I finally got the chance to make it over to Gypsum to check out the elusive trail system that exist there.  These trails are not new, however they have been recently signed and recognized by the BLM, which means they are here to stay.  This is great news, I always love hearing about more places to go and explore, as well as new challenges.  I saw a  post on Facebook from Stay the Trail as they were out installing the new signs.  The only problem is they need a Kiosk to explain how to find these trails, they are literally a needle in the haystack to come across.  Maybe some people do not want them to be found, however this is public land, meaning they are open to everyone.  There is very little information on the web about these trails, only a couple post about the famed 10 falls trail, which earns its 10+ difficulty rating.  In this day an age, it seems all we hear about is how trails are being closed all over the place, it is refreshing to hear some trails have been saved, I am sure some locals put in some real effort to save these trails, and would like them to be respected and kept clean.

From I-70 take exit 140 in Gypsum and head north, on the right there will be a Gypsum mine, hang left and follow the road up to the Kiosk on top of the Mesa.  The road gets narrow at one point, so carrying a trailer and meeting someone may get tight.

I found a map from the BLM available online, however all it gives you is some numbers and no name for any trail.  I had to get on Google earth and look for the red rock canyon, I marked it on the map and headed that way.  The actual trail number is 8483, however it is not on the map, and the map looks nothing like this in real life.  The trail is basically down in the Cottonwood creek drainage.  It is a long drive back there, I am not sure in miles, but it is a ways.

Here is the BLM Map

From the Kiosk you head on the main road that makes a loop on the map, follow 8480 down into the valley, you will pass 8481 and 8482, you have to keep following the road for a ways after this and it loops back around, that is where you will see the trail marked 8483 on the left, after following 8483 you come to the new sign stating you are on 10 falls.

The trail through a large area of BLM land.

The new sign.

This is a really unique and cool trail, it is a red rock canyon in Colorado, the rest of the area does not have any red rock, just this unique canyon.  The trail starts off benign, and has some rocks and ledges.

A rock at the beginning to flex on.

 

The first ledge, it is kind of undercut.

There is another small ledge before things get real.

Here is the gatekeeper, after this there is two more waterfalls nearly as big as this one in a row.

The under cut ledge at the top leans you into the rock on the right side hard, it ate my 42 inch BFG whole, I tried to stay driver, but my passenger tire was too undercut, after I tried to back up, I was stuck against the rock on the back of my cage, once I was there, I was stuck, I could not go forward or backwards.  My friends thought winching me back with these BFG reds would be hard, because they would have to pull me sideways, so we decided to pull forward from a winch point up ahead on the next obstacle.  This was a bad idea,  as soon as I started winching I heard a loud pop, the tubing on my truss split in half and my frame hit my passenger shock, bending it bad, my 35 spline outer also broke as well, I was amazed, I did not think I was that bound up!?, but I was.  We ending up pulling me back, but I almost tipped over from being way up the cliff.  What a let down, oh well, I’ll get it next time.  I limped on out from there, all the way back to the truck, I had to use my winch to center the axle.  Hindsight is 20/20, maybe I should have stayed more driver, maybe I should have stayed more passenger, but at the time it is the line me and my spotters felt was the best.

My shock.

Broken truss, time to build it stronger!  The wall of the tubing ripped in two, and the welds pulled the wall of the tubing right out.  I guess I did not build this strong enough, I thought I had made enough gusseting and all, but over time it just got weak, and failed.  I believe it was so wedged in there, when I winched on it, something just had to give.

The day was not a total loss, we headed back to the camper, got some food and made a plan to find the other trails with Zigs Jeep.

We started at Tierod Bender, it is closet to the lot, and trail 8469 on the map.

The new sign.

This trail was a pleasant surprise, it had some nice big rocks, while going up through a shady wash.

Heading up.

 Some nice rocks.

After running through Tierod Bender, we headed on back to a trail we noticed on the way to Ten falls,  BLM sign said 8482, so we knew it was a legal trail, but we did not know where it went.  We could see big tire have been through there, and it was a wash with big rocks, so we started up it.  The trail went for what felt like an eternity, up through a wash, but was not really challenging, until we hit a Y intersection, one trail went up to the right, and the other to the left.  We ended up running both of them, only realize we were on Middle Middle, and the long wash we came up, was a spur trail.  This is a fun trail rated an 8, with some multiple lines though it, the harder obstacles have bypasses around them.

When you run this trail starting at the sign, you head down a steep wash, through some tight trees and stumps, mixed with rock, when you hit the Y intersection, you go left and start going up another wash, this section has the harder obstacles.

Looking up the wash near the Y intersection.

A large under cut ledge, this may be the hardest obstacle on the trail.

Zig going up it, 40 inch stickies and a 383 stroker, make this a capable full body Jeep.  Zig made it up, pretty smoothly.

The next obstacle is a slickrock ledge, there is no bypass on this one.

Here is another section near the top.  It was getting late and we were low on gas.  This trail is rated an 8, and so is Tierod Bender, but this trail was harder than Tierod Bender.  Once you get to the top, Upper Middle was down the main trail to the right, it was dark and we did not get a chance to take a look at it.  Upper Middle is the same rating as 10 falls, 10+, it is just shorter overall.  When I get my Jeep fixed, I want to come back and spend some more time at this place, these are great trails, and there was not another person on them the whole time we were there.