  She couldn’t explain her location, so we were on a search and find mission.  On the radio, we were still hearing bits and pieces of what had been found down on Granite Creek.  The broken radio reception didn’t sound all that bad, so we did a quick turnaround and headed down Lost Horse Canyon on the way to Granite Creek Canyon.

After about 8-miles of travel, we stopped at the “homestead” and glassed a pickup that could be seen on the shelf road exit from the canyon bottom.  Even with drone flyover pictures, the overall predicament with the truck could not be determined, so up the road we went.

Just a short walk around a corner from the pickup was a serious rockfall blocking forward progress.  A quick look and some thoughts about it made me think we “could” move the big rocks enough to pass, but taking the walk around the corner made the effort fade into oblivion.  Not only was there another large rock partially blocking the road, but also a disabled pickup with unbelievable body damage and what appeared to be a broken front axle sat smack in the middle of the road.  Game over!

Back out through Granite Creek Canyon and Lost Horse Canyon to the road to Glade Park.

Overall, it was a good (long) day of Jeeping.  Many in the group saw some new country and trails they had never traveled, so all was not lost.  One of the Rock Junction favorite trails is again useable and we only had one and a half casualties.  I forgot to mention that Dick aired down two tires TOTALLY.  Whoops!!

This should give you some ideas of what can be done for motorized trail access “IF” someone takes the lead and follows through.  Of course, having support from other people makes this happen easier, but that all-important “point man” is VITAL to things like this!  Are YOU that person?

One of the first things you must do is get on a first name basis with local land managers.  Being on their speed dial is even better.  You’ll get better cooperation if they know and trust you.

One last thing… always remember when you come to a fork in the road, Yogi said; “Take it!”  That is the first step to finding opportunities.  

Do Trail Closures Bother You?

By Jerry Smith

“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” – Henry Ford

Do Trail Closures Bother You?  Do you become upset and maybe even have a little rant when you learn that a trail you’ve used for years will be closed and “restored to its natural condition”?

What did YOU do to stop this?

Have you ever wondered; “How can this happen?” or “Why did this happen?”  In many cases, there WERE things YOU could have done to prevent it, you know?

How could “I” have prevented that trail from closure?  I’m glad you asked. 

There ARE some things WE can do to prevent many of the trail closures.  Some of them you have probably heard of, and some you likely have not heard before.  If you do you become upset when a local trail closes, please read on… otherwise, delete this and go vegetate in front of the TV.

Were these closures necessary?

We all have excuses as to why we either can’t or won’t DO SOMETHING about land use issues such as trail closures.  Life gets in the way.  We’re too busy and don’t have free time. You don’t know how to write a comment with substance to the land managers.  Excuses are one of the reasons that trail closed.

Even if all those excuses are valid, there is one thing you could have done to keep that trail from closing… JOIN and/or support people and organizations that DO SOMETHING.  The few dollars you offer to be a member have more meaning than you may realize.

First, when an organization like the United Four Wheel Drive Associations (UFWDA) attends meetings with land management, congressmen, County Commissioners, and others, WE represent YOU and YOUR interests.

When WE write comments regarding land use issues, WE represent YOU and YOUR interests.  We have learned from years of experience how to make an impact with land managers. 

Some comments are from a legal standpoint because we KNOW the laws and rules they must operate under.

Other comments are from the emotional standpoint telling them WHY you love this trail or area and what it means to you to be able to have motorized access.

Only comments with “substantive” arguments make an impact.  Can you or do you know how to write that kind of comment?  That is why you want and need to support those who do.

Next, attend meetings and become involved in your local area land use.  Talk to the land managers.  Ask questions about the individual trails.  What issues do they have with certain areas or trails?  What can YOU do to relieve them of those issues?

Could you or a club you belong to do a project that could remedy a problem?  Could that club find grant money to pay for that remedy?

Could that club hold a meeting of its members to discuss local land use problems and come up with some “action items” and people to perform those actions?

Even if you only take the time to write some comments about trails or areas that are on the list to be closed and send them to me, the Director of Environmental Affairs for the United Four Wheel Drive Associations.  Tell me WHY these trails or areas are important to you.  Give me some ammunition to write comments that are not just generic gibberish because I don’t have first-hand knowledge of the trail(s).

United wants to help you maintain motorized access, but your support as an ACTIVE member is vital to OUR success. 

Me, sitting in Grand Junction, Colorado, cannot relate DETAILED INFORMATION to a land manager in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Nevada, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, and all the other states both east and west without someone locally offering some input.

