San Juan Trail Riders Events
By Theresa Hoover
Hopefully,
you all received the flyer on the Snaggletooth ride. It was
held over
in the Dove Creek on the 18th of October. It turned out to
be a popular
event for the club with a turnout of about 44 people.
Mark referred
to the scenery in the Snaggletooth flyer as the “little
Grand Canyon”.
The scenery and red rock cliffs along the river were
beautiful,
the fall colors had just passed their prime. But, the day
was warm and
sunny. Dale, Chris Zoll and I were late getting to the parking area.
The other riders were already dressed out and headed toward a brief riders
meeting before the ride. We hurriedly got ourselves together, but,
by the time we were dressed out and on the trail everyone had already started.
We started following the tracks of all the ATV’s and motorcycles, while
enjoying the ride on an old road through scrub oak with a few mud puddles
thrown in for fun.
We caught
up to a large group of riders at the first Kodak Moment...a
wide river
crossing. The water wasn’t too deep, but, the rocks on the bottom
of the river were those round bowling ball sized smooth rocks
with plenty
of slime covering their entire surface. It was a challenge
for more than
a few of us to cross the river because of these slippery
conditions.
We didn’t know at that point that we would cross the river four times,
with this being the most difficult crossing. Kevin Short and Ron
Campbell were there helping people get across. Everyone made it.
We headed
out again playing follow the leader for a while since this
part of the
trail was kind of narrow. When the road widened we were
riding over
slick rock with other rocks thrown in on top of that to
make riding
a little more interesting.
The next two
river crossings seemed to be a little less slimey than the first one and
the road/trail was sometimes through the willows and
sometimes
through the rocks. Then came the final river crossing. The
XR200 was doing fine until its driver lost focus on the distant side of
the river
and you know, all I had to do was grab the clutch, but, I
didn’t.
The bike stalled about half way across. Bummer... Well,
lucky for
me it started with two kicks and I was on my way with only a couple bootfuls
of water. Well, the water on my feet kept me cool for the rest
of the ride and I noticed at the lunch stop other riders with their boots
off drying out the water damage.Now off toward lunch. The trail was
rocky, rocky with more and more rocks that kept growing up out of the soil.
Wow, where is that lunch area? Its got to be coming up here real
soon.Finally, the welcome sign of an E-Z-up and Mark Zink, spatula in hand
standing near a bar-b-que. A welcome sight. Lunch was good,
freshly grilled hamburgers, chips and drinks.
Lunch after
the ride was fun for two reasons, the first being talking
with the other
riders; about the rough spots, water crossings, and all
the fun.
Also, it was enjoyable to take a break to relax.
After lunch
Dale talked with us about some of the things the club is
working on
and how much we need the support of all riders to continue to enjoy and
defend our freedom to ride in southwest Colorado.Well, it was time to saddle
up and head back to the truck. The ride back was just as fun and challenging
as it had been earlier.
Thanks to
Mark Zink (lunch and planning), Kevin Short and Ron Campbell (trail guides)
for all of the effort and time taken to show us all a fun new place to
ride. Kevin and Ron patiently waited for everyone to make it through
the river crossings and Mark Zink can really cook a tasty hamburger.
Theresa Hoover
p.s. Within
two weeks after this ride twelve new members joined the
club.
Thanks to Scott Kurlander and these new members for your
support, we
hope you enjoy your membership.
By Don Short
Well once again Mark Zink put on
a fantastic ride in the mountains. For
those of you who missed the ride
you missed out cause we rode all over the place. I believe the term for
the weekend was smooth and wide. Yea right! The road to the trail was smooth
and wide however the trail was a bit more challenging. Anyway, twelve of
us made the trip and donated $462.00 for our buddies at COHVCO.
Day one and we were up and at it
at around 9:00 and half the group
missing by 10: 00. However
all were found and we headed for the
Doctors Park trail to get into some
serious riding. From this point I’m
a little fuzzy as to what trail
we were on cause of the rock patches we went through but I’m sure it was
a bunch O fun or at least that’s what they told me. Now we were told that
this particular trail had some rocks and of course it was early in the
day and well I like a good rock section but these rocks were space just
right to screw me up and down I went. The smart guys went on a different
trail and met up with us on our way to Taylor Park store for lunch. From
the store it was off to the top of American Flag by way of Lilly Pond and
Italian Creek. The forest crews have been busy in and around this area.
A few years ago Lilly Pond was full of rocks that would make your arms
ache and your teeth chatter. They also took out the mud hole, which is
a good thing.
We had a few spectators at the last
water crossing hopping for a show but they were disappointed due to our
superior riding skills. Now if you haven’t been to the top of American
Flag before you have gotta go there because it is the most awesome view.
From American Flag it was down the other side on our way back to camp for
some barley pops and lies. The fires this year took the fun out of roosting
weenies and s'mores but we made do with the lanterns. We needed to get
our beauty sleep anyway because day two promised to be another day of smooth
and wide trails.
Day two began at about 9:30 with
two less riders who had to bust out of camp early. The rest of us headed
for the Star trail to take on some more rocks. The first patch of rocks
was in a nasty couple of
switchbacks and it became apparent
the front of the line was having
problems. Volunteering for sweep
has its advantages because you can see the really sweet lines through the
rocks as you help the other riders. Ok so we conquered the Star trail and
decided we needed to ride over some more rocks, cross a few streams and
climb a few hills before heading back to camp. All the trails were in excellent
condition with the exception of a little dust. Back at camp we all got
some chances at the COHVCO ATV. Kevin handed out some door prizes and then
we huddled around the lantern and told more lies about how steep the hills
were and how big the rocks are. The ATV riders also had a hell of a day
from what Duane told us. I believe his words were ”it was the most awesome
120 miles I’ve been on”.
The Taylor Park area is a great
place to ride for all types of riders
from beginner to expert. The scenery
is awesome and there are miles and miles of forest to have fun in. It is
a little far to drive but we had
riders from Phoenix AZ. who came
up to ride with us so there are no
excuses. It is good to see that
other areas through out Colorado are
receiving funds for OHV’s to maintain
the trail system and I can only
hope that our riding area will continue
to be open and maintained. We
all need to recognize that we can
make a difference in numbers and good will. When we decided to have these
donation rides it wasn’t to get more money out of your pocket. We need
a little extra to give to
organizations who will support us
in the event we need them. We have already seen the presence of COHVCO
after the fires so lets keep in
mind that we will have other issues,
which will need attention. I hope
next year a lot of people will be
able to join us on our big rides
because they are to much fun to
pass up.
Don Short