High Mountain Driving – part 3

High Mountain Driving – part 3

By Jerry Smith

Director of Environmental Affairs for the United Four Wheel Drive Associations

By now, I hope you are seeing some of the differences of mountain driving from other terrains.  Of course, much of it is the same, but not all.

Animals

In the high country, you may encounter animals you won’t see anywhere else.  Always give them respect by slowing down or stopping to allow them to move off without a huge amount of energy expenditure.  Late winter till late spring and even into early summer is calving season. 

Pregnant females don’t need the stress of running away from you.  They need that energy to grow the life within them and to keep them warm.  Feed in the winter is not always abundant, so they must make the most of what they can find.

Hydration

Stay hydrated.  During the day, you may not notice it, but you will dehydrate in the often-dry air.  This also helps keep you from experiencing altitude sickness which is very unpleasant.

Don’t burn

Use a good sunscreen.  The sun is particularly intense at high altitudes.  That exposed left arm that often has direct sun on it all day is very vulnerable to a nasty sunburn.  The sleeves that many bikers use to protect themselves from the sun while not being too warm to wear are very useful.

Slow Down

Why did you come to the mountains?  Think about it.  Wasn’t some R&R a big part of the reason??  Why bring all that city rush with you??  Take your time to just be in Nature at her pace.  Not everything in Nature is a rushing stream or a wind blowing the trees sideways.  Slowing down to “smell the flowers” or to see more than just the road surface is how you’re going to get that R&R you came in search of.  Otherwise, you may as well have stayed in the city.

When you see something that interests you, you won’t be a half-a-mile past it when you get slowed down.  Stop if it is safe to look.  Distracted driving on a narrow mountain road can leave you “off road” literally.  At speed, things go bad faster.

Air Down

Deflating your tires to a lower air pressure has some great advantages.  Your overall comfort will improve is one you’ll be thankful for.  It causes less fatigue as the day goes by.

Your traction will improve on the loose gravel and rocks.  Stopping power will improve too.

Tire Tracking

Here is one tip that will help your off-pavement driving anywhere, but particularly in the mountains and rougher lower country. 

KNOWING where each tire is at all times is a necessity on narrow trails wherever you go.  So, how do you learn this??

Whenever I go out on a dirt trail, I look for opportunities like a small round rock in the road ahead.  I try to put a tire sidewall within 2” of that rock without sticking my head out the window.  If you look in the mirror soon after passing such a rock, you can usually see your tire track near the rock.  Practice doing this with the inside and outside tire sidewall of all four tires going straight and in cornering at different angles.

When you can do this consistently, your confidence to drive any kind of obstacle or narrow road will go up exponentially.  It will also keep you from having flat tires as often.  In over 50-years of wheeling, I’ve had exactly one flat tire.  This is having driven many difficult trails and obstacles.  I’m not easy on my Jeep!!

That might be the most important thing you can learn in off-roading.

There are other little things I could relate, but experience will be your best professor.  I hope these things will help you enjoy your adventures safely and with pleasure.

There are two last things to remember. Go prepared is the first one.  Last, when you come to a fork in the road… take it.  That is where adventure begins.

Happy Trails.

High Mountain Driving – part 2

High Mountain Driving – part 2

By Jerry Smith

Director of Environmental Affairs for the United Four Wheel Drive Associations

Let’s continue with some thoughts about the differences between mountain driving and the other types.

One of the first things on your list is to leave word of where you are going and when to be expected back with a reliable person.  Furnish them with phone number(s) for you.  If it is convenient, show them on a map.  If you don’t show up or call when the time is up, ask them to call the authorities in the area to start looking for you.

Unless you live in or near the mountains, your journey will be a long one.  Unless you want to spend your precious vacation time shopping, spend some time with the packing.

Laying out your gear close to your vehicle is one of the best ways to be sure you have it all.  Put the camping gear in one pile and take inventory.  Imagine being out in the woods and setting up camp.  Is EVERYTHING you’re going to need there??

Use the same technique with clothing.  If there are two or more of you, get the other person(s) involved with their own clothes.  If THEY forget something, it’s not your fault. 

Have the cook go over the foodstuff.  Ask them to plan for a few extra meals for safety.  Make sure they inventory the cookware and the eating utensils. 

Doing all this also gives you an idea of the room requirements for all your gear.  Before starting to pack, think about what you will want out first when setting up camp.  Start packing the least necessary pieces and pack the first thing you’ll want last. 

Next, do a pre-trip check of your vehicle.  Fluids, lights, loose things, tire pressure, top to bottom, and front to rear.  Check it all or have it done by a trusted mechanic.  Fixing everything a week ahead will turn the tension down and give time to order parts if they are needed.