The United Four Wheel Drive Associations can only be as effective as the membership makes us.  As the quote from Henry Ford says; “You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.”

Support from our membership is not simply membership dues.  Support comes by “ACTIVE MEMBERS” supplying us with information.  We must KNOW about your local issues before we can react to them.

We need information from a local perspective with local ideas of how we might argue YOUR side of the issue.  Otherwise, we can only give them the generic arguments that won’t have the impact of ones from a local standpoint.

United is an organization of associations.  Those associations are made up of local clubs.  Those clubs are made up of individual members.  If there is no activity from the individuals, clubs and associations have nothing to be active with.  It all begins with YOU!!

So, going back to Henry Ford’s quote, what kind of reputation do YOU want to build?  Action and activity.  Without them, nothing happens. 

OHV vs. 4wd vs. 4x4 vs. ORV vs. Four Wheeler

By Jerry Smith

“Without knowledge action is useless and knowledge without action is futile.” - Abu Bakr

Confusion, chaos, pandemonium, and bedlam are being experienced in the motorized recreation realm.  It seems that latecomers to the dance have commandeered the monikers of the original motorized recreational motivation (the Jeep).  About the only name they haven’t taken is “Jeep”. 

On Calamity Mesa Loop Jeep trail.

As “the original four-wheel drive vehicle”, Jeeps have a special place in history.  But like so many other things, the “four-wheel drive” phrase has been spread to the point of being added to your mother’s sedan, your father’s pickup, your brother’s ATV, your sister’s UTV, and your friend’s foreign made vehicle.

Four wheel drives morphed into ORVs (Off Road Vehicles) that eventually included the three-wheeled ATV, then the four-wheeled ATV, then the Side-by-Side Utility Vehicle, and then the current models of the UTV and SxS.  Then ORV became politically incorrect and we adopted “Off-Highway Vehicle” (OHV) as the catchall phrase.

Where Jeeps once roamed the mountains and valleys alone, now they are losing their dominance to the UTV in numbers.  The need for speed and a more “racy look” have become the choice of many.

Events for Jeeps have been copied by the UTV and ATV crowds to include trail rides and racing.

Along with the formal recreational uses of all these vehicles, public and private land use issues have also grown.

Private “OHV” areas are springing up all over America.  Some of those areas are developing new trails to challenge their patrons and are adding other enhancements like camping and events to lure more participation.  This is where the chaos and confusion seem to originate.

Presently, when an “OHV” event is advertised, what does that event include??  One may be for ATVs only.  The next one is for UTVs.  Another may include full-sized vehicles and yet another might be a strictly full-sized vehicle only show.  Don’t forget the Motorcycles fall under the “OHV” umbrella.  Do the advertisers tell you this… or do they simply say “OHV” event?

The same applies to public land management.  The term “OHV” is used universally even when the implementation is not.  An under 50” wide trail and a full-width trail are managed for different vehicles, but the catchall “OHV” still applies.  “OHV” may even include single-track trails for motorcycles and mountain bikes.  Confusion, chaos, and pandemonium prevail.

So how do we remedy this??  What terms or politically correct jargon can separate the many actors in this play?  And what do we do for the next generation of technologies that are inevitable?

First, let’s take the roads and trails and divide them into the current uses and designations used by land management.

Ø  Single track – bikes, and motorcycles

Ø  50” and below – ATV / UTV / bikes and motorcycles

Ø 50” and above – Full-size / ATV / UTV / bikes and motorcycles

As you can see, we begin having overlapping right away, yet all of these vehicles are OHVs.  So we can retain the OHV name as generic for all motorized and mechanized uses.

Next, we have the distinction between the UTVs.  Some qualify for the less than 50-inch (<50”) trails while others do not.  The commonality is the <50” part, so maybe we bunch them into the less than 50-inch (<50”) group.

Last, we have the over 50-inch vehicles (>50”).  As far as I know, there are few restricted uses on this size of road or trail.  Some places will require licenses, insurance, lights, and horn to be legal.

So now we have a small, a medium, and a large-size way of determining what vehicle(s) we are talking about and the trails they are allowed to run on.

Event advertising can promote either small, medium or large or motorcycle, <50”, or >50” vehicles to alleviate the confusion. 

Land management may use the same designations to separate the groups with better clarity as well.

As for the other monikers we have mingled into our vocabulary over the years, maybe we begin fazing them out.

Looking to the future, it’s anyone’s guess.  Hovering vehicles might be interesting to designate.

The “K.I.S.S.” (Keep it simple stupid) method often shines.