Jeep Trail Reports

Calamity Canyon

After a leisurely 14-hour drive across the continent in the truck (not jeep!), we arrived in Montrose, Colorado. After arriving to town, we realized we had no idea what to do next, or how to find any of the local trails. Thanks to our friend the internet (of course using “the Google”) we found a club meeting near our hotel and sent the guys out to meet up with them. They pointed us toward the mesa, but the rest was up to us.

Apparently, we have a great sense of direction. Bright yellow aspen spotted the horizon on the drive up the mesa. We found some of the good stuff, as the following photos will show. The sky was slightly overcast and the temperature was just right.

As we headed down into the canyon, it was apparent that we had just missed a series of autumn storms. We were all excited to see such an abundance of freshly unearthed rocks.

Frank’s red Bronco rocked the trail on 31’s, but when we got to the crazy wall obstacle he opted out. It was a steep climb up a series of ledges that got worse until you got to the top. Aaron is standing betwixt the twees which mark the entrance.

Calamity Canyon, Round II: The Wall

Interested in knowing and seeing a little more, we swung by the local offroad and custom shop, McPherson’s Offroad, and Trevor gave us all the details. We headed out again for round two. We explored different sections of the canyon this time and found some amazing rocks, ledges and views.

Here’s where the fun began! “Then you get to the spot where the trail climbs between the two trees … oh, and make sure you’re topless!” We knew we had arrived at the ultimate obstacle. Rick took first stab at it, and although the photos look gnarly, he was in no danger. Well, maybe just his seat! Aaron in his green Commando walked right up the side of the rock wall with his overly grippy Super Swamper tires.

During the photo slide show that night, Aaron coined the spotter line technique “fishing for jeeps.” Here’s a few victory semi-poser shots:

We headed back to town, ate dinner, and got the jeeps ready to head to Ouray.