Check the short and long-range weather report for the area you are headed to.  This might trigger a thought about some different clothes.  Don’t trust the weather forecast.  Mountains can be fickle and dump on you just because they can.

Carry maps of the area.  Don’t rely on GPS only.  A good compass is another must.  Mountain roads tend not to be straight.  They go in and out and around and will leave you confused as to what direction you’re going.  Keeping a map handy and knowing roughly where you are on it helps you make decisions as the day goes by.

At intersections, slow to look at each one to KNOW which way is back to camp.  A wrong choice later on an empty fuel tank can be fatal.  If the roads are marked, keeping a log of the numbers or names you follow is a good idea.  I like to put a simple symbol with the direction I turned there too.

Keep a mental note of good-looking camping areas as you drive.  If you have need of one, you’ll know where to find it later.  Look for things like water, firewood, and shelter makings (remember, your tent is set up in camp already).

Of course, you ALWAYS have an ax, bucket, and shovel on your rig, don’t you??  A bow saw is another good tool to carry.  Sometimes a small tree will block your way and cutting it is much easier with a saw than an ax.

While driving around, if you see something that you want a better look at, STOP, then look.  Don’t take your attention from your driving while moving.  We’ve recovered several who didn’t from precarious places off the side of the road.

Water Crossings

Crossing water, especially fast-moving waters, can be very dangerous. My Aussie friends taught me to get out and walk into the stream BEFORE committing the vehicle. I have to admit, I don't do that, but in probably over 400 crossings around the country, I've never lost a vehicle or stalled one.

I have found that you need to look at streaming waters like a surfer. Good surfers learn to "read" the waves and pick the best ones. There are tiny giveaways as to the depth and the bottom composition if you study the waters long enough.

Big rocks in the way tend to have a bulge in the waters just downstream from where they are.  Rocks large enough to cause a small eddy downstream should probably be avoided. It's all about becoming a student of the trails and of Nature. Never stop learning what Nature is telling you in whispers.

Water Crossing Rules

BEFORE entering large bodies of water, especially swift-moving water, there are some things you want to do.

First, unbuckle all seat belts.  You don’t want to struggle with a seat belt if things go wrong.

Second, roll down all windows.  Make egress or rescue easier.

Third, remove clothing that will hinder your ability to swim.

We’ll pick this up again in part 3.                                          

High Mountain Driving – part 1

High Mountain Driving – part 1 

By Jerry Smith

Director of Environmental Affairs for the United Four Wheel Drive Associations

Most 4-wheelers think that high mountain driving is the same as wheeling other terrains. 

While there are many similarities, there are many differences. We will try to explain some of those little things that you may or may not have heard of.

Yep, the Colorado high country can turn white with deep snow ANY time of year. Yes, it can be that cold over about 9000 feet.  

You can start in the morning to a blue-sky day and sometime during the day, a dark cloud will appear coming over the mountain. Some of these storms are surprisingly violent.  

Many of us like to run with the top down or off and the doors off our vehicles. Where are you going to ride out the storm?? Will you have some warm clothes that will keep you dry??

This is why the United Four Wheel Drive Association and the Colorado Four Wheel Drive Association both preach; "Go prepared to spend at least one overnight out in the country EVERY TIME YOU VENTURE into the Colorado high country. I live this no matter where I go.

You never know about a calamity that will strand you for a day or two in the mountains. Landslides, rockfalls, washouts, wildfires, and blown down trees are some of the possibilities. Has anyone ever had a breakdown?? These things can happen before or after you pass by and then you cannot return to your camp or hotel. Be ready to survive a cold night on the mountain. 

Can you build a fire?? Do you have at least warm clothes to wear?? Blankets or a sleeping bag are even better. A small tent or tarp will be like a palace. Food and water are other necessities.  If it rains, will you be wet and cold or at least semi-dry??  You’re going to be cold.  One other thing, you need to drink plenty when in the high country.  The air is usually drier than most people understand and will dry you out.  This will eventually cause altitude sickness to more easily invade your self, and it is often too late when you notice the effects.

How about a flashlight and spare batteries you can find?  These seem like such a hassle and will take up a lot of room.  One cold dark night without all this stuff while you're stuck under a tree high up in the mountains and you'll think of this warning long and hard.  Some of us speak from experience.

I was out with two others one day reopening a trail that Nature had closed a long-time ago (maybe 25+years).  We had made good progress and were near the end of the loop when it got dark and we were stuck behind obstacles in both directions.  Crossing, either way, would have been dangerous in the dark, so we set up “camp”.  One of my companions had awakened late and had zero with him (no coat, food, or other warm clothes). 

Between all the gear I pack and the third guy, we were able to feed and outfit the second with enough to keep warm that very cool night and feed him again the next day.  People have always told me I carry too much, but the second man had no such thoughts.

