February 1998 Campfire Tales
PASS PATROL
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Spinning Wheel Gulch
The
sun came out Tuesday morning and lit up the distant snow covered mountain tops
causing them to sparkle and glisten. Fortunately, my office faces Kansas so I
didn’t have to look at them out the window. Unfortunately, when I went out for
lunch, I turned west on 6th Avenue and those mountain tops were directly in line
of sight. I could hear them calling, whispering in the wind ... more like
screaming in the wind ... only there was no wind. I rolled down the window. Now
let me try that again. I could hear them whispering in the wind. Okay, it works
now. Lets get on with the story.
Outside temperature was nearly 60 degrees. I popped the sun roof
lid on the Nissan Frontier I was driving, rolled onto I-70, and set the cruise
control. This was going to be a long lunch.
If you called Outback Publications Tuesday afternoon, I wasn’t
there. In fact, I barely made it back in time for the 6 o’clock Pass Patrol
dinner at the Golden Corral. I was bouncing that Frontier up Spinning Wheel
Gulch.
It’s been a while since I told you about Spinning Wheel Gulch
so maybe it’s time to do that again. You’re probably sitting in your office
biting your finger nails and trying to keep that cabin fever temperature down to
a boil anyway. Well, don’t get too excited. What I’m going to tell you
isn’t going to help much. Spinning Wheel Gulch is still mighty slippery.
First of all, Spinning Wheel Gulch is not its real name. As for
as we know, it doesn’t have a name. The maps we have don’t even know its
there, but we have used it in the past to calm the cabin fever just a little.
It’s only an hour from the Outback Publications parking lot so I like to use
it to test vehicles that are provided to me for that purpose. In this case, I
was checking out a Nissan Frontier. You’ll find more about the Frontier on
page 6.
Spinning Wheel is a nasty little guy that dead-ends at some old
mines. It is full of moguls, steep climbs, rocky sections, and, ... by the way
... it’s narrow. Add a few inches of ice and snow to that combination and
you’ve got a combination that just might make you wish you had stayed in the
office.
To get there, take I-70 to Exit 239 at Idaho Springs. Follow the
road next to the fence until it curves right and intersects with Colorado Blvd.
Turn left, then take the I-70 entrance ramp. About half way up the ramp is a
road going to the right on the opposite side of the guard rail from the entrance
ramp. That’s it. Watch your head. From all the scattered rocks on the road and
one huge boulder in the middle, that mountain is falling down one piece at a
time.
Happy Trails,
4-WHEEL DRIVE ROADS TO HOLE IN THE ROCK
During the winter of 1879 and 1880, 200 men & women, 50
children, 200 horses, 1000 head of cattle, and 83 wagons traveled nearly 200
miles to complete the San Juan Mission through Hole in the Rock. There was no
loss of life and two babies were born along the way. It took them six months to
complete a trip they were told would take six weeks. This book takes the reader
on that 200 mile journey in the footsteps of those pioneers to better
understanding what they endured.
Many
visitors have been on the extreme trail located east of Hole in the Rock but
very few have traveled the rest of the trail from Escalante to Bluff. Volume Six
of the Adventures of Pass Patrol is a guide to the entire 200 mile journey the
pioneers called, “The San Juan Mission.” Here are some samples from that
book.
Church leaders believed the convoy could be sent east from
Escalante and a road could be built on a direct route from Escalante to the San
Juan’s. Scouts were sent to find that route. Unfortunately, those scouts were
not very thorough. Perhaps they simply assumed a route could be found or perhaps
they did not have the courage to return to the Church leaders with a “no
way” answer. The Church leaders were also too eager to accept a favorable
report. Although the scouts had made no attempt to find a specific route for
wagons to travel, and had made no attempt to cross the baron country to prove it
could be done, the San Juan Mission was called in 1878.
As
added wagons and animals arrived at Forty Mile Spring, the convoy grew to 200
men & women, 50 children, 200 horses, and more than 1000 head of cattle. A
small city of tents and wagons covered the desert floor on all sides of the
small spring.
While some members discussed what was for dinner, a few of us
pulled out our lawn chairs, kicked back with ice cold Pepsi, and watched Gadget
paddle his way out into the lake.
“Nice boat,” Dutchy commented.
“Yeah,” I answered. “Looks like its sinking.”
“Sure does.” Sundance added as he leaned back in his chair.
“Can Gadget swim?”
“Like a fish,” I answered.
Keep
in mind that we had been living under the hot desert sun for five days. Some
folks might say we looked ... and smelled ... a little rough.