Your first gear purchases

The first thing I bought when I purchased my ’73 CJ5 was a Hi-Lift Jack.  It was a few months before I could afford a winch and that jack saved me a few long nights out digging my way out of deep snow I insisted I could drive through.  In the years I owned that first jack, I literally wore out the pins and springs and rebuilt it once. 

With the attachments they have for the Hi-Lift Jack now, you are a fool not to have one with the attachments you may need (IMHO).  Learn how to safely use that Hi-Lift before you’re out in the bush in bad conditions.  You will thank me for that advice.

Your second gear purchases

The same advice applies to your new winch.  Learn the proper use of the winch and the recovery gear you’ll need to use it. 

You’ll need some stout recovery anchor points on both ends of your rig.  Those are NOT a maybe thing, those are mandatory.  You don’t want a recovery point being jerked off the vehicle flying around looking for someone to hurt.

You will want to KNOW how to rig a winch in differing configurations to do what needs doing when the time comes.  Not all pulls will be straight ahead.  There are plenty of videos on the internet to learn from.

Next will be another piece of recovery gear… the kinetic snatch rope.  This will be called to duty many times if you wheel often.  Hopefully, it will be to pull others out of a predicament, but the first time YOU need it, the cost to own one will no longer mean much. 

Get to KNOW the difference between a tow strap and a kinetic snatch strap if that is the way you choose to go.  The snatch strap can be used to tow, but except in dire emergencies, never try snatching with a tow strap. 

**** One note of interest about snatch straps you seldom hear.  Snatch straps have a very limited use cycle.  Each time you make a pull/snatch with it will make it less stretchy.  After about 10 of these hard pulls, most will have no stretch left and should be retired. ***  This is why I recommend using a kinetic ROPE rather than the kinetic strap.  If not abused and taken proper care of, the kinetic rope will last for 200+ hard pulls.

MOUNTAIN DRIVING

Okay, let’s talk about the business of mountain driving and why it is different from other wheeling you may have done. 

High mountains and their thin air will make your rig labor more than usual.  That is one small thing to remember.  Overheating can and will happen easier even though the air may be cooler.  Be extra watchful of your temperature.

High mountain roads and trails are often steeper than lower elevation roads.  It is often best to stay in a lower gear to keep from overheating or slipping the transmission on the uphill climbs and to use the engine as a braking force rather than riding the brakes for long distances going down.  DO NOT overheat your brakes by riding them for long distances. 

Those with drum brakes will notice brake fade before the ones with disc brakes, but either will “fade” or diminish as they heat.  You want brakes that will stop you without fail on mountain roads.

Using your low range and turning off the overdrive at times will help the engine hold your speed on most hills.  Try to never use your brakes to learn this technique on a steep downhill.  It can take a bit of experimenting to find the right gears to keep your speed down.

One more thing about the brakes.  Whenever you drive through water, slush, or runny mud, apply the brakes for a short distance to dry them every time you exit the water.  Watch the guy ahead of you.  If his brake lights aren’t coming on after a water crossing, tell him you’re watching.  Make a game out of catching each other forgetting.

Rules of Thumb

Rule of thumb number one.  Uphill traffic has the right-of-way.  In Colorado, it is a LAW, but the law states there are exceptions that should be made.

 You’ll hear all kinds of reasons for this law/rule, but here is the right one. 

Have you ever had to back down a hill on gravel?  What happened when you tried to stop??  The vehicle may or may not stop and it may change direction which can be more than dangerous on a narrow road. 

That is the “rule”, but there are going to be exceptions to that rule.  Common sense must overcome the “rule” if necessary or circumstances make sense.  Just be VERY careful if you are the one backing downhill.  Do not hurry for any reason!!

Rule of thumb number two.  Unless otherwise marked, the legal speed limit on most mountain roads is 25 mph.  Although you will seldom see this enforced, this is one of the rules. County road speed limits will vary.

Be Courteous

You will be sharing the backcountry with others.  We ask that you treat any others like you would want them to treat you.  A smile and wave should be the minimum you offer.  If someone is broken down, ALWAYS offer assistance if you can.  There may come a day when it will be you will be the one needing help.

This subject is a loaded one.  When someone in a faster rig pulls up in back of you, please move over at the first opportunity and allow them to pass.  Here is where the “loaded” part comes in. 

When passing another rig on the road, do it in a safe and sane manner.  Don’t speed by at full-throttle spraying rocks, gravel, and dust all over the guy who was polite enough to move over for you. 

The same thing applies when passing a pedestrian or bicyclist.  Don’t go by and leave them injured from flying debris and/or choking on dust.  SLOW DOWN!!  Show some class.  Share the trails with others graciously.  We are all out there for the same reasons and showing a little courtesy won’t hurt you.  

We’ll pick this up again in part 2.                                          

               

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.