"Dad," the little girl complained. "It stinks in
here. Let's go somewhere else."
She was walking past the Wild Bunch (l mean Wimp Bunch) standing
at the counter of the Lodge at Bullfrog Crossing. After five days in the hot
desert sun, there might have been a slight body odor problem on one or two of
the gang.
"How much are your rooms?" Miss Blue asked.
The man at the counter watched the girl and her father go out
the door, then turned back to the crusty group standing before him. "You
want to stay in the lodge?"
The wagons sustained a lot of damage getting to the top of
Cottonwood Hill. At least one rolled over and others required axle, hub, and
wheel repairs.
On the morning of December 24th, Wednesday, Christmas Eve, they
cooked the last of their food supply; a single flapjack about an inch thick.
When the cooking was finished, there was a debate over who would divide it into
equal parts. Some feared that the person doing the cutting would get more than
the others. It was then agreed that the person who cut the flapjack, got the
last piece.
THE ADVENTURES OF
Pass Patrol
VOLUME SIX
4-WHEEL
DRIVE ROADS TO HOLE IN THE ROCK
Fort Union National Monument
A few years ago, Ramblin’ Rose told me I should stop by Fort
Union on the Santa Fe Trail in New Mexico. I finally got around to it last
summer and I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. Okay, so it’s not a 4x4
trail to get there, but it is well worth the stop on the way to a 4x4 trail.
The remains of the old fort cover a huge area. A self guiding
trail takes the visitor through that area. Besides a pamphlet that explains what
each section of the fort was used for, there are also buttons to push. Everyone
likes to push buttons. These buttons are special because when you push them, you
get to hear actors playing out a scene that might have occurred at the spot
where you are standing. It will take a couple hours to make the complete circle
and listen to all the plays.
The Santa Fe Trail made quite an impression into the surface of
the land it crossed and is visible for miles where it passed the fort.
Fort Union is located west of I-25 near Watrona, New Mexico.
Take exit 366 and follow the signs.
Nissan Introduces the Frontier
To check out the Frontier, we headed up to Spinning Wheel Gulch
near Idaho Springs. That trip has a nice mixture of highway and moderate
4wheeling.
The
first thing we noticed after leaving the office was how smoothly and quietly the
Frontier handled I-70. One glance at the speedometer brought all that into
focus. A fella can get into a lot of trouble doing 75 on I-70 through Denver. We
slowed it back down to double nickels and set the cruise control. No more
problems with that one.
The Frontier came with a 143 horse, 2.4 Liter DOHC 4 Cyl Engine.
That don’t look like much on paper, but those ponies do some serious kicking
in the real world. All 143 of them went to work just past past the Morrison Exit
where the pavement begins its long climb to Buffalo Herd overlook. It was time
to shift out of overdrive.
I shifted from overdrive to forth, expecting to need to go to
third but that never happened. I set the cruise control on 65. The Frontier
climbed the entire grade using about half throttle and never dropped below 62.
We pulled onto the trailhead for Spinning Wheel Gulch and went
into low range. First gear was low and slow just the way we like it.
Spinning Wheel Gulch is a steep climb up a loose surface that
has become badly moguled from years of spinning tires. The Frontier handled the
average moguls very well, but then we started through some deep ones. Only
vehicles with exceptional wheel travel can get through those locations up the
middle. The Frontier’s right front and left rear tires came off the ground and
that was it. I backed up and took a less aggressive approach to the moguls. The
Frontier went through without spinning a tire.
We didn’t get far up Spinning Wheel Gulch before we got to
some deep snow, frozen ice, and more serious moguls. All that on a very narrow
ledge. With no backup vehicle along, no BFG tires, and no Warn winch, I decided
not to risk getting the Frontier stuck.
Overall, the Frontier did very well, especially on the highway.
It’s weakest point was in wheel travel and even that was about average
compared to other 4X4s in its class. Highway performance and handling were very
good and engine power was surprisingly good. The Frontier is rated at 21 mpg on
the highway but we didn’t take it on any long trips to test economy. The truck
we tested had a $21,180, sticker price and included lots of features including
the sun roof, cruise, air, power doors and windows, alarm system, remote entry,
reclining seats, a great sound system with CD, and a switch to turn off that
passenger side air bag. Go ahead. Check one out. Tell’um Outlaw sent cha.
That’ll confuse’um and maybe you can slip in a better deal before they
figure out what you’re talking about.
Happy Trails!